Foochow Arsenal

Planning for the shipyard, the Fuzhou Naval College {{nowrap|(t {{lang|zh|{{linktext|船|政|學|堂}}}},}} {{nowrap|s {{lang|zh|{{linktext|船|政|学|堂}}}},}} {{nowrap|p Chuánzhèng Xuétáng,}} {{nowrap|w Ch'uan-cheng Hsüeh-t'ang),}} and other facilities began in 1866.Shi, Xuanzhi. 2019. “The Roots of Bilingual Education in China: The Educational Practices of Fujian Naval College in the Late Qing Period, 1866-1911.” Language & History 62 (2): 119–39. doi:10.1080/17597536.2019.1641955. Construction began in 1867. Two French Naval officers, Prosper Giquel and Paul d'Aiguebelle, both on leave from the French Imperial Navy, were contracted to recruit a staff of about forty European engineers and mechanics, and to oversee the construction of a metal-working forge, the creation of a Western-style naval dockyard, the construction of eleven transports and five gunboats, and the establishment of schools for training in navigation and marine engineering—all within a five-year period.Pong 1987, 123Thomson 1982, vol II, pl. XVViénet 2002.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} Chinese authorities provided the materials and labour,Pong 1987, 123. with the number of labourers rising from an initial figure of 1,600 to more than 2,000 by 1872.Pong 1987, 144. The operating cost over five years was estimated at 3 million taels of silver, and the cost of maintenance of the ships produced was partly funded by revenue from duties on the import of opium.Pong 1987, 124, 127. The first ship produced at the Arsenal, the 150-horsepower Qing Forever {{nowrap|(t {{lang|zh|{{linktext|萬年|清}}}},}} {{nowrap|s {{lang|zh|{{linktext|万年|清}}}},}} {{nowrap|p Wànnián Qīng,}} {{nowrap|w Wan-nien Ch'ing),}} was launched in June 1869.Pong 1987, 127.

The shipyard was severely damaged by French forces in 1884 during the Sino-French War of 1883–1885,Viénet 2002. in the battle of Fuzhou. A modern shipyard was later rebuilt on the site.{{Cite web |url=http://www.chinapictorial.com.cn/en/culture/txt/2011-09/01/content_387537.htm |title=Father Shipyard |access-date=2012-06-03 |archive-date=2014-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730034443/http://www.chinapictorial.com.cn/en/culture/txt/2011-09/01/content_387537.htm |url-status=dead }}

{{wide image|Foochow Arsenal.jpg|800px|The Foochow Arsenal under construction, between 1867 and 1871. Three albumen prints joined to form a panorama.}}

• Chen Jitong, shipbuilder and diplomat trained at the Foochow Arsenal
• Hanyang Arsenal
• Taiyuan Arsenal
• Great Hsi-Ku Arsenal
• Jiangnan Shipyard

{{Reflist|30em}}

• Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board. [https://web.archive.org/web/20030108091320/http://info.gov.hk/mardep/chinport/planfuzhou.gif "Chinese Ports 1996: Fuzhou; Harbour Plan"]. Accessed 26 September 2002.
• {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Fuchow |volume=18 |pages=271–272}}
• Pong, David. "Keeping the Foochow Navy Yard Afloat: Government Finance and China's Early Modern Defence Industry, 1866-75". In Modern Asian Studies, vol. 21, no. 1 (Cambridge University Press, 1987).
• Seltzer, Leon E., ed. The Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952).
• Thomson, John. China and its People in Early Photographs: An Unabridged Reprint of the Classic 1873/4 Work (reprint, New York: Dover Publications, 1982).
• Viénet, René. [https://web.archive.org/web/20050415233019/http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/nation/fr/fcr97/2002/5/s10.html L'épisode français peu connu des Pescadores]. Accessed 24 September 2002.

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Category:Military history of the Qing dynasty

Category:Naval history of China

Category:Shipyards of China

Category:Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Fujian

Category:Arsenals

Category:Buildings and structures in Fuzhou