Shen Baozhen

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Shen Baozhen
Viceroy of Liangjiang
In office
1875–1879
Preceded byLiu Kunyi
Succeeded byLiu Kunyi
Personal details
Born1820
Minhou, Fuzhou, Fujian
Died1879(1879-00-00) (aged 58–59)
OccupationPolitician
Shen Baozhen
Hanyu Pinyin
Shěn Bǎozhēn
Wade–GilesShen Pao-chen
Southern Min
Hokkien POJSím Pó-cheng

Shen Baozhen (1820–1879),

formerly romanized Shen Pao-chen, was an official during the Qing dynasty
.

Biography

Born in

imperial examinations in 1847 and was soon appointed to the Hanlin Academy
.

His great administrative abilities attracted the attention of Zeng Guofan, who enlisted him in the effort to suppress the Taiping Rebellion.

Following the suppression of the rebellion in 1864, Shen became actively involved in the

Imperial Navy prior to the destruction of the arsenal and the fleet itself during the Battle of Fuzhou in the 1883–1885 Sino-French War. Concurrently, he also improved the land tax collection system in Jiangxi province.[1]

He also took part in obtaining a peace settlement with

counties of Taiwan [zh], Fengshan [zh], Chiayi [zh], and Changhua [zh]. 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.[2]
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 the

Woosung Road Company's railroad, which he purchased and dismantled in its first year of operation,[3] 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 to Nanjing
in 1908.

Shen was married to Lin Puqing (林普晴; 1821–77), the third daughter of Lin 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

Citations

  1. ^ Wright, Mary C. The Last Stand of Chinese Conservatism: The T’ung-Chih Restoration, 1862-1874. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1962), 154.
  2. .
  3. . Accessed 14 Oct 2011.

Bibliography

Government offices
Preceded by Viceroy of Liangjiang
1875–1879
Succeeded by