Early history Among the earliest accounts of a settlement in the region date back to the
Jin Dynasty, when it bore the name of Mashijin (). Before acquiring its present name, it was named Doulizhen () under the
Tang Dynasty and Shizikou () under the
Mongol Yuan Dynasty, the latter translated literally as "Lion's jaw", supposedly due to a statue, now located in a park, adjacent to the military port. It received the name "Lüshun" under the
Ming Dynasty, when, in 1371, future
Emperor of China,
Zhu Di, was commanding frontier defence and sent two envoys to the area to familiarize themselves with the terrain. Because the journey was calm and comfortable (,
lu shunli), he ordered the region to be named Lüshunkou, literally meaning "bay of calm travels".
19th century (left), a 1904 photo There are several theories as to how the name "Port Arthur" came to be. One claims that, in August 1860, in its bay the vessel of
British lieutenant William Arthur was being repaired, and thusly was named in his honour. Alternatively, another version affirms that the Chinese settlement of Lüshun was renamed in honour of the third son of
Queen Victoria,
Prince Arthur, who was 10 years old at the time. The English name was later adopted by Russia, and other European nations. The construction of a naval base in the strategically significant bay of Lüshun began in the 1880s under the supervision of statesman
Li Hongzhang and the Chinese government. In 1884, to guard the coast from a possible landing of French troops, a detachment of the Chinese army was stationed, while the crew of the military vessel
Weiyuan, on orders of its commander, Fan Boqian, constructed one of the first costal batteries, named Weiyuan Fort. In the period from 1884 to 1889, Lüshun became one of the naval bases of the Qing Empire's
Beiyang Fleet. The construction of the fortifications was supervised by German
Major Constantin von Gunneken. Additionally, Lüshun housed the main repair facilities of the Beiyang Fleet — a dock for repairing battleships and cruisers, and a smaller dock for repairing destroyers. Dredging of the bay brought the depth of the inner roadstead and bay entrance to . On 21 November 1894, during the
First Sino-Japanese War, the region
fell to Japanese troops, due to the complete collapse of the defence system and the desertion of the commander, General Jiang Guichi, as well as the prohibition of the Beiyang Fleet by the government and Li Hongzhang personally to
engage the more powerful Japanese fleet in the outer reaches of Lüshun. The remnants of the garrison under General Xu Bandao broke through and linked up with the main forces of General
Sun Qing, commander-in-chief of the Chinese forces in Manchuria. Lüshun was occupied by
Japan, capturing a great amount of trophy equipment. Japanese troops executed a ruthless
4-day-long massacre under the justification that the remains of Japanese POWs were found within the settlement. According to Chinese sources, up to 20,000 civilians and military personnel were killed. Out of the entire population of the town, according to Frederick Villiers, only 36 people were left to bury the bodies of the dead. On their hats, by order of the Japanese command, "These are not to be killed" was written. The collection of bodies continued for a month, after which, by order of the Japanese, the huge mountain of bodies was doused with oil and set on fire, keeping the fire burning for 10 days. The ashes and burnt bones were buried at the foot of Mount Baiyushan in 4 large coffins on the eastern side of the mountain. The site is now known as the "Tomb of the 10,000 who remained faithful". In 1895, Port Arthur was transferred to Japan according to the
Treaty of Shimonoseki, however, due to strong pressure from the
Russian Empire,
German Empire and
France (
Triple Intervention), Japan was forced to relinquish the naval base and return it to China.
Under Russian control In November 1897, the Russian cabinet discussed a note by
Count Muravyov (Minister of Foreign Affairs) proposing to occupy Port Arthur or nearby
Talienwan (known currently as Dalian Bay), using as a convenient pretext the fact that the Germans had occupied the Chinese port of
Qingdao. At this meeting, Muravyov stated that he considered it "very timely, as it would be desirable for Russia to have a port on the Pacific Ocean in the Far East, and these ports [...] by their strategic position are places of enormous importance".
