Foochow Arsenal

{{Short description|Shipyard in Fuzhou, China}} {{chinese |pic=File:FOOCHOW ARSENAL.jpg |picsize=300px |piccap=Foochow Arsenal (1870s) |s={{linktext|福州|造船厂}} |t={{linktext|福州|造船廠}} |p=Fúzhōu Zàochuánchǎng |l=Fuzhou Shipyard |w=Fu-chou Tsao-ch'uan-ch'ang |altname=Mawei Arsenal |t2={{linktext|馬尾|造船廠}} |s2={{linktext|马尾|造船厂}} |p2=Mǎwěi Zàochuánchǎng |l2=Mawei Shipyard |w2=Ma-wei Tsao-ch'uan-ch'ang }} The '''Foochow Arsenal''', also known as the '''Fuzhou''' or '''Mawei Arsenal''', was one of several shipyards created by the Qing Empire and a flagship project of French assistance to China during the Self-Strengthening Movement.<ref>{{cite book|author=Muriel Détrie |title=France-Chine : Quand deux mondes se rencontrent |publisher=Gallimard |location=Paris |date=2004 |page=57}}</ref> The shipyard was constructed under orders from Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang and was situated in Mawei ({{zh|s=马尾|t=馬尾}}, romanized as Mamoi in that period), a port town within the jurisdiction of Fuzhou ''fu'' (then romanized as "Foochow"), which is several miles up the Min River.<ref>Seltzer 1952, 1133.</ref><ref>Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board.</ref>

==History== 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.<ref>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.</ref> 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.<ref>Pong 1987, 123</ref><ref>Thomson 1982, vol II, pl. XV</ref><ref>Viénet 2002.</ref>{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} Chinese authorities provided the materials and labour,<ref>Pong 1987, 123.</ref> with the number of labourers rising from an initial figure of 1,600 to more than 2,000 by 1872.<ref>Pong 1987, 144.</ref> 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.<ref>Pong 1987, 124, 127.</ref> 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.<ref>Pong 1987, 127.</ref>

The shipyard was severely damaged by French forces in 1884 during the Sino-French War of 1883–1885,<ref>Viénet 2002.</ref> in the battle of Fuzhou. A modern shipyard was later rebuilt on the site.<ref>{{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 }}</ref>

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

==See also==

* Chen Jitong, shipbuilder and diplomat trained at the Foochow Arsenal * Hanyang Arsenal * Taiyuan Arsenal * Great Hsi-Ku Arsenal * Jiangnan Shipyard * Shen Baozhen, Qing minister worked in Foochow Arsenal

==Notes== {{Reflist|30em}}

==References== * 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.

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 in China Category:Buildings and structures in Fuzhou Category:Military history of Fuzhou