Deng Shichang (鄧世昌)

Overview

The translated histories identify Deng Shichang as a general, military officer, and soldier. This record brings together 18 passages from 2 chapters across 1 history, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.

Names

Type	English	Chinese	Pinyin
Personal	Deng Shichang	鄧世昌	Deng Shichang
Title	Boyong Batulu	勃勇巴圖魯	Boyong Batulu
Surname	Deng	鄧	Deng
Personal name	Deng Shichang	鄧世昌	Dèng Shìchāng
Given	Shichang	世昌	Shichang
Given	Shichang	世昌	Shìchāng
Courtesy	Zhengqing	正卿	Zhengqing
Posthumous	Zhuangjie	壯節	Zhuangjie

Identity

Historicity: Historical
Identification: Named
Sex: Male

Sex: male
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0041
Sex: male
Strongly inferred · qingshigao:462:s0019

Roles

General
Military Officer
Soldier

Life and dates

Death

Cause: killed in battle / 戰死 · Place: Battle of the Yalu / 大東溝
Explicit · qingshigao:462:s0019
Manner: suicide-by-drowning-refusal-of-rescue · Place: Dadonggou / Yellow Sea / 大東溝 · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 光緒二十年 · Western Year: AD 1894 · Ship: Zhiyuan / 致遠
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0075, qingshigao:460:s0077, qingshigao:460:s0153

Attested activity

Source Date: Text: 光緒二十年 · Western Year: AD 1894
Explicit event contextual date · qingshigao:462:s0019, qingshigao:462:s0015
Source Date: Text: 光緒二十年夏 · Western Year: AD 1894
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0059
Source Date: Text: 光緒八年 · Western Year: AD 1882
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0049
Source Date: Text: 光緒初 · Western Year: AD 1875
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0044
Source Date: Text: 光緒十四年 · Western Year: AD 1888
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0054

Career and standing

Label: acting central vice commander / 借補中軍副將 · Action: appointed
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0056
Label: thousand-man commander / 千總 · Action: appointed
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0045
Label: commander of Haidongyun / 管海東雲艦 · Action: held
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0044
Label: commander of Yangwei / 管揚威快艦 · Action: held
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0051
Label: fleet staff over Jingyuan, Zhiyuan, Jingyuan, Jiyuan; commander of Zhiyuan / 經遠、致遠、靖遠、濟遠四船營務處，兼致遠管帶 · Action: held
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0053
Label: regimental commander / 總兵 · Action: held
Explicit · qingshigao:462:s0019
Label: vice commander / 副將 · Action: held
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0054
Label: full commander / zongbing / 總兵 · Action: promoted-to
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0055
Label: garrison commander / 守備 · Action: promoted-to
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0046
Label: guerrilla officer / 游擊 · Action: promoted-to
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0050
Label: commander of Zhenwei / 管振威艦 · Action: transferred-to
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0045

Places and affiliations

Polity: Qing / 清 · Relation: served
Strongly inferred · qingshigao:462:s0019
Place: Panyu, Guangdong / 廣東番禺
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0041
Organization: Beiyang Fleet / 北洋 · Relation: served-in
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0047

Learning and skills

Institution: naval academy / 水師學堂 · Subjects: surveying, navigation
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0043
Skill: surveying and ship handling / 測量、駕駛 · Level: mastered
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0043
Skill: Western bookkeeping / 布算術 · Level: studied
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0042

Works and attributed material

Kind: speech · Role: speaker · Quoted: true
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0072, qingshigao:460:s0073

Events and relationships

Kind: military · Role: commander · Action: attempted-to-ram · Place: Dadonggou / 大東溝 · Target: Yoshino / 吉野
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0075
Kind: military · Role: naval-cover · Action: covered · Other Person Id: Wu Changqing (吳長慶) · Place: Incheon / 仁川
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0049
Kind: military · Role: commander · Action: fought-on-Zhiyuan
Explicit · qingshigao:462:s0019
Relation: transferred-by · Person Id: Li Hongzhang (李鴻章)
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0047
Relation: accompanied · Person Id: Ding Ruchang (丁汝昌)
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0048

Assessments and attributes

Assessment: paired with Zuo Baogui as the Two Loyal Ones · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment
Explicit · qingshigao:460:s0082, qingshigao:460:s0154

References in the histories

Open any source group to read the Chinese and English passage in context.

Draft History of Qing, Chapter 460Volume 460 Biographies 247: Zuo Baogui Younger Brother: Bao Xian, Yong Shan, Deng Shichang, Liu Buchan, Lin Taiceng, Dai Zongqian · 16 passages

Open chapter

左寶貴弟寶賢等永山鄧世昌劉步蟾林泰曾等戴宗騫 Zuo Baogui (and his younger brother Bao Xian and others), Yong Shan, Deng Shichang, Liu Buchan, Lin Taiceng and others, and Dai Zongqian

鄧世昌，字正卿，廣東番禺人。 Deng Shichang, styled Zhengqing, was a native of Panyu in Guangdong.

李鴻章治海軍，高其能，調北洋。 When Li Hongzhang built up the navy, he prized Shichang's ability and transferred him to the Beiyang Fleet.

事寧，遷游擊，賜號勃勇巴圖魯。 When the crisis passed he was promoted to guerrilla officer and granted the title Boyong Batulu.

獨世昌以粵人任管駕，非時不登岸，閩人咸嫉之。 Only Shichang, a Cantonese in command of a ship, would not leave his vessel except when he had to; the Fujian officers all resented him for it.

世昌憤欲進兵，汝昌尼其行，不果。 Shichang, furious, wanted to advance to the fight, but Ruchang held him back and nothing came of it.

世昌見帥旗沒，慮軍心搖，亟取致遠纛豎之。 Shichang saw the admiral's flag gone and feared the fleet's morale would break; he quickly raised the Zhiyuan's ensign in its place.

世昌乘致遠，最猛鷙，與日艦吉野浪速相當，吉野，日艦之中堅也。 Shichang fought from the Zhiyuan, the fiercest ship in the fleet, matched against the Japanese Yoshino and Naniwa; the Yoshino was the backbone of the enemy line.

戰既酣，致遠彈將罄，世昌誓死敵。 As the fight grew desperate the Zhiyuan's ammunition ran low, and Shichang swore to fight the enemy to the death.

將士知大勢敗，陣稍亂，世昌大呼曰：「今日有死而已！ The officers and men, seeing the battle was lost, began to lose formation; Shichang cried out: "Today there is nothing for us but death!

世昌遂鼓輪怒駛，欲猛觸吉野與同盡，中其魚雷，鍋船裂沉。 Shichang then drove the Zhiyuan at full speed, intending to ram the Yoshino and go down with her; a torpedo from the Japanese ship struck home, and the Zhiyuan broke apart and sank.