Author: Philip Jowett
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472814282
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 52
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Book Description
An in-depth analysis of the Chinese Armies that fought a series of increasingly fractious wars over nearly a century. Beginning with a run through of the Chinese forces that combated the British and French during the two Opium Wars, this history goes on to trace the forces who were drawn into internal wars and rebellions in the 1850s and 60s, the open warfare in North Vietnam, the string of defeats suffered during the First Sino-Japanese war and the Boxer Rebellion. Providing an unparalleled insight into the dizzying array of troop types and unique uniforms, this is a history of the sometimes-painful modernization of China's military forces during one of her most turbulent periods of history.
Author: CJ Peers
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781855325142
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 48
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Book Description
After AD 304 the five 'barbarian' tribes divided north China among themselves, setting up dynasties which were often Chinese only in name, and feuding constantly both with each other and with the native states, whose stronghold was now in the south. It was under this barbarian influence that the heavily-armoured cavalry which were to become the striking force of the great T'ang dynasty in the 7th and 8th centuries first developed. In a knowledgeable text complemented by numerous illustrations, this book explores the history, weaponry, tactics and organisation of medieval Chinese armies between 200 BC and AD 589.
Author: Nicola Di Cosmo
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674262999
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 468
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Book Description
This volume explores the relationship between culture and the military in Chinese society from early China to the Qing empire, with contributions by eminent scholars aiming to reexamine the relationship between military matters and law, government, historiography, art, philosophy, literature, and politics. The book critically investigates the perception that, due to the influence of Confucianism, Chinese culture has systematically devalued military matters. There was nothing inherently pacifist about the Chinese governments’ views of war, and pragmatic approaches—even aggressive and expansionist projects—often prevailed. Though it has changed in form, a military elite has existed in China from the beginning of its history, and military service included a large proportion of the population at any given time. Popular literature praised the martial ethos of fighting men. Civil officials attended constantly to military matters on the administrative and financial ends. The seven military classics produced in antiquity continued to be read even into the modern period. These original essays explore the ways in which intellectual, civilian, and literary elements helped shape the nature of military institutions, theory, and the culture of war. This important contribution bridges two literatures, military and cultural, that seldom appear together in the study of China, and deepens our understanding of war and society in Chinese history.
Author: Philip Jowett
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780964692
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 112
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Book Description
Defeated in the Sino-Japanese War 1894–95 and the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, Imperial China collapsed into revolution and a republic was proclaimed in 1912. From the death of the first president in 1916 to the rise of the Nationalist Kuomintang government in 1926, the differing regions of this vast country were ruled by endlessly forming, breaking and re-forming alliances of regional generals who ruled as 'warlords'. These warlords acted essentially as local kings and much like Sengoku-period Japan, fewer, larger power-blocks emerged, fielding armies hundreds of thousands strong. In the midto late 1920s some of these regional warlords. This book will reveal each great warlord as well as the organization of their forces which acquired much and very varied weaponry from the west including the latest French air force bombers. They were also joined by Japanese, White Russian and some Western soldiers of fortune which adds even more colour to a fascinating and oft-forgotten period.
Author: Ralph D. Sawyer
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465023347
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 578
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Book Description
The history of China is a history of warfare. Rarely in its 3,000-year existence has the country not been beset by war, rebellion, or raids. Warfare was a primary source of innovation, social evolution, and material progress in the Legendary Era, Hsia dynasty, and Shang dynasty -- indeed, war was the force that formed the first cohesive Chinese empire, setting China on a trajectory of state building and aggressive activity that continues to this day. In Ancient Chinese Warfare, a preeminent expert on Chinese military history uses recently recovered documents and archaeological findings to construct a comprehensive guide to the developing technologies, strategies, and logistics of ancient Chinese militarism. The result is a definitive look at the tools and methods that won wars and shaped culture in ancient China.
Author: Ralph D. Sawyer
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 1541674294
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 488
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Book Description
The Seven Military Classics is one of the most profound studies of warfare ever written, a stanchion in sinological and military history. It presents an Eastern tradition of strategic thought that emphasizes outwitting one's opponent through speed, stealth, flexibility, and a minimum of force -- an approach very different from that stressed in the West. Safeguarded for centuries by the ruling elite of imperial China, even in modern times these writings have been known only to a handful of Western specialists. This volume contains seven separate essays, written between 500 BCE and 700 CE, that preserve the essential tenets of strategy distilled from the experience of the most brilliant warriors of ancient China.
Author: CJ Peers
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781846030987
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
The turbulent history of China has seen many dynastic struggles over the centuries, ever since the semi-nomadic tribes of ancient China were unified under the first emperor, Cheng. From the Great Wall to the terracotta army at Xian, monuments to China's many wars, and the men who fought them, litter the landscape. This book tells the incredible story of China's armies form the first documented civilization over 3,000 years ago to the outbreak of the first Opium War with Britain in the middle of the 19th century. Written by an acknowledged expert on Chinese armies, this volume offers details of their colourful uniforms and fascinating weaponry with colour and black and white photographs, artwork, maps and diagrams.
Author: Chris Peers
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473830117
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 146
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Book Description
In the field of military history as in so many others, the Chinese have often been both admired and seen as something utterly mysterious and inscrutable. Chris Peers illuminates the evolution of the military art in China with reference to ten battles, spanning more than 2,000 years, from the Battle of Mu in 1027BC to the Fall of Chung Tu in 1215 AD. Selected both for their historical importance and for the light which they shed on weapons and tactics, the author uses these examples to discuss the many myths still current in the West about ancient Chinese warfare: for example that the Chinese were an unwarlike people, always preferring subterfuge over the use of force; or that they were essentially defensive minded, relying on works such as the Great Wall. On the other hand, a recent reaction to this dismissive attitude portrays China as technologically far in advance of the West. Battles of Ancient China shows that none of these stereotypes are accurate. Comparison with contemporary Western practice is a major theme of the book which adds a new perspective not developed in the author's previous works on the subject.
Author: David Andrew Graff
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813135842
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 346
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Book Description
Gaining an understanding of China's long and sometimes bloody history can help to shed light on China's ascent to global power. Many of China's imperial dynasties were established as the result of battle, from the chariot warfare of ancient times to the battles of the Guomindang (KMT) and Communist regimes of the twentieth century. China's ability to sustain complex warfare on a very large scale was not emulated in other parts of the world until the Industrial Age, despite the fact that the country is only now rising to economic dominance. In A Military History of China, Updated Edition, David A. Graff and Robin Higham bring together leading scholars to offer a basic introduction to the military history of China from the first millennium B.C.E. to the present. Focusing on recurring patterns of conflict rather than traditional campaign narratives, this volume reaches farther back into China's military history than similar studies. It also offers insightful comparisons between Chinese and Western approaches to war. This edition brings the volume up to date, including discussions of the Chinese military's latest developments and the country's most recent foreign conflicts.
Author: CJ Peers
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 9781855326552
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
By the end of the 18th century – following an era which had seen the world increasingly divided into colonial powers and their victims – the Ch'ing dynasty of the Manchus, who had overthrown the native Ming in the 1640s, ruled over the largest and most populous empire in the world, with territories that had doubled in size in the previous few decades. Chris Peers' engaging study of the late imperial Chinese armies from 1520 to 1840 is supported by a wealth of illustrations and photographs, including eight attractive full page colour plates by Christa Hook.
