Guan Tianpei | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Commander-in-Chief of Guangdong Naval Forces | |
| In office 1834–1841 | |
| Preceded by | Li Zengjie |
| Succeeded by | Dou Zhenbiao |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1781 Shanyang County, Jiangsu, Qing China (present-day Huai'an) |
| Died | February 26, 1841 (aged 59–60) Humen, Guangdong, Qing China † |
| Courtesy name | Zhongyin (仲因) |
| Art name | Zipu (滋圃) |
| Posthumous name | Zhongjie (忠節) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Qing Dynasty |
| Branch/service | Guangdong Naval Forces |
| Battles/wars | First Opium War |
Guan Tianpei (simplified Chinese: 关天培; traditional Chinese: 關天培; Wade–Giles: Kuan1 T'ien1-p'ei2; 1781 – 26 February 1841)[a], courtesy name Zhongyin (仲因), art name Zipu (滋圃), was a Chinese admiral of the Qing dynasty who served in the First Opium War.[1] His Chinese title was "Commander-in-Chief of Naval Forces".[2] In 1838, he established courteous relations with British Rear-Admiral Frederick Maitland.[3] Guan fought in the First Battle of Chuenpi (1839), the Second Battle of Chuenpi (1841), and the Battle of the Bogue (1841). The British account described his death in the Anunghoy forts during the Battle of the Bogue on 26 February 1841 as follows:
Among these [Chinese officers], the most distinguished and lamented was poor old Admiral Kwan, whose death excited much sympathy throughout the force; he fell by a bayonet wound in his breast, as he was meeting his enemy at the gate of Anunghoy, yielding up his brave spirit willingly to a soldier's death, when his life could only be preserved with the certainty of degradation. He was altogether a fine specimen of a gallant soldier, unwilling to yield when summoned to surrender because to yield would imply treason.[4]
The following day, his body was claimed by his family and a salute of minute-guns was fired from HMS Blenheim in his honor.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ John King Fairbank (1978). The Cambridge History of China: Late Chʻing, 1800-1911, pt. 2. Cambridge University Press. pp. 146–. ISBN 978-0-521-22029-3.
- ^ Waley, Arthur (1958). The Opium War Through Chinese Eyes. George Allen & Unwin. p. 22. ISBN 0-04-951012-6.
- ^ Hall, William Hutcheon; Bernard, William Dallas (1844). Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis, from 1840 to 1843. Volume 1. London: Henry Colburn. p. 2.
- ^ Hall & Bernard 1844, p. 342