Battle of Tangdao 1161
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1161 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | China | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Jurchen campaigns against the Song dynasty | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 37.0000, 121.0000 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Tangdao or Battle of Tang Island (Chinese: 唐島之戰) was a naval engagement that took place in 1161 between the Southern Song dynasty and the Jin dynasty on the Yellow Sea, off the coast of modern-day Qingdao. The conflict was part of the Jin–Song wars, and was fought near Tangdao Island. It was an attempt by the Jin dynasty to invade and conquer the Southern Song dynasty, yet resulted in failure and defeat for the Jin dynasty. The Jin dynasty navy was set on fire by huopao (a type of gunpowder weapon, possibly cannons) and fire arrows, suffering heavy losses. For this battle, the commander of the Song dynasty squadron, Li Bao, faced the opposing commander Zheng Jia, the admiral of the Jin dynasty. On the fate of Zheng Jia, the History of Jin states:
Zheng Jia did not know the sea routes (among the islands) well, nor much about the management of ships, and he did not believe (that the enemy, the Song, was near). But all of a sudden they appeared, and finding us quite unready they hurled incendiary gunpowder projectiles on to our ships. So seeing all his ships going up in flames, and having no means of escape, Zheng Jia jumped into the sea and drowned.
This battle was followed by another naval confrontation, the Battle of Caishi taking place in 1161. The battle is significant in the technological history of the Song navy.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Tangdao (revision 1370590505), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Siege of Tsingtao 1914 · 117 km
- Battle of the Yellow Sea 1904 · 167 km
- Battle of Port Arthur 1904 · 199 km
- Siege of Port Arthur 1904 · 201 km
- Siege of Lüshun 1634 · 203 km
Other battles of the Jurchen campaigns against the Song dynasty
- Siege of De'an 1132
- Battle of Caishi 1161
All 3 battles of the Jurchen campaigns against the Song dynasty →
Browse more: battles in China · Asia · Medieval battles