2022-11-6

關於中日甲午海戰中民族英雄鄧世昌的死，在百度百科中是如此介紹的：

• 1894年（光緒二十年），鄧世昌常曰：人誰不死，但願死得其所爾。9月17日在黃海大東溝海戰中，鄧世昌指揮致遠艦奮勇作戰，後在日艦圍攻下，致遠多處受傷全艦燃起大火，船身傾斜。鄧世昌鼓勵全艦官兵道：吾輩從軍衛國，早置生死於度外，如今之事，有死而已！倭艦專恃吉野，苟沉此艦，足以奪其氣而成事，毅然駕艦全速撞向日本主力艦吉野號右舷，決意與敵同歸於盡。倭艦官兵見狀大驚失色，集中炮火向致遠射擊，不幸一發炮彈擊中致遠艦的魚雷發射管，管內魚雷發生爆炸導致致遠艦沉沒。鄧世昌墜落海中後，其隨從以救生圈相救，被他拒絕，並說:我立志殺敵報國，今死於海，義也，何求生為！所養的愛犬太陽亦游至其旁，口銜其臂以救，鄧世昌誓與軍艦共存亡，毅然按犬首入水，自己亦同沉沒于波濤之中，與全艦官兵250餘人一同壯烈殉國，享年45歲。

可是當年在鎮遠艦上當艦長的美籍清軍軍官加北洋海軍總教習馬吉芬（Philo Norton McGiffin，1860-1897），事後寫了一篇回憶文章《鴨綠江邊的海戰》（The Battle of the Yalu）。文中是這樣回憶鄧世昌的殉國過程的：

• During the confusion of our line consequent upon being out-maneuvered, the Chen Yuen passed under our stern and joined the Lai Yuen and surviving ships of the right wing. The Ping Yuen and Kwang Ping, now coming up, threatened the Akagi and Saikio. Signals were made on the Matsushima, and the Flying Squadron maneuvered to cover the endangered vessels. About this time the Chih Yuen boldly, if somewhat foolhardily, bore down on the Flying Squadron’s line, possibly to attack the two mentioned vessels. Just what happened no one seems to know, but apparently she was struck below the waterline by a heavy shell — either a ten-inch or a thirteen-inch. Be that as it may, she took a heavy list, and, thus fatally injured, her commander, Tang Shi Chang, a most courageous albeit somewhat obstinate officer, resolved at least to avenge himself and charged one of the largest vessels, intending to ram. A hurricane of projectiles from both heavy and machine guns swept down upon his ship, the list became more pronounced, and just before getting home to his intended victim, his ship rolled over and then plunged, bows first, into the depths, righting herself as she sank, her screws whirling in the air and carrying down all hands, including the chief engineer, Mr. Purvis, a gentleman, and a most efficient officer, who was shut up in the engine room. Seven of her crew clung to one of the circular life-buoys kept on the bridge, and were drifted by the tide toward the coast, where they were rescued by a junk. The stories of these men vary so much in general as to be unreliable, but all agree on one incident. Captain Tang had a large dog of a most vicious temper, unruly at times even with his master. After the ship sank Captain Tang, who could not swim, managed to get to an oar or some small piece of wood — enough to have supported him had not his dog swum to him, and, climbing up on him, forced him to release his grasp and thus miserably drown, the brute sharing his fate — perhaps the only case on record of a man drowned by his dog.

這一段文字，至為重要，說明第一在大清北洋海軍的鐵甲艦上服役的外籍水手，不止一位，其中就包括艦上的總工程師。第二是致遠艦全艦官兵250餘人，也並沒有全部殉難，還有至少七名倖存者。將這段文字的最後一部分，翻譯成中文如下：

• 致遠艦七位因獲救而倖存的水手對致遠艦沉沒的原因，各執一詞，不足以採信，可是七位倖存者對致遠艦管帶鄧世昌犧牲情節的描述，卻異口同聲的一致。就是鄧管帶養了一條脾性最凶的那種德國大狗（太陽），有時就算是狗的主人鄧世昌在場，這條狗也很不順服。鄧管帶因為不會游泳，在艦艇沉沒之後，他抓住了一根不知是櫓、還是一根什麽別的木頭，剛好能使他漂浮在水面之上。可是，正是鄧世昌養的這條狗，向鄧世昌游了過去，並爬到了鄧世昌的身上，使他抓不住木頭了，因此悲催地一起沉了下去，當然那狗也是同樣的命運。這也許是人類有史以來，唯一一個忠狗害死主人的紀錄了。

先不說咱們致遠艦的這位鄧艦長是如何地英雄神武奮勇自殺萬古長青和激勵國人，單說這位來自美國的鎮遠艦的馬吉芬艦長，確確實實是一位偉大的國際主義戰士，他是美國海軍軍事學院畢業，不遠萬里，來到中國，幫助前清建立和訓練了北洋海軍。

甲午海戰期間大清北洋海軍鎮遠艦美籍艦長馬吉芬（Captain Philo Norton McGiffin,1860-1897）

大清國的修補匠李鴻章和北洋海軍鎮遠艦美籍艦長馬吉芬合影

• McGiffin went to China and was awarded a commission in the Imperial Chinese Navy. He was appointed by Li Hongzhang, Viceroy of Zhili and Beiyang Trade Minister of the Qing dynasty, as a professor at China’s naval college in Tianjin in 1885. He also worked as a hydrographic surveyor on the Korean coast, helped oversee the construction of four warships being built in Britain for China, and was appointed to build and head a new naval college in Weihaiwei, Shandong.

甲午海戰期間，馬吉芬擔任大清北洋海軍鎮遠艦艦長，並身先士卒，親赴前線。在9月17號黃海海戰中，其炮彈直接命中日本旗艦松島號。後在自己身負重傷，鎮遠艦也被日軍重創的情況下，沉着機制，把鎮遠艦安全帶回了威海衛。

1894年9月17日在黃海海戰中英勇負傷了的鎮遠艦美籍艦長馬吉芬，一隻眼失明，五年後悲慘去世，享年37歲。

關於馬吉芬幫助大清抗日的英勇事跡，勤勞勇敢也愛好和平發明了春秋筆法和文字獄的中國人民，早已經忘記了。只有亡我之心不死的美國人民，還清清楚楚地記得。

• 馬吉芬，美國人，當時在北洋艦隊任教習，是鎮遠艦的美籍艦長（中文說法是大副），他參加了黃海海戰，還受了重傷。後來，威海衛一戰，北洋艦隊全軍覆沒，李鴻章要拿他當替死鬼，他就逃回了美國。當時，西方媒體都把北洋艦隊說的一無是處，說剛開打就逃跑了。馬吉芬回國後，到處演講，說北洋艦隊絕不是貪生怕死之徒，都非常勇敢，黃海海戰也非常激烈。結果，他被西方人罵做是瘋子。再後來，他在病房裡自殺了，自殺的那一天，與兩年前北洋水師提督丁汝昌自殺是同一天。馬吉芬留下遺囑說：我的心屬於中國，屬於北洋水師。按照遺囑，下葬的時候穿着北洋水師軍服，用北洋水師的軍旗黃龍旗來覆蓋棺木。他的墓碑，背面凋刻着中美兩國國旗，正面寫着：謹立此碑紀念一位深愛着自己的祖國，卻把人生獻給了他國國旗的勇士（This tablet is erected in memory of a Brave Man who loved his own but gave his life for an alien flag）。