21 Facts About Liu Mingchuan

Liu Mingchuan, courtesy name Xingsan, was a Chinese military general and politician during the late Qing dynasty.

Liu Mingchuan was born into a poor family of farmers at Hefei, Anhui Province.

Liu Mingchuan's father died when Liu was 11 years old.

At age 18, Liu Mingchuan joined a local gang of bandits in the mountains, and at 20 he took part in the early Nien Rebellion.

Liu Mingchuan was made the head of Ming Jhi Camp, and went with Li to Shanghai to aid Charles George Gordon's army in defeating the Taiping Army.

In 1864 Huai Army commander Li Hongzhang and vice commander Liu Mingchuan attacked Changzhou to recover the city.

Major General Liu Mingchuan was promoted to Colonel General and appointed to defend the capital at Beijing.

Liu Mingchuan followed Zeng Guofan to suppress the bandits around Anhui and Hupei.

That same year, Liu Mingchuan arrived in Taiwan as Imperial Inspector Minister on Military Affairs.

Liu Mingchuan planned and supervised the construction of forts at Courbet Harbor, An-Ling Tun, Tsien Tung, and others.

In June 1884, Liu Mingchuan was appointed imperial commissioner for the defense of Taiwan against a threatened French invasion.

Liu Mingchuan attempted to defend Keelung with a Qing division of 2,000 troops, but was forced to retreat.

Liu Mingchuan did not see the creation of a separate province on Taiwan as a priority; rather, he emphasized the urgency of upgrading the defense industry in Taiwan and having a naval unit stationed in the ports around the island.

Liu Mingchuan continued and enlarged Shen Baozhen's ideals for managing Taiwan, and started a massive modernization programme that included setting up defenses, developing transportation, taxation, farming, public security, commercial enterprises, financial affairs, and education.

Liu Mingchuan promoted a series of Western-style architectural developments, including the headquarters of Taiwan's Telegraphy, Taipei Machinery Car Repair Factory, an iron bridge, Western Supervising Dormitory, and Western School.

Liu Mingchuan sponsored the exploitation of coal using new technologies in northern Taiwan and the creation of a modern postal service.

Liu Mingchuan's governance saw China's earliest nighttime electrical illumination when the walled prefecture city of Taipei was lightened up with street lamps in 1887.

In June 1891, Liu Mingchuan resigned his post as governor of Taiwan for health reasons at the age of 56, and returned to his hometown in Anhui.

Liu Mingchuan died in his hometown of Hefei in 1896, and was given the title of Grand Protector of the Crowned Prince and the posthumous name Zhuang Su.

Liu Mingchuan is greatly remembered in both mainland China and Taiwan.

In Mainland China, the name of the township where Liu Mingchuan was born in Feixi County was changed to his name in 2006.