Liu Mingchuan
Encyclopedia
Liu Mingchuan was a Chinese
official during the Qing dynasty
. He adopted a style name
of Xingsan (省三). Liu became involved in the suppression of the Taiping rebellion
at an early age, and worked closely with Zeng Guofan
and Li Hongzhang
as he emerged as an important Huai Army officer. In the aftermath of the Sino-French War
, he was appointed the first governor of the newly-established province of Taiwan. Today he is remembered for his efforts in modernizing Taiwan during his tenure as governor, and several institutions have been given his name, including Ming Chuan University
in Taipei
.
. At 23 he changed his mind and joined the Huai Army, beginning his loyalty to the Qing Empire.
In 1859 (Xianfeng 9th Year), during the Taiping Rebellion
(太平天國之亂), he built his hometown’s army, encouraged people to join, and suppressed several rebellions of the Taiping Army. In 1861 (Xianfeng 11th Year), he led about 500 men to join Li Hongzhang
's (李鴻章) Huai Army. He was made the head of Ming Camp (銘字營), and went with Li to Shanghai
to aid Charles George Gordon
's army in defeating the Taiping Army. There he learned the use of Western firearms. In 1864 Huai Army commander Li Hongzhang and vice commander Liu attacked Changzhou
to recover the city. Major General
Liu was promoted to Colonel General
and appointed to defend the capital at Beijing
.
The Qing government promoted him to be the local provincial head. He followed Zeng Guofan
to suppress the bandits around Anhui and Hupei. The bandits were suppressed after four years, and he was promoted to Baron First Class. Apart from providing occasional support to the military, he then resigned from his position due to illness.
over the posession of Vietnam
. That same year, Liu arrived in Taiwan as Imperial Inspector Minister on Military Affairs. He planned and supervised the construction of forts at Courbet Harbor, An-Ling Tun, Tsien Tung, and others.
In June 1884 Liu was appointed imperial commissioner for the defense of Taiwan
against a threatened French invasion. On 5 August 1884 Rear Admiral Sébastien Lespès
destroyed three Chinese shore batteries in the port of Keelung
in northern Formosa by naval bombardment. The French put a landing force ashore to occupy Keelung and the nearby coal mines at Pei-tao (Pa-tou), but on 6 August were counterattacked by a strong Chinese force under Liu Mingchuan's command and forced to re-embark.
The French returned to northern Formosa in October 1884. On 1 October, 1,800 French marine infantry went ashore at Keelung and captured the town, supported by naval gunfire from French ships in the harbour. Liu Mingchuan attempted to defend Keelung with a Chinese division of 2,000 troops, but was forced to retreat. Anticipating that the French would follow up their success with a landing at Tamsui, he left half of his force in strong defensive positions around Lok-tao (Liu-tu, 六堵), astride the road to Tamsui, and retreated to Taipei with the rest on 3 October. It was rumoured that he intended to flee south to Tek-cham (竹塹, modern Hsinchu
, 新竹), and his arrival in Taipei was greeted with rioting. Several of his bodyguards were killed and he himself was arrested and held for several days in the city's Lungshan temple
.
Meanwhile, after an ineffective naval bombardment on 2 October, Admiral Lespès attacked the Chinese defences at Tamsui with 600 sailors from the Far East squadron's landing companies on 8 October, and was decisively repulsed by forces under the command of General Sun Kaihua (孫開華), a veteran Xiang Army
officer. French casualties in the battle of Tamsui
were light, but as a result of this reversal French control over Formosa was limited to the town of Keelung. This achievement fell far short of what had been hoped for, and condemned the French to a long and frustrating campaign around Keelung
.
in 1885. Liu Mingchuan did not see the creation of a separate province on Taiwan as a priority; rather, he emphasized the urgency of upgrading the defense industry in Taiwan and having a naval unit stationed in the ports around the island. Having never gotten full support from China's Imperial court and the navy presence he wanted, Liu is instead remembered for his efforts to lay the foundation of modern infrastructure in Taiwan as its first provincial governor. He continued and enlarged Shen Baozhen's (沈葆楨) ideals for managing Taiwan, and started a massive modernization programme that included setting up defenses, developing transportation, taxation, farming, public security, commercial enterprises, financial affairs, and education. Construction works including telegram, railway, army machinery, telegram schools, Western schools, and modern forts.
