September 17, 1894.，A naval battle broke out in the Yellow Sea between China's Beiyang Navy and Japan，This was one of the important battles in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.。The two sides each dispatched more than ten warships.，Respectively“Flying geese”And“One word array”Against each other，All of a sudden there was a lot of gunfire.、The sea is boiling。

▲ Salvage record chart of Dingyuan warship

The naval battle lasted from 12:48 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.，One of the most heroic scenes appeared around 3 P. m.，At that time, the flagship of Beiyang, Dingyuan, was hit by a bullet and caught fire.，The Japanese warship took the opportunity to approach quickly.，Prepare to sink it in one fell swoop，In the Nick of time，The ship Zhiyuan rushed out.，Gallop at full speed to the enemy's position。In the previous battle.，The ship has been damaged in many places.，Leaning heavily to the right，The left propeller is even out of the sea.，So this is a desperate charge.，Determined to perish with the enemy.。However，The cruiser with the highest speed in the Beiyang Army was far away from the Japanese ship.，There was a violent explosion.，Dive into the sea。

As a pipe band（The captain），Deng Shichang became a hero from then on.，An elegiac couplet bestowed by Emperor Guangxu“This day is full of tears.，Have the public foot to strengthen the naval power”Praise for a thousand years。However, the Zhiyuan warship and a boatload of martyrs sank into the sea.，There is no news。

▲ Dingyuan Ship（From the Internet）

Until 2015，Zhiyuan Ship, Sleeping at the Bottom of the Sea for 120 Years, Was Rediscovered。At the same time，The excavation also marks the start of the 2013“Underwater archaeology of the sunken warship Jiawu”The first official harvest was achieved.。Ten years later，The plan has been continuously promoted.，To 2023，Almost all the remaining major sunken ships of the Beiyang Navy have been confirmed and investigated.。In this decade.，Zoomlion crane has been accompanied by it.，The salvage of the sunken ship carrying out this historical dialogue。

Zhiyuan

In 2013, the Underwater Cultural Heritage Protection Center of the State Administration of Cultural Relics officially launched the archaeological investigation.。In April 2014, the archaeological team started a new geophysical survey.。After exploration、Dive and explore、Sand pumping and cleaning，Finally, a steel sunken ship site was found in the main battlefield of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 in the southwest of Dandong.。2015，Along with 2 pieces with“Zhiyuan”A white porcelain dinner plate with seal characters was found.，The sunken ship was identified as the long-sought Zhiyuan ship.。The survey, which lasted three years, not only obtained 429 cases covering more than 70 categories./Set of cultural relics out of water。

▲ Historical review and salvage preparation atlas

Jing yuan Hao

At about the same time that the Zhiyuan Ship was discovered in 2014.，The sea area about 30 kilometers to the west also received the signal reflection detected by the magnetometer.，An iron giant of more than 1400 tons was buried ten meters below the sea surface.。

As the diving exploration unfolds,，One ship outcrops the seabed 0~2 meters high、The wreckage of the ship, more than 40 meters long, appeared in front of the archaeologists.。The hull steel plate of the remnant ship has 20~Heavy armor belts ranging from 40 cm in thickness，It is very consistent with the characteristics of the far ship as an armored cruiser.，At the same time, a German nameplate collected also confirms the historical fact that Jingyuan Ship was built for Germany.。Wait until 2018 to start a formal investigation.，Through the sand pumping operation on the starboard outer wall of the middle and rear section of the ship,，Buried deep below the sea mud 5.Five meters of two wooden gold characters.“Jing yuan”Finally showed his face.，A stamp was also found in the remains.“Jing yuan”A wooden sign with the words，This confirms the answer.：This is the Jingyuan warship.。

▲ Salvage record atlas

In the heat of the battle，Jingyuan Ship and Zhiyuan Ship are on the left wing of the same array.，Each is organized into a squad.，Support each other。After the sinking of the Zhiyuan warship，The nearby Jiyuan warship fled the battlefield.，Instead, the Guangjia warship, which was organized into a group, thought that there was an example to help.，Also escape with it.，So the left wing completely collapsed.，The remaining Jingyuan warship fought alone.。Yoshino of the Japanese army、Takachiho、Akitsusu、The four ships of the wave speed formed a siege on it.，“Torpedo first，Followed by a cluster of bullets”，As a result, the ship was hit by several bullets.、The flames soared into the sky、More than water intake，Capsized to port at 05:29.，It became the last warship lost by the Beiyang Navy in the battle.。

The history of dialogue Enlighten the future

Archaeologists often say that“In ancient times, it was not examined for less than three generations.”，In the past, archaeologists believed that the focus of excavation and research should be before the Qin and Han Dynasties.，But in fact, the distance of time has nothing to do with the value of archaeological objects.，The more recent things are likely to be more important to our lives now.、The greater the impact。No matter the history of science and technology、Military history or weapons and equipment history?、From the perspective of ship history，It is necessary to have a thorough understanding of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895.。The past decade has been of great significance to all the efforts and achievements of the sinking of the Jiawu warship.，It is not only related to the exploration of archaeology itself，It is also conducive to the development of history.。”

▲ Successful salvage of Dingyuan warship debris

For the public，The chance to witness the wreck itself may be the first concern of many people.。But for now,，Such an idea is not very feasible.。The head of archaeology said.：“Technically speaking.，It is not too difficult to salvage a sunken ship.。The main difficulty is that，Where can such a large amount of things be salvaged?？And a lot（Sunken ship）Preservation status，In fact, there is no condition for salvage.。Protection comes first，Whether it's an ancient shipwreck or a modern shipwreck.，The first is the original site protection.。”

Other than that，He believed that the sinking of the Beiyang warship had another unique feature.：“It is a naval battlefield，The remains of the officers and men of the Beiyang Navy have their sanctity.，We should respect it as a memorial place.，Don't disturb it.。The purpose of archaeology is not to satisfy our curiosity.，Archaeology should treat cultural relics with a scientific attitude.、Treat the legacy、Treat history，When there is no ability to deal with it.，The best thing is to keep it.、Pass it on。”