爱华网A Profile of SaZhenbing
萨镇冰先生，永远是我崇拜的对一象，从六七岁的时候，我就常常听见父亲说:“中国海军的摸范军人，萨镇冰一人而已。”从那时起，我总是注意听受他的一言一行,我所耳闻州见的关于他的一切，无不加增我对他的敬慕。时至今日，虽然有许多儿时敬仰的人物，使我灰心，使我失望，而每一想到他，就保留了我对于人类的信心，鼓励了我向上生活的勇气。
I will always hold Mr. Sa Zhengbing in highesteem. When I was six or seven, I often heard my father say" Ofall personnel in the Chinese Navy, Sa Zhengbing is the only onedeserving the title of model officer." Since then, what Mr. Sa saysor does had held my respectable attention and added to myadmiration for him. Many people whom I looked up to in my childhoodhave turned out to be disappointing. Now the thought of Mr. Sa,however, has enabled me to retain confidence in mankind and forgeahead with renewed courage.
底下所记的关于萨先生的嘉言巍行。大半是从父亲谈话中得来的。—事实的年月，我只约略推算，将来对于他的生平材料搜集得比较完全时，我想再详细的替他写一本传记。—在此我感谢我的父亲，他知道往青年人脑里灌注的，应当是哪一种的印象。
Here I am going to writeabout his fine words and deeds as I've mostly learned from myfather. I am unable to recall the exact dates. I intend some day towirte a biography of him when I've collected sufficient materialabout his life. Now gratitude is due to my father, who has tried toinculcate only the best example into a young mind.
海军将萨镇冰先生，大名是鼎铭，福建闽侯人，一八六0年(?)生，二岁入福州马尾船政学校，作第一几班学生。十七八岁出洋，入英国格林海军大学，回国后在天津管轮学堂任正教习。那时父亲是天津水师学堂驾驶班的学生，自此和他相识。
Admiral Sa Zhengbing, whose formal name is Ding Ming, was born inMinhou County, Fujian Province, in 1860. He enrolled at FuzhouMawei Naval Academy at the age of 12, among its second batch ofcadets, and then entered Greenwich College in England at the age of18. After he came back from abroad, he served as an instructor atthe Academy of Marine Engineering in Tianjin. It happend that myfather was then receiving training in navigation at Tianjing NavalAccademy. This is how they got acquainted.
在管轮学堂时候，他的卧室里用的是特制的一张又仄又小的木床，和船的床铺相似，他的理由是，“军人是不能贪图安逸的，在也应当和在海上一样。”他授课最认真，对于功课好的学生，常以私物奖赏，如时表之类，有的时候，小的贵重点的物品用完了，连自己屋里的藤椅，也搬了去。课外常常教学生用锹铲在操场上挖筑炮台。那时管轮学堂在南边，水师学堂在北边，当中隔个操场。学堂总办吴中翔住在水师学堂。吴总办是文人，不大喜欢学生做“粗事”蕊所以在学生们踊跃动手，锹铲齐下的时候，萨先生总在操场边替他们巡风，以备吴总办的突来视察。
While at theAcademy o Marine Engineering, Mr. Sa slept in on a specially madenarrow, small plank bed like in a ship. He said, " We solidersshouldn't seek ease and comfort. Our life on sea or shore should bealike." He worked conscientiously as an instructor. He would oftenaward to good cabet his personal belongings, such as his watch, orever his cane chair when he had nothing valuable to spare. Outsidesclass, he would often teach cabets how to dig out emplacement ondrill ground with shade and shovels. The Marine EngineeringAacademy was situated on the north, and the Navel Aacademy on thesouth, with the drill ground in-between. President of the MarineEngineering Aacademy Wu Zhongxiang, who happened to live in theNavel Academy, disapproved of cadets doing the rough work, beinghimself a bookish type. So when the cabets were in the middle ofwielding their shades and shovels, Mr. Sa would stand at the sideof the drill ground to keep watch lest President Wu would crop upmaking his rounds.
父亲和萨先生相熟，是从同在“海沂”军舰服务时起(一九00年左右)，那时他是海军副统领，兼“海忻’船主，父亲是副船主。
Father and Mr.Sa began toknow each other better when they both served on the warship Hai Yinaround 1900. Mr. Sa was then Deput Navy Commander and concurrentlycaptin of the ship while father was its second incommand.