Liu promoted a series of Western-style architectural developments, including the headquarters of Taiwan’s Telegraphy (辦理臺灣水路電報總局, 1892), Taipei Machinery Car Repair Factory (臺北機關車修理廠), an iron bridge, Western Supervising Dormitory (洋監督宿舍), and Western School (西學堂, 1890). In 1886 (Guangxu 12th Year), under the support of German military engineer Max E. Hecht, he built nine modern Western-style forts, including Keelung Sheliao Fort (基隆社寮砲臺), Keelung Ershawan Gun Emplacement (基隆沙灣砲臺), Huwei Fort (滬尾油車口砲臺), Daping Mountain Fort (旗後大平山炮台, destroyed), Penghu West Castle Fort (澎湖湖西大城北砲臺), Penghu West-Islet Fort (澎湖西嶼砲臺), Penghu Mazu Fort (澎湖媽宮金龜頭砲臺), and Anping Fort (安平大砲臺).
Under Liu's auspices, a 28.6-km railroad connecting the cities of Keelung and Taipei became the earliest railroad system of China when it came into operation with nine Europe-made steam locomotoves in 1891. An undersea telegraph line between Tamsui and Foochow
was laid during his tenure. He sponsored the exploitation of coal using new technologies in northern Taiwan and the creation of a modern postal service. Liu's governance saw China's earliest nighttime electrical illumination when the walled prefectural city of Taipei was lightened up with street lamps in 1887. However, those lights would be turned off after the initial trial period due to a lack of operating funds.
Despite that these projects were limited in scope and scale, they were carried out against strong opposition and plagued with financial difficulties. Unassisted by the Qing court, the governor was resorted to a series of radical means of funding his projects. These included forcefully seizing control of some areas traditional inhabited by aboriginal tribes
in the northern part of the island province and imposing a land census on the island's landowning class to expand camphor
and tea production and increase tax revenues. Some of the repurcussions of these measures would work to suffocate Liu's plans for Taiwan and his political career. On 6 October 1888 a mob of land-owning farmers and militia revoted in Changhua County
, attacking Qing officials led by Li Jiatang (李嘉棠), a county magistrate who had threatened to use capital punishment when carrying out the land census.
A longtime animosity between the Xiang and the Huai Armies is believed to be another factor in Liu's eventual political frustration. Liu Ao (劉璈), a Xiang Army veteran officer and Superintendent of Military Affairs in Taiwan (臺灣兵備道), was Liu Mingchuan's arch opponent when he took office. Although Liu Mingchuan succeeded in purging Liu Ao from his jurisdiction by accusing the latter of various misdeeds, which led to the latter's exile as a guarded prisoner to Heilongjiang
in 1885, the governor himself was never free from targeted attacks as a representative figure of the Huai faction in the government and as an important associate of Li Hongzhang.
and the renovation of the Summer Palace
.
After leaving Taiwan, Liu Mingchuan received no further official commissions. He died in his hometown in Anhui in 1896 (Guangxu 21st Year), and was given the title of Grand Protector of the Crowned Prince (太子太保) and the posthumous name Chuang Tsu (壯粛). Permission was granted to build a temple and have his biography written.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
official during the Qing dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. He adopted a style name
Chinese style name
A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name , is a given name to be used later in life. After 20 years of age, the zì is assigned in place of one's given name as a symbol of adulthood and respect...
of Xingsan (省三). Liu became involved in the suppression of the Taiping rebellion
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...
at an early age, and worked closely with Zeng Guofan
Zeng Guofan
Zeng Guofan was an eminent Han Chinese official, military general, and devout Confucian scholar of the late Qing Dynasty in China....
and Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang or Li Hung-chang , Marquis Suyi of the First Class , GCVO, was a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire...
as he emerged as an important Huai Army officer. In the aftermath of the Sino-French War
Sino-French War
The Sino–French War was a limited conflict fought between August 1884 and April 1885 to decide whether France should replace China in control of Tonkin . As the French achieved their war aims, they are usually considered to have won the war...
