Research On Self-strengthening Army In The Late Qing Dynasty(1895-1901)

The Jiangnan Self-Strengthening Army is a new type of army that were compiled and trained in the late Qing Dynasty.It was founded by Zhang Zhidong during the SinoJapanese War of 1894.1895,New military forces began to rise in the late Qing Dynasty.The Self-Strengthening Army was born and became the forerunner of army modernization,opened a new stage of military reform in the late Qing Dynasty.Zhang Zhidong was deeply stimulated in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894.A modern army must be established to strengthen himself and resist aggression.In most of 1895,he personally raised military expenses,recruited soldiers,formulated salary regulations,and abandoned the old system of Yong Ying.He hired German generals,trained in the way of the German code of conduct。He organized the self-improving army into a team of steps,horses,artillery,and engineering.The synthesis of multiarms troops is the first to open up new trends.He is a founder with a great contribution to the self-improvement army although his planning was slightly improper.Zhang Zhidong left his post,and Liu Kunyi continued to train the self-improvement army in the spring of the following year.The new army changed hands,but the financial,manpower,and institutional constraints were not properly resolved.Liu Kunyi took some measures such as changing garrison,consolidating military power,and cutting the salary and camp system.The organization and training of the self-improving army gradually stagnated.the Qing government strengthened its leadership over military reforms and ordered the self-improving army to be transferred to Shandong to supervise Yuan Shikai for training After the opening of the New Deal at the end of the Qing Dynasty.Soon,the Self-Strengthening Army was adapted and merged into the Beiyang New Army.From the perspective of modern military transformation,the self-improving army has made significant progress in terms of arms organization,equipment,training systems and theoretical education.The most of important feature of the SelfStrengthening Army is "training in western method",which has left valuable experience for modern military transformation.It introduced a large number of Western military equipment and military academics,which not only improved military literacy and combat effectiveness,but also promoted China’s understanding and assimilation of modern military science knowledge.Innovating multi-arms combined military training methods,especially the joint and confrontational exercises,it marked that the modern Chinese army broke away from the old methods and learned deeper.The model of organizing and training the self-improving army has been continued in Hubei,and other southern armies have also followed the example of the self-improving army,it is worthy of being the beginning of the new southern army,and it has the status of "exemplary military training" in modern Chinese military history.In conclusion,the emergence of the Self-Strengthening Army had an all-round impact on the backwardness of the Eight Banners,the Green Camp,and the Xiang Army and the Huai Army in the late Qing Dynasty.Its existence is not long,but it has initially possessed the characteristics of a modern army,and it has bloomed with dazzling light in the trend of large-scale military training in the late Qing Dynasty.