Complex sentence: A "celebrated collector" of rare books, he collected them during the Taiping rebellion and as Shanghai intendant (before becoming Governor) founded the Kiangnan Arsenal, to which was attached a language school and translation department.
Split into simpler sentences: A "celebrated collector" of rare books, he collected them during the Taiping rebellion. As Shanghai intendant (before becoming Governor) founded the Kiangnan Arsenal, to which was attached a language school and translation department.