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Intro | Chinese admiral | |
Places | China | |
was | Military leader Admiral | |
Work field | Military | |
Gender |
| |
Birth | 1 January 1781 | |
Death | 26 February 1841 (aged 60 years) |
Biography
Guan Tianpei (simplified Chinese: 关天培; traditional Chinese: 關天培; Wade–Giles: Kuan1 T'ien1-p'ei2; 1781 – 26 February 1841) was a Chinese admiral of the Qing dynasty who served in the First Opium War. His Chinese title was "Commander-in-Chief of Naval Forces". In 1838, he established courteous relations with British Rear-Admiral Frederick Maitland. Guan fought in the First Battle of Chuenpi (1839), the Second Battle of Chuenpi (1841), and the Battle of the Bogue (1841). A British account described his death in the Anunghoy forts during the Battle of the Bogue on 26 February 1841:
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.
The following day, his body was claimed by his family and a salute of minute-guns was fired from HMS Blenheim in his honour.