Commemoration of the Qingming Festival for Chinese Sailors in Newcastle, Year of the Water Rabbit

By Mr Jiarui Yu

The Qingming Festival, falling in early April, marks a time when nature flourishes in full clarity and brightness. Since ancient times, people have observed this day by honouring ancestors and enjoying the awakening spring. As the Book of Songs records:
“Offer wine and food to the spirits, that blessings may be conveyed and peace bestowed.”

Thus, people present fruits and wine, cleanse gravestones, and bow in reverence to those who came before. In this spirit, members of the UK Association for Chinese Language Education, Newcastle Chinese School, Durham Chinese School, the UK Mindong Culture and Business Association, and the Northern Chinese Business Association of the UK gathered at St. John’s Cemetery in Newcastle to honour five Chinese sailors laid to rest there.

On April 5, 2023, under a grey sky and soft drizzle, the streets of Newcastle lay quiet. A half-hour journey west of the city centre brought the group to the cemetery, recounting along the way the story of the graves’ restoration. In 2016, a Chinese photography student captured images of the five sailors’ gravestones—three had collapsed or eroded. After sharing the photos online, awareness spread both within the UK Chinese community and across to China. Local organizations reached out to Newcastle City Council and coordinated efforts with restoration experts. After thorough research and careful planning, the restoration was completed in 2019. A commemorative ceremony was held that June, attended by local UK dignitaries and Chinese representatives. The project became a meaningful example of overseas heritage preservation and cultural exchange between China and the UK.

Four years on, visitors returned once more. St. John’s Cemetery, now a Grade II-listed site, rests on the north bank of the River Tyne in Elswick. Its entrance is flanked by stone towers and engraved gates, reminiscent of an old Western fortress. Inside, among green lawns and headstones of British soldiers, lie five Chinese gravestones—three at the front, two behind—each inscribed with the sailor’s name, province of origin, date of death, and restoration date.

These men died in Newcastle in the 1880s during missions to receive warships ordered from Britain as part of China’s Self-Strengthening Movement. Some succumbed to illness; others to hardship in an unfamiliar land. Their sacrifice speaks to a time when China, newly awakened to modernity, reached across oceans in pursuit of national renewal. These men, though fated never to return home, served with courage during a time of transition.

At 10 a.m., visitors presented flowers, fruit, and wine before the gravestones. The stones were gently cleaned, incense was lit, and each person bowed in solemn tribute. In memory, the 1881 mission came alive once more: Admiral Ding Ruchang led over 200 sailors to Newcastle to take delivery of newly built ships. He met with British officials, toured local naval institutions, and even attended a royal reception at Buckingham Palace. The sailors, in turn, engaged with the local community—opening ships to visitors on weekends, forming friendships, and, in one case, a sailor fell in love with a local nurse. Some died during their stay, and a British newspaper described the funeral of sailor Yuan Peifu: a cannon carriage bore his coffin, while comrades pulled the cart by hand and paid homage at the grave. Their respect transcended nationality, and their memory endured.

Later, in 1887, another group of Chinese sailors arrived under the leadership of British officer William Lang. Their presence again drew attention, with local press noting their dignified appearance and mutual exchange with Newcastle citizens. Three more sailors passed away and were buried beside their predecessors. In 1911, General Cheng Biguang visited the site during his diplomatic trip to Britain and saw to the graves’ repair.

This history, preserved in stone, reflects both China’s early modern transformation and its broader engagement with the world. Prior to the Opium Wars, China’s coastal defenses had been neglected. Defeats forced the Qing court to seek reform. Through the Self-Strengthening Movement, leaders embraced new technology and military science, sent students abroad, and purchased modern warships such as those received in Newcastle. Though later conflicts brought setbacks, these early efforts laid the foundation for future progress.

The story of these five sailors, long buried in a foreign land, is a reminder of shared humanity, cultural memory, and resilience across generations. For the Chinese community in the UK, tending to these graves is not only an act of remembrance, but a tribute to perseverance, dignity, and peace.

A poem in closing:

Seagulls cry in rain above the shrine,
Short grass sways where wild geese return.
Old heroes sought a distant course,
Now we renew their rites, their honour preserved.

癸卯年纽卡斯尔清明祀水兵记
作者：于嘉睿

清明时节，草木青葱，天朗气清，古今之人，多于此日出行踏青、祭扫先人。诗经云：“以为酒食，以享以祀。以妥以侑，以介景福。”奉献酒果，祭奠逝者，以明心志而慰情思。是日，英国中文教育促进会、新堡市中文学校、杜伦中文学校、英国闽东文化会、北部华人企业家协会诸众，于纽卡斯尔市西往之圣约翰墓园，祭祀早年葬于此地之五位中国水兵。

四月初五，天阴风细，行人寥寥。众人由市区而出，沿途回顾墓园修缮之往事。初于二〇一六年，摄影留学生于墓园摄得五座水兵旧墓，三碑倾倒，遂公诸网络，引起中英社群关注。其后，多方协力查档考证，联络政府与工匠，复勘修整。历经三载，墓地终告完竣，于二〇一九年六月正式揭碑，时有英方官员、中方代表共襄盛典。此为海外文物修复之范例，亦为中英文化交流之一页。

四年之后，众人重临旧地。圣约翰墓园，坐落泰恩河北岸，园门巍峨，林木环绕，英烈墓碑林立。五位水兵，三碑前列，二碑后陈，碑文铭刻籍贯、姓名与葬日，皆为十九世纪八十年代，因病殁于纽卡斯尔接舰之时。其时中国正值洋务开拓之际，远赴西洋，承艰履险，以求强国之道。水兵染病客死，虽命途多舛，然其忠诚与毅力，弥足可敬。

午时，众人奉香果、拂碑石、燃香拜祭。遥想一八八一年丁汝昌提督率舰至此，翌年再有水师官兵驻留。留英期间，士兵与本地民众有善交往。英报曾载水兵葬礼，记其肃穆庄重；传有水兵与修女互敬情深，别后托花植墓前，情谊感人至今。光阴荏苒，墓碑几度倾圮，然其精神未泯，代有心人修复、祭奠，不使英灵寂寞。

近代中国初开眼界，兴洋务、学西技，始有购舰出洋之举。纽卡斯尔即为彼时接舰之地。水兵之殁，记载中英之往来、风俗之差异、奋斗之历程。今者追思，不为伤感，乃念昔人求进图强之志，以砥砺吾辈后人。不忘前人之足迹，方知今人之来处。

结辞以诗：

鸥声带雨晓神庙，短草墓前雁北归。
前朝觅路折故勇，今辈修祀礼义存。