Liu Buchan

Liu Buchan was a naval officer of the Beiyang Fleet, the most prominent of Chinas naval units in the late Qing Dynasty. He is best remembered for his actions as commander of the fleet flagship, the Dingyuan, during the First SinoJapanese War. After his death and the ship being destroyed at the end of the war, he was raised to national hero status in modern China. At his death, Liu was commander of the fleet flagship, with the rank Admiral of the Right, and reserve Admiral of the Fleet.

Liu was born in the town of Houguan, in Fujian province in China. Lius father died before he was born, and he was brought up by his mother. In 1867, he passed the entry examinations and entered the Foochow Arsenal Naval School established by Shen Baozhen to study navigation. In 1871, was on the training ship Jianwei, and he visited Amoy, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Bohai Bay. In 1872, with the best results, Liu graduated in the first class of the Foochow Arsenal Naval School. In 1875 he was appointed commander of the training ship Jianwei. In 1876, he was sent to Britain for further training, but failed to enter the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. Instead, he was placed with the Royal Navys Mediterranean Fleet flagship HMS Hercules as a trainee first mate. He returned to China in 1878 and was given command of the Zhenbei in the Beiyang Fleet.

Source: Wikipedia