Przemiany w wojskowości chińskiej na przełomie XIX i XX w. – zarys problematyki
Changes in Chinese military at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries – an outline

Summary/Abstract: The Chinese New Army (xinjun), formed in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, was a result of over a decade of broad and sweeping reforms. These were undertaken by the central government as well as and respective provincial administrations. Its direct antecedent were the experimental military units, formed in the 2nd half of the 1890s in northern China and in the Yangtze River valley. During the final years of the dynasty’s reign over China, every province of the Empire managed to establish westernized land forces, along with modern military schools, armaments plants and barracks. In August 1907, the Qing imperial government, intending to overhaul its land forces and – in the long term – to prolong its rule over China, formulated an ambitious plan, providing for creation of 36 divisions of the New Army. These were to be raised by both Beijing and respective provinces. The quotas for each area were set with consideration to financial resources on its disposal and its importance for national defensiveness. Although the Qing Empire was in dire need of possessing modern army, capable of safeguarding national sovereignty, the sheer scale of this project made it impossible to be implemented in the foreseeable future. The main reason for it were severe financial constraints. As a result, many provinces, already burdened with heavy expenditures on various reform programs as well as on repaying foreign indemnities, were unable meet Beijing’s demands in military sphere. Still, at the eve of the republican (aka Xinhai) revolution, collective efforts put by Chinese authorities into creation of the New Army laid significant foundations under further modernization of the Chinese land forces.

• Details
• Contents