庚子之变，海军正统领叶祖珍，驻海容舰，被困于大沽龟雷艇海龙、海犀、海青、海华四艘，已被联军舰队所掳。那时北洋舰队中的海析、海深、海筹、海天等舰，都泊山东庙岛，山东巡抚袁世凯，移书一请各舰驶人长江，以避敌锋，一犷是各船纷纷南下，只海折坚泊不动。在山东义和团杀害侨民的时候，萨先生请蓬莱一带的教士侨民悉数下船，殷勤招待，乱事过后，方送_匕岸。那时止有美国大巡洋舰阿利干号在庙岛附近触礁，海沂又驶往救护，美国国会闻讯，立即驰函道谢，阿利干舰长申谢之余，也恳劝萨先生南下，于是海沂才一开人江阴。
During the 1900 Boxer War, thewarship HaiRong directly under the personnal command of NavyCommander Ye Zuzhen was pinned down at Dagu by the eight-powerallied forces, and the torpedo boats the Hai Long Hai Xi, Hai Qingand Hai Hua were captureed by them. Meanwhile, Governor of ShandongYuan Shikai sent out a letter suggesting that Hai Yin, Hai Shen,Hai Chou, Hai Tian, ships of Northern Fleet then anchored at MiaoIsland, Shan Dong province, all move to the Yangtze River so as tosteer clear of the formidable foe. Thereupon all the ship shipsretreated except the Hai Yin. WhenYihetuanthreaten the lives of foreign residents in China, Mr. Sa let allthe foreign missionaries and nationals take shelter in his ship andbe well taken care of until the uprising wasover. When the US cruiser Oregon struck a reeft near Miao Island,the Hua Yin rushed to the scene for its rescue, for which AmericanCongress immidiately sent a message of thanks. And the captain ofthe US ship, while expressing the gratitude to Mr. Sa, also advisedhim to move his ship to the south. Consequently the Hai Yin sailedino Jingyin near the mouth of the Yangtze River.
在他舰南开，海沂孤泊的时候，军心很摇动，许多士兵称病上岸就医，乘问逃走，最后是群情惶逮，聚众请愿，要南下避敌。舱一上万声嘈杂，不可制止，在父亲竭力向大家劝说的时候，萨先生忽然拿把军刀，从舱里走出，喝说着:“有再说要南下的，就杀却!他素来慈蔼，忽发威怒，大家无不失色惊散，海沂卒以泊定。
The departureof other ships had shaken the morale of the men on the long vessel.Many deserted after going ashore under the pretext of seeing adoctor. All were in a state of alarm and together petitioned forthe ship to seek shelter in the south. There was a hubbub of voiceson the deck. Father was making every effort to pacify the men whensuddenly Mr. Sa emerged from the cabin sword in hand, shoutingsternly, " Stop the racket,or you'll die." Shocked by the greatanger on the otherwise benevolent face, the ship crew rapidelydispersed, and the Hai Yin remained moored at the same old placeuntil the American capatin offered his advice.
萨先生所在的兵舰上，纪律清洁，总是全军之冠。他常常捐款修理公物，常笑对父亲说，“人家做船主，都打金镯子送太太戴，我的金镯子是戴在我的船上。”有一次船上练习打靶，枪炮副不慎，将一尊船边炮的炮膛，划伤一痕。炮值二万余元，萨先生自己捐出月铜，分期赔偿。后来事闻于叶祖硅，又传于直隶总督袁世凯，袁立即寄款代偿，所以如今海沂船上有一尊船边炮是袁世凯购换的。
Discipline was exemplary onMr.Sa's ship. He often donated money from his personal purse forreparis of public property, saying jokingly to father, " Othercaptains make good bracelets for their wives, I make them to deckout my ship. " Once, during the shooting practice on the ship, agun officer through carelessness damaged the bore of a light gunworth more than 20,000 yuan. Mr. Sa gave away his monthly salariesto pay for the damaged gun by instalments. When the news reachedNavy Commander Ye Zugui and Yuan Shikuai, the Governor-General ofHebei Province, the letter immediately remitted the money to payfor the damaged gun. Hence, one of the light guns on the Hai Yinhas since known as the Yuan's gift.
