He joined the Fujian Arsenal Academy in 1867. Being its top student, he was sent to study in Europe, arriving at King's College London in May 1877. During his stay in London, he also worked as translator for the embassies in the United Kingdom and Germany, also serving as Naval Secretary to Li Hongzhang from 1880 to circa 1882.[2]
^"Programme". Salon International du Livre Rare & de l'Autographe. Archived from the original on 2019-07-09.
^ abMilton, John (2022). "The French diplomat and the Omaha shopkeepe". The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Memory Routledge. Routledge. pp. 343–344, 347, 348.