The Beiyang Fleet was one of the four modernized Chinese navies in the late Qing dynasty. Among the four, the Beiyang Fleet was particularly sponsored by Li Hongzhang, one of the most trusted vassals of Empress Dowager Cixi and the principal patron of the "self-strengthening movement" in northern China in his capacity as the Viceroy of Zhili and the Minister of Beiyang Commerce (±±ÑóèÉÌ´ó³¼). Due to Li's influence in the imperial court, the Beiyang Fleet garnered muchgreater resources than the other Chinese fleets and soon became the dominant navy in Asia before the onset of First Sino-Japanese War in 1894¨C1895 ¡ª it was the largest fleet in Asia and the 8th in the world during the late 1880s in terms oftonnage