Shen Baozhen

In thisChinese name,thefamily nameisShen.

Hereditary First Class adaha hafan Shen Baozhen
Viceroy of Liangjiang
In office 1875–1879
Preceded by	Liu Kunyi
Succeeded by	Liu Kunyi
Governorof Jiangxi
In office 1861–1865
Preceded by	Yuke
Succeeded by	Sun Changfu (acting)
Personal details
Born	Shen Zhenzong ( thẩm chấn tông ) (1820-04-09)9 April 1820 Minhou,Fuzhou,Fujian,China
Died	18 December 1879(1879-12-18)(aged 59) Jiangning,Jiangsu,China
Relations	Lin Zexu(father-in-law)
Education	Jinshidegree in theImperial Examination
Occupation	Politician

Shen Baozhen
Traditional Chinese	ThẩmBảoTrinh
Simplified Chinese	ThẩmBảoTrinh
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shěn Bǎozhēn Wade–Giles Shen Pao-chen Southern Min HokkienPOJ Sím Pó-cheng Eastern Min FuzhouBUC Sīng Bō̤-dĭng

Shen Baozhen(1820–1879),formerlyromanizedShen Pao-chen,was an official during theQing dynasty.

Biography

Born inMinhouinFujianprovince, he obtained thehighest degreein theimperial examinationsin 1847 and was soon appointed to theHanlin Academy.

His great administrative abilities attracted the attention ofZeng Guofan,who enlisted him in the effort to suppress theTaiping Rebellion.

Following the suppression of the rebellion in 1864, Shen became actively involved in theSelf-strengthening movementand later worked on theFoochow ArsenalinFuzhou.There he established the Qiushi Tang Yiju (Cầu thị đường nghệ cục), which became theFoochow Arsenal School,and utilized the skill of French technicians and workers – notablyProsper Giquel– to construct modern warships for theImperial Navyprior to the destruction of the arsenal and the fleet itself during theBattle of Fuzhouin the 1883–1885Sino-French War.Concurrently, he also improved the land tax collection system inJiangxiprovince.

He also took part in obtaining a peace settlement withJapan,following theMudan Incidentand Japan'sinvasion of Taiwanin response to imperial disavowals of sovereignty over the islands'native tribes.He was appointed as theViceroy of Liangjiangin 1875. He personally visited Taiwan and reformed its administration. The island had consisted of a singleprefectureatTaiwan(Tainan); the threesubprefecturesofTamsui,PenghuandKemalan;and the fourcountiesofTaiwan,Fengshan,Chiayi,andChanghua.Shen elevated 2 prefectures, 4 subprefectures, and 4 counties, making the territories smaller and easier to administer. He also launched a military campaign against the aborigines and initiated a building program in southern Taiwan intended to establish a stronger Qing presence and prevent Japanese or European colonization of the area.He died in office in 1879. He was posthumously awarded the title of Senior Guardian of the Heir Apparent.

He is chiefly remembered in European histories for his belated opposition to theWoosung Road Company's railroad, which he purchased and dismantled in its first year of operation,limiting Shanghai's development for twenty years. Shanghai remained unconnected to China's growing rail network until the line's reconstruction in 1898 and its subsequent extension toNanjingin 1908.

Shen was married toLin Puqing(Lâm phổ tình;1821–77), the third daughter ofLin Zexu.She exhibited great courage and determined tenacity when under siege by the Taiping rebels at Guangxin when she bandaged troops, cooked for them and cut her finger to write a message in blood.

References

Bibliography

• Hummel, Arthur W. Sr.,ed. (1943)."Shên Pao-chên".Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period.United States Government Printing Office.
• Pong, David.Shen Pao-Chen and China's Modernization in the Nineteenth Century.Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
• Shen, Richard. 'The Yellow Riding Jacket' Xlibris, 2008