Sergei Witte protested against such a proposal: after the Russian-Chinese secret defence treaties in which "we [Russian Empire] undertook to defend China against any attempt by Japan to occupy any part of Chinese territory [...] after all this, such a seizure would be an outrageous and highly treacherous measure [...] The occupation of Port Arthur or Talienwan would certainly excite China and turn a country that is extremely favourable and friendly to us into a country that hates us because of our treachery". Count Muravyov's proposal was then rejected, but "a few days after the meeting [...] The Sovereign Emperor, apparently a little embarrassed, said to me [Sergei Witte] [...]: 'But you know, Sergei Yulyevich, I have decided to take Port Arthur and Talienwan and have already sent our flotilla there with a military force', and added: 'I have done this because the Minister of Foreign Affairs reported to me after the meeting that, according to his information, English ships are cruising in the areas near Port Arthur and Talienwan and that, if we do not seize these ports, they will be seized by the English. It was first announced to the Chinese that Russian ships with troops "came to defend China from the Germans and as soon as the Germans leave, we [Russian contingent] will leave... But soon the Chinese government learnt from its ambassador in Berlin that we were acting in agreement with Germany, they began to treat us with extreme distrust". The Chinese government at first did not agree to the transfer of the Guandong region to Russia, but had no power to prevent it. Here is what A. V. Shishov writes in his book: After large bribes to local dignitaries (500,000 rubles to
Li Hongzhang and 250,000 rubles to Chang Yinghuan), the
Convention for the Lease of the Liaotung Peninsula was signed on 27 March 1898 in
Beijing. The port, together with the adjacent Guandong Peninsula, was leased to Russia for 25 years. The peninsula with the adjacent islands later formed the Kwantung Oblast and in 1903 together with the
Priamurye Governorate-General became a part of the Far Eastern Viceroyalty. It intended to turn Port Arthur into the second naval base of the Russian Pacific Fleet, along with
Vladivostok. The construction of the fortress began in 1901 according to the project of military engineer K. Velichko. By 1904, about 20% of the total volume of works had been completed. Admiral Stark's 1st Pacific Squadron (7 battleships, 9 cruisers, 24 destroyers, 4 gunboats and other vessels) was based in the port. The Port Arthur Fortress Infantry Regiment, formed on 27 June 1900 with 4 battalions from troops of European Russia, under the command of Colonel Alexander Karlovich Sellinen (appointed on 18 December 1900) was also stationed in the fortress. On 6 December 1902 Nikolay Romanovich Greve was appointed commander of the port Arthur, in 1904 he was succeeded by
Ivan Grigorovich.
Siege of Port Arthur Near Port Arthur, on the night of 27 January 1904, the
first fighting of the
Russo-Japanese War began when Japanese ships fired torpedoes at Russian warships on the outer roadstead. The
ironclads Retvizan and
Tsesarevich, as well as the
cruiser Pallada were seriously damaged. The remaining ships made two attempts to break out of port, but both were unsuccessful. The Japanese attack was carried out without a declaration of war and was condemned by most of the international community. Only
Britain, Japan's ally at the time, celebrated the attack as a "great deed". During the war, the
Japanese Army under General
Nogi Maresuke, supported by the
Japanese Navy under Admiral
Togo, began a siege of the
fortress of Port Arthur that lasted 11 months. The Japanese used the most modern, 280 mm
howitzers. On 2 January 1905, after the death of General
Roman Kondratenko, the fortress was surrendered to the Japanese on the 329th day after the outbreak of war by General
Anatoly Stessel, against the decision of the Military Council and the wishes of the soldiers defending the fortress.
Under Japanese control After the end of the Russo-Japanese War, the 1905
Portsmouth Peace Treaty ceded the lease rights to Port Arthur and the entire Liaotung Peninsula to Japan. Later, Japan pressured China and forced the latter to extend the lease. In 1932, the city formally became part of
Manchukuo, but
de facto continued to be governed by Japan (officially, Japan was considered to be leasing the Guandong region from Manchukuo). Under Japanese rule, the name of the city was written in the same characters, but they were now read in Japanese:
Ryojun (
Japanese: ).
Under Soviet control Over Lüshun Naval Port, a 1945 photo During the
Soviet–Japanese War of 1945, Soviet troops cleared the city of Japanese military formations by landing on 22 August 1945. On 14 August 1945, the USSR and the
Republic of China signed an agreement on the use of the Port Arthur area as a joint naval base for 30 years. Stalin considered the treaty made with Chiang Kai-shek to be
unequal, and in the late 1940s proposed to Mao Zedong that Port Arthur as well as the
Dalian and
Chinese Eastern Railway be handed back to China, but Mao feared that a Soviet withdrawal from Manchuria would jeopardise the CCP's position in northeast China, and persuaded Stalin to postpone the transfer. On 14 February 1950, simultaneously with the signing of the
Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance, an agreement on Port Arthur was formalized, providing for the joint use of said base by the USSR and the PRC until the end of 1952. At the end of 1952, the PRC government, assessing the
escalation of the situation in the Far East, approached the Soviet government with a proposal to extend the stay of Soviet troops in Port Arthur. An agreement on this issue was ratified on 15 September 1952. On 12 October 1954, the Soviet and PRC governments concluded an agreement that Soviet military units would withdraw from Port Arthur. The withdrawal of Soviet troops and the transfer of facilities to the PRC government was completed in May 1955.
Under PRC control Building, Across the Street from New Lüshun Port Station (2014) leads to the
Bohai Train Ferry (2009).
Lüshun Naval Base Lüshun Naval Base () was established during the 1880s for
Beiyang Fleet of the
Qing dynasty, together with the headquarters at
Weihaiwei. It is located to the south of the central part of
Lüshun, in the
bay of Lüshun. Nearby is
Lüshun Railway Station of the (
Chinese: 旅顺支线) of
Chinese Eastern Railway.
New Lüshun Port New Lüshun Port () was established from the late 20th century to the early 21st century as Lüshun's economy started to thrive. It is located to the west of central Lüshun, and to the east of Bay of Yangtouwa (). There is Lüshun West Station of the freight railway line from the
Lüshun Branch Line, for the
Bohai Train Ferry.
New Lüshun Port Station of the extension of Dalian's 202 railway is located nearby. ==See also==