Copy photo taken on Nov. 2, 2018 shows the file photo of cruiser Zhiyuan at the Tyne & Wear Archives in Newcastle, Britain. (Xinhua)
VERY MEANINGFUL
Zhiyuan, which is a protected cruiser with armored deck and similar to armored cruiser in later times, was built between 1885 and 1887.
The Army and Navy Gazette published at that time said, "It is humiliating but nevertheless an actual fact that the two cruisers of the Chinese squadron (the Zhiyuan and Jingyuan) are superior in certain novelties of construction to any of our own vessels."
"In point of speed they cannot be touched by our swiftest cruisers," it said.
Chinese experts call the latest discovery concerning the ironclad Zhiyuan very meaningful and highly researchable.
"The discovery of some original plans for Zhiyuan is extraordinarily meaningful," said Zhou Chunshui, a senior researcher with China's National Center of Underwater Cultural Heritage. Zhou is also head of an archaeological team examining Zhiyuan's wreckage since four years ago.
More than 100 relics have been salvaged so far from the wreckage. They are classified in three categories: ship-borne weapons, ship parts and articles for sailors' daily use. "The plans can be compared with what we have found underneath the water," Zhou told Xinhua.
Zhang Liyuan, a researcher who has been following the Newcastle shipbuilding archives and history of the Beiyang Fleet to which Zhiyuan had belonged, said that with the newly discovered plans, for the first time, people can understand the details of the armor-plate and hull designing of the cruiser. "The newly discovered plans are also helpful in further analyzing the reason why Zhiyuan was sunk and its propelling system."
Jiang Ming, an expert on the history of modern Chinese navy, said the discovery is "inspiring," and "The plans enable us to know more about the efforts made by our fathers to push the construction of the modern Chinese navy" partly through the search and employment of advanced vessels.
But when Zhiyuan fought in 1894, years after being put into service, it had already lagged far behind Japanese warships in speed or firepower, said Fang Bing, professor with the National Defense University of People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China. "Technologies advance day by day," he said. In his opinion, chiefly due to the inferiority in military technology and armament, better-trained Chinese navy lost that fight to Japanese.
