Shen Baozhen or Shen Pao-chenChinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

: t , s , p

Pinyin

Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...

Shěn Bǎozhēn. (18201879) was a Chinese official during the Qing dynasty.

Biography

Born in Minhou in Fujian

Fujian

' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

 province, he obtained the highest degree in the imperial examinations in 1847 and was soon appointed to the Hanlin Academy

Hanlin Academy

The Hanlin Academy was an academic and administrative institution founded in the eighth century Tang dynasty China by Emperor Xuanzong.Membership in the academy was confined to an elite group of scholars, who performed secretarial and literary tasks for the court. One of its main duties was to...

.

His great administrative abilities attracted the attention of Zeng Guofan

Zeng Guofan

Zeng Guofan was an eminent Han Chinese official, military general, and devout Confucian scholar of the late Qing Dynasty in China....

, who enlisted him in the effort to suppress the Taiping Rebellion

Taiping Rebellion

The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...

.

Following the suppression of the rebellion in 1864, Shen became actively involved in the Self-strengthening movement

Self-Strengthening Movement

The Self-Strengthening Movement , c 1861–1895, was a period of institutional reforms initiated during the late Qing Dynasty following a series of military defeats and concessions to foreign powers....

 and later worked on the shipyard in Fuzhou

Fuzhou

Fuzhou is the capital and one of the largest cities in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. Along with the many counties of Ningde, those of Fuzhou are considered to constitute the Mindong linguistic and cultural area....

 (Foochow). He utilized the skill of French technicians and workersnotably Prosper Giquel

Prosper Giquel

Prosper Marie Giquel , sometimes spelled Gicquel, was a French naval officer who played an important role in the modernization of 19th century China. His Chinese name was 日意格.-Career:...

to construct modern warships for the Imperial Navy prior to the destruction of the arsenal and the fleet itself during the Battle of Foochow

Battle of Foochow

The Battle of Fuzhou, or Battle of Foochow, also known as the Battle of the Pagoda Anchorage , was the opening engagement of the 16-month Sino-French War...

 in the 1883–1885 Sino-French War

Sino-French War

The Sino–French War was a limited conflict fought between August 1884 and April 1885 to decide whether France should replace China in control of Tonkin . As the French achieved their war aims, they are usually considered to have won the war...

.

He also took part in obtaining a peace settlement with Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, following the Japanese Taiwan Expedition of 1874

Taiwan Expedition of 1874

The , usually referred to in Taiwan and mainland China as the Mudan incident , was a punitive expedition launched by the Japanese in retaliation for the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan aborigines near the southwestern tip of Taiwan in December 1871...

. Then he was appointed as the Viceroy of Liangjiang

Viceroy of Liangjiang

The Viceroy of Liangjiang , fully referred to as the Governor General of the two Yangtze Provinces and surrounding areas; Overseeing Military Affairs, Food Production; Manager of Waterways; Director of Civil Affairs , was one of eight regional viceroys in China proper during the Qing Dynasty of China...

 in 1875 and died in 1879 during the post. He is chiefly remembered for his belated opposition to the Woosung Road Company's railroad, which he purchased and dismantled in its first year of operation, 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

Nanjing

' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

 in 1908.

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

Lin Zexu

Lín Zéxú ; 30 August 1785 – 22 November 1850) was a Chinese scholar and official during the Qing Dynasty.He is most recognized for his conduct and his constant position on the "high moral ground" in his fight, as a "shepherd" of his people, against the opium trade in Guangzhou...

. 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.