Captain Yang Yonglin (1854—1895) was a Chinese naval officer of the late Qing dynasty. During the First Sino-Japanese War, he was the second captain of one of China's foreign-built ironclads, the Dingyuan. Yang committed suicide after he refused to sign a surrender agreement on behalf of China to Japan. He was posthumously promoted to admiral.
Biography[]
Yang was born in the Fujian province of China in 1854. He joined the Qing navy in 1870 and served aboard a gunboat. His shipmates considered Yang to be a hard and dedicated worker, and became a skilled navigator. He was later promoted to chief gunnery officer of the gunboat Zhenwei. In 1879, Yang was transferred to the Beiyang Fleet and held a number of command positions aboard gunboats. He traveled to the United Kingdom with his superior, Admiral Ding Ruchang, in 1880, where they studied military sciences from and the experience of the Royal Navy.
In 1885, Yang rose to second-in-command of the German-built ironclad Dingyuan. He got the attention of statesman and reformer Li Hongzhang, who considered him to be a competent officer and had him promoted.
Yang took part in the Battle of the Yalu River in September 1894, early on during the First Sino-Japanese War, where he performed well, though the Beiyang Fleet was defeated. Later, rather than sign a capitulation to the Japanese, he shot himself with a pistol. The bodies of Yang and several other officers that committed suicide were returned to China by the Japanese, who viewed his final act to be honorable under their Bushido code.
Personal life[]
Yang was known to be a hard worker and was always looking to learn. The British officers serving as instructors for Chinese cadets gave Yang a high evaluation. He also had the respect of his men due to being very caring to his subordinates. Despite the hardships of living in China, he was a Qing loyalist and was determined to fight against Japan during the war.