Chapter 31 Section 24 Military Technologist Hua Hengfang and His Translation of "A New Theory of Sea Defense"

Hua Hengfang was a famous military technologist and mathematician in the late Qing Dynasty. The "New Theory of Sea Defense" jointly translated by him and the British Fryer had an important impact on the preparation of coastal defense at that time. Hua Hengfang, courtesy name Ruoting, was born in Wuxi (now Jiangsu).Born in the thirteenth year of Daoguang (AD 1833).When he was a teenager, he did not study contemporary literature and abandoned the imperial examinations. Instead, he delved into ancient Chinese natural science and tried to explore modern Western natural science knowledge. At the age of 14, he became an academic friend with Xu Shou, a 27-year-old fellow scholar from his hometown, and exchanged knowledge with each other.In the early years of Xianfeng, the two studied mathematics, physics and chemistry together in Shanghai. At the end of the eleventh year of Xianfeng (early 1862), they went to the Zeng Guofan military camp in Anqing.When Hua Hengfang worked in Anqing Nei Ordnance Institute, he cooperated with Xu Shou to build China's first steam engine and the first steam ship "Huanghu".In April and May of the fourth year of Tongzhi (1865 A.D.), Li Hongzhang appointed Ding Richang of Jiangguan Road to prepare for the establishment of Jiangnan Manufacturing General Bureau, and Hua Hengfang assisted in the construction of factories and the placement of machines.After the bureau set up a translation office, it worked with Xu Shou, the British Fryer and the American Ma Gaowen to translate a variety of scientific and military books in Europe and the United States. "New Theory of Sea Defense" is one of them.During his employment in the bureau, he personally tried to produce nitric acid for the preparation of gunpowder, and went to the site to guide the trial production regardless of the danger. The cost was only 1/3 of the price of imported nitric acid.Later, he went to Tianjin Wubei Academy as a mathematics teacher. In the 13th year of Guangxu (AD 1887), he trial-produced a small balloon with a diameter of five feet for the students. He extracted hydrogen from nitric acid and filled it into the ball to make a Chinese balloon. The first hydrogen balloon won the hearts of Chinese officers and soldiers.In the twenty-eighth year of Guangxu (AD 1902), Hua Hengfang died.He devoted himself to scientific research all his life, advocated humility in dealing with affairs, wrote richly, and was well-known far and wide. His students were distributed all over the world.

"New Theory of Sea Defense" was originally written by the German Briha, translated by Hua Hengfang and Fryer, in the 12th year of Tongzhi (AD 1873), published by the Shanghai Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, the book has 18 volumes, and is a Western literature on A monograph on the defense engineering architecture of modern coastal defense fortresses.It mainly discusses the importance of modern coastal defense, the basic content of the combination of coastal artillery and underwater obstacle equipment to block enemy ships, and also introduces in detail the structure, performance, layout, use and elimination methods of various sea mines. Enemy ship engineering and other issues.In the second to fourth volumes, taking the American Civil War from 1861 to 1865, the Franco-Prussian War from 1870 to 1871, and the Russo-Turkish War from 1877 to 1878 as examples, the gains and losses of fortress buildings are discussed.

First, the forts and forts of the fortress should be constructed of three-component clay. This kind of fort is the most resistant to the bombardment of enemy ships, and the defenders can stick to it for a long time. Second, if the artillery defending the fortress is all exposed, even if it outnumbers the naval guns of the enemy ship, the attacker can still bombard them and win the victory in attacking the fortress. Third, the artillery and gunners guarding the fort should build iron-clad gun houses as cover.The armored gun house needs to be built in a hidden place to avoid the bombardment of the enemy ship's guns.The iron-clad gunhouse built in the exposed place should have a thickness of more than 20 inches, so that it can withstand the shells fired from any direction by the enemy ship, even if it is shot hundreds of times, it will not be bombed.

Fourth, the ground in front of the gun house should be built into a slope, so that it forms a certain oblique angle instead of a right angle with the bombardment line of the enemy ship's gun, so that the shells fired by the enemy ship can be deflected and slide down, reducing damage to the ground force. Fifth, the millstone axis on the gun mount should be between the gun holes, and the diameter of the gun holes should not be too large compared with the caliber of the coastal gun. Sixth, in the vicinity of a single isolated fort, a solid and thick barrier must be built with three-component clay to connect it with the fort to strengthen the defense capability of the fort.

Seventh, forts and forts should be arranged in a staggered manner, which can not only resist the frontal attack of enemy ships, but also bombard the fleeing enemy ships from the side and rear. Eighth, the artillery in fortresses and forts should be scattered so that the artillery can bombard enemy ships from multiple angles, so as to give full play to the superiority of firepower, and at the same time prevent them from being bombarded by enemy ship guns. Ninth, fortresses and fortresses should not only be arranged at multiple angles on the same plane, but also at different levels, so as to expand the pitch angle of the artillery, reduce dead angles, and enable the artillery of the fortress to be deployed on the upper and lower sides. Bombard enemy ships from different angles up, down, left, and right.

Tenth, the construction of forts and forts should be updated according to changes in ships and naval guns, and the old methods must not be adhered to, otherwise the fortress will lose its defense capability under the bombardment of new ship-borne firearms. These arguments reflect the latest research results of Western military personnel. After they were introduced to China, they were adopted by military and political officials such as Li Hongzhang and engineers and technicians. They had an important impact on the architecture of Beiyang naval fortresses such as Lushun and Weihai at that time.