he was killed by an explosive shell fired by a Japanese vessel. Admiral Ding Ruchang, in command of the fleet, surrendered on 12 February, and committing suicide shortly afterwards. In exchange for the surrender of all war material including the fleet, good behaviour was promised by the Japanese. Jiyuan was later commissioned into the Imperial Japanese Navy as Saien, the same Chinese character name. Japan Saien was pressed immediately into Japanese service. During the Japanese invasion of Taiwan later in 1895, she was assigned together with six other ships to bombard the coastal defences of Takow (Kaohsiung). The fleet arrived off the coast on 12 October, warning foreign vessels that the attack would begin at 7am the following morning. The Japanese ships attacked on schedule, firing on the defenses until they stopped returning fire after half an hour. At 2pm, the ships closed the distance to the beach and began launching boats into the water with troops. Their forces had successfully captured the coastal fort by 2:35pm. The Japanese refitted Saien in 1898, replacing her existing light guns with eight quick-firing 3 pounders. While supporting the Imperial Japanese Army following the Battle of Port Arthur during the opening stages of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, Saien struck a submerged Russian mine on 30 November 1904. Eight crewmen in the engine room were killed immediately by the explosion, with the cruiser sinking rapidly over the following two minutes. During this time only two boats could be launched, saving 70 of the crew, along with a collection of various items entrusted to them by the officers such as the signal book and some paintings of the Imperial family. The gunboat was nearby bombarding enemy positions, and diverted to the Saien following the explosion. Together, a total of 191 officers and crew were saved between the launches, the Akagi and another gunboat. Saien Captain Tajima was lost, as were another 39 men. The wreck is located at . The loss of the Saien was thought to be insignificant due to her age and capabilities compared to the other ships of the Japanese fleet. She was one of several Japanese ships to be mined out of Port Arthur during the period including the pre-dreadnought battleships and , which demonstrated the usefulness of naval mines for harbour defence. Notes References Cruisers of the Beiyang Fleet Cruisers of Germany Ships built in Stettin 1883 ships First