, he was appointed the first governor of the newly-established province of Taiwan. Today he is remembered for his efforts in modernizing Taiwan during his tenure as governor, and several institutions have been given his name, including Ming Chuan University
Ming Chuan University
Ming Chuan University is a selective private university founded by Pao Teh-Ming and her husband Lee Ying-Chao. Named after the famous progressive Qing Dynasty governor of Taiwan Liu Mingchuan, it is known for its communication and business programs.-History:The institution was founded as a three...
in Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
.
Early life and military career
Liu was born into a poor family of farmers at Hefei, Anhui Province, China. His father died when Liu was 11 years old. At age 18, Liu joined a local gang of bandits in the mountains, and at 20 he took part in the early Nien RebellionNien Rebellion
The Nien Rebellion was an armed uprising that took place in northern China from 1851 to 1868, contemporaneously with Taiping Rebellion in South China...
. At 23 he changed his mind and joined the Huai Army, beginning his loyalty to the Qing Empire.
In 1859 (Xianfeng 9th Year), during the Taiping Rebellion
Taiping Rebellion
The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...
(太平天國之亂), he built his hometown’s army, encouraged people to join, and suppressed several rebellions of the Taiping Army. In 1861 (Xianfeng 11th Year), he led about 500 men to join Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang
Li Hongzhang or Li Hung-chang , Marquis Suyi of the First Class , GCVO, was a leading statesman of the late Qing Empire...
's (李鴻章) Huai Army. He was made the head of Ming Camp (銘字營), and went with Li to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
to aid Charles George Gordon
Charles George Gordon
Major-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....
's army in defeating the Taiping Army. There he learned the use of Western firearms. In 1864 Huai Army commander Li Hongzhang and vice commander Liu attacked Changzhou
Changzhou
Changzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling, Jinling, and Wujin. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the west, Zhenjiang to the...
to recover the city. Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Liu was promoted to Colonel General
Colonel General
Colonel General is a senior rank of General. North Korea and Russia are two countries which have used the rank extensively throughout their histories...
and appointed to defend the capital at Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
.
The Qing government promoted him to be the local provincial head. He followed Zeng Guofan
Zeng Guofan
Zeng Guofan was an eminent Han Chinese official, military general, and devout Confucian scholar of the late Qing Dynasty in China....
to suppress the bandits around Anhui and Hupei. The bandits were suppressed after four years, and he was promoted to Baron First Class. Apart from providing occasional support to the military, he then resigned from his position due to illness.
Sino-French War
In 1884 (Guangxu 10th Year), the Qing Government triggered the Sino-French warSino-French War
The Sino–French War was a limited conflict fought between August 1884 and April 1885 to decide whether France should replace China in control of Tonkin . As the French achieved their war aims, they are usually considered to have won the war...
over the posession of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. That same year, Liu arrived in Taiwan as Imperial Inspector Minister on Military Affairs. He planned and supervised the construction of forts at Courbet Harbor, An-Ling Tun, Tsien Tung, and others.
In June 1884 Liu was appointed imperial commissioner for the defense of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
against a threatened French invasion. On 5 August 1884 Rear Admiral Sébastien Lespès
Sébastien Lespès
Sébastien-Nicolas-Joachim Lespès was a French admiral who played an important role in naval operations during the Sino-French War , as second-in-command of Admiral Amédée Courbet's Far East Squadron.- Early career :...
destroyed three Chinese shore batteries in the port of Keelung
Keelung
Keelung City is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. It borders New Taipei and forms the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with the Taipei and New Taipei. Nicknamed the Rainy Port for its frequent rain and maritime role, the city is Taiwan's second largest seaport...
in northern Formosa by naval bombardment. The French put a landing force ashore to occupy Keelung and the nearby coal mines at Pei-tao (Pa-tou), but on 6 August were counterattacked by a strong Chinese force under Liu Mingchuan's command and forced to re-embark.
