Ding Ruchang
The Chinese government, after initially denying that its fleet had been defeated, put the blame for the Chinese defeat on Viceroy Li Hongzhang and Admiral Ding Ruchang, both of whom were demoted and stripped of honors. Their subordinates and relatives suffered similar fates. However, both men remained in their posts, and would oversee the final destruction of the Beiyang Fleet at Weihaiwei. However, this attempt to save face were insufficient, as the foreign press would come to find that many of China's claims were false, discrediting them in the eyes of the international community. The Battle of the Yalu and the naval defeats of 1894-1895 in general have been the topic of extensive discussion among Chinese historians and naval officers since events held to mark the 120th anniversary in 2014.