In 1936, Yat Sen was ordered to keep a close eye on Japanese ships drilling near Fuzhou and showed a strong mobility on the sea during the progress.

After having its stern deck added by one level and receiving radar, sonar, and Japanese weapons, it was renamed Atada (阿多田) and employed as a training ship for naval academy cadets destined for submarine service.

Before its departure, however, the Japanese installed all the German-made wooden furniture taken from the armored cruiser Yakumo (which by then had been sold for scrapping) into its cabins.

After reverting to its old name (逸仙) and rejoining the ROCN, Yat Sen / Yi Xian remained active during the Chinese Civil War and the ROC government's subsequent withdrawal to Taiwan.

It participated in numerous patrol cruises but was not involved in any major action until being decommissioned on 1 June 1958 and sold for scrapping on 19 May the following year.