The French returned to northern Formosa in October 1884. On 1 October, 1,800 French marine infantry went ashore at Keelung and captured the town, supported by naval gunfire from French ships in the harbour. Liu Mingchuan attempted to defend Keelung with a Chinese division of 2,000 troops, but was forced to retreat. Anticipating that the French would follow up their success with a landing at Tamsui, he left half of his force in strong defensive positions around Lok-tao (Liu-tu, 六堵), astride the road to Tamsui, and retreated to Taipei with the rest on 3 October. It was rumoured that he intended to flee south to Tek-cham (竹塹, modern Hsinchu
Hsinchu
Hsinchu City is a city in northern Taiwan. Hsinchu is popularly nicknamed "The Windy City" for its windy climate.Hsinchu City is administered as a special municipality within Taiwan . The city is bordered by Hsinchu County to the north and east, Miaoli County to the south, and the Taiwan Strait...
, 新竹), and his arrival in Taipei was greeted with rioting. Several of his bodyguards were killed and he himself was arrested and held for several days in the city's Lungshan temple
Longshan Temple
Mengjia Longshan Temple was built in Taipei in 1738 by settlers from Fujian, China. It served as a place of worship and a gathering place for the Chinese settlers...
.
Meanwhile, after an ineffective naval bombardment on 2 October, Admiral Lespès attacked the Chinese defences at Tamsui with 600 sailors from the Far East squadron's landing companies on 8 October, and was decisively repulsed by forces under the command of General Sun Kaihua (孫開華), a veteran Xiang Army
Xiang Army
The Xiang Army was a standing army organized by Zeng Guofan from existing regional and village militia forces tuanlian to contain the Taiping rebellion in China . The name is taken from the Hunan region where the Army was raised. The Army was financed through local nobles and gentry, as opposed...
officer. French casualties in the battle of Tamsui
Battle of Tamsui
The Battle of Tamsui , fought on 8 October 1884, was a significant French defeat during the Sino-French War.- Background :...
were light, but as a result of this reversal French control over Formosa was limited to the town of Keelung. This achievement fell far short of what had been hoped for, and condemned the French to a long and frustrating campaign around Keelung
Keelung Campaign
The Keelung Campaign was a controversial military campaign undertaken by the French in northern Formosa during the Sino-French War. After making a botched attack on Keelung in August 1884, the French landed an expeditionary corps of 2,000 men and captured the port in October 1884...
.
Governor of Taiwan
By a decision of the Qing court, Taiwan was made a province of ChinaProvince (China)
A province, in the context of Chinese government, is a translation of sheng formally provincial level divisions, which is an administrative division. Provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, and the special administrative regions, make up the four types of province of administrative division...
in 1885. Liu Mingchuan did not see the creation of a separate province on Taiwan as a priority; rather, he emphasized the urgency of upgrading the defense industry in Taiwan and having a naval unit stationed in the ports around the island. Having never gotten full support from China's Imperial court and the navy presence he wanted, Liu is instead remembered for his efforts to lay the foundation of modern infrastructure in Taiwan as its first provincial governor. He continued and enlarged Shen Baozhen's (沈葆楨) ideals for managing Taiwan, and started a massive modernization programme that included setting up defenses, developing transportation, taxation, farming, public security, commercial enterprises, financial affairs, and education. Construction works including telegram, railway, army machinery, telegram schools, Western schools, and modern forts.
Liu promoted a series of Western-style architectural developments, including the headquarters of Taiwan’s Telegraphy (辦理臺灣水路電報總局, 1892), Taipei Machinery Car Repair Factory (臺北機關車修理廠), an iron bridge, Western Supervising Dormitory (洋監督宿舍), and Western School (西學堂, 1890). In 1886 (Guangxu 12th Year), under the support of German military engineer Max E. Hecht, he built nine modern Western-style forts, including Keelung Sheliao Fort (基隆社寮砲臺), Keelung Ershawan Gun Emplacement (基隆沙灣砲臺), Huwei Fort (滬尾油車口砲臺), Daping Mountain Fort (旗後大平山炮台, destroyed), Penghu West Castle Fort (澎湖湖西大城北砲臺), Penghu West-Islet Fort (澎湖西嶼砲臺), Penghu Mazu Fort (澎湖媽宮金龜頭砲臺), and Anping Fort (安平大砲臺).
Under Liu's auspices, a 28.6-km railroad connecting the cities of Keelung and Taipei became the earliest railroad system of China when it came into operation with nine Europe-made steam locomotoves in 1891. An undersea telegraph line between Tamsui and Foochow
Fuzhou
Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....
was laid during his tenure. He sponsored the exploitation of coal using new technologies in northern Taiwan and the creation of a modern postal service. Liu's governance saw China's earliest nighttime electrical illumination when the walled prefectural city of Taipei was lightened up with street lamps in 1887. However, those lights would be turned off after the initial trial period due to a lack of operating funds.
Despite that these projects were limited in scope and scale, they were carried out against strong opposition and plagued with financial difficulties. Unassisted by the Qing court, the governor was resorted to a series of radical means of funding his projects. These included forcefully seizing control of some areas traditional inhabited by aboriginal tribes
Taiwanese aborigines
Taiwanese aborigines is the term commonly applied in reference to the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. Although Taiwanese indigenous groups hold a variety of creation myths, recent research suggests their ancestors may have been living on the islands for approximately 8,000 years before major Han...
in the northern part of the island province and imposing a land census on the island's landowning class to expand camphor
Camphor
Camphor is a waxy, white or transparent solid with a strong, aromatic odor. It is a terpenoid with the chemical formula C10H16O. It is found in wood of the camphor laurel , a large evergreen tree found in Asia and also of Dryobalanops aromatica, a giant of the Bornean forests...
and tea production and increase tax revenues. Some of the repurcussions of these measures would work to suffocate Liu's plans for Taiwan and his political career. On 6 October 1888 a mob of land-owning farmers and militia revoted in Changhua County
Changhua County
Changhua County is the smallest county in Taiwan located on the westside of Taiwan. It is officially governed as a county of the Republic of China .-Urban townships:# Beidou Township # Erlin Township...
, attacking Qing officials led by Li Jiatang (李嘉棠), a county magistrate who had threatened to use capital punishment when carrying out the land census.
A longtime animosity between the Xiang and the Huai Armies is believed to be another factor in Liu's eventual political frustration. Liu Ao (劉璈), a Xiang Army veteran officer and Superintendent of Military Affairs in Taiwan (臺灣兵備道), was Liu Mingchuan's arch opponent when he took office. Although Liu Mingchuan succeeded in purging Liu Ao from his jurisdiction by accusing the latter of various misdeeds, which led to the latter's exile as a guarded prisoner to Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang
For the river known in Mandarin as Heilong Jiang, see Amur River' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...
in 1885, the governor himself was never free from targeted attacks as a representative figure of the Huai faction in the government and as an important associate of Li Hongzhang.
Resignation and death
In 1891 (Guangxu 17th Year), Liu Mingchuan resigned his post as governor due to health reasons at the age of 56, and returned to his hometown. Most of the modernization projects initiated by Liu came to a halt shortly after his resignation and were never restarted throughout the rest of the Qing reign over the island. This has led to speculation that Liu's resignation was actually due to political opposition in the Qing court to his work. Whether of not this is true, the policy reversal adopted by Liu's successors—affiliated with the Huai faction or not—illustrates the financial difficulties China's early modernizers faced while the empire's fiscal resources were spent on the creation of the Beiyang FleetBeiyang Fleet
The Beiyang Fleet was one of the four modernised Chinese navies in the late Qing Dynasty. Among the four, the Beiyang Fleet was particularly sponsored by Li Hongzhang, one of the most trusted vassals of Empress Dowager Cixi and the principal patron of the "self-strengthening movement" in northern...
and the renovation of the Summer Palace
Summer Palace
The Summer Palace is a palace in Beijing, China. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water....
.
After leaving Taiwan, Liu Mingchuan received no further official commissions. He died in his hometown in Anhui in 1896 (Guangxu 21st Year), and was given the title of Grand Protector of the Crowned Prince (太子太保) and the posthumous name Chuang Tsu (壯粛). Permission was granted to build a temple and have his biography written.