The Beiyang Army, named after the Beiyang region, was a large, Western-style Imperial Chinese Army established by the Qing dynasty government in the late 19th century. It was the centerpiece of a general reconstruction of Qing China's military system. The Beiyang Army played a major role in Chinese politics for at least three decades and arguably right up to 1949. It made the Xinhai Revolution of 1911 possible, and, by dividing into warlord factions known as the Beiyang Clique, ushered in a period of regional division.
The Beiyang Army conducting military exercises in the late Qing dynasty
Beiyang Army troops on parade after 1912
Military training of the Beiyang Army during the 1910s
Yuan Shikai as the Emperor of China (1915–1916).
Military history of China before 1912
The recorded military history of China extends from about 2200 BC to the present day. Chinese pioneered the use of crossbows, advanced metallurgical standardization for arms and armor, early gunpowder weapons, and other advanced weapons, but also adopted nomadic cavalry and Western military technology. China's armies also benefited from an advanced logistics system as well as a rich strategic tradition, beginning with Sun Tzu's The Art of War, that deeply influenced military thought.
Shang dynasty bronze spearheads
Spring and Autumn period bronze arrows
A horse-rider fighting a tiger, depicted on a gilded mirror discovered in Jincun, Luoyang.
An iron sword and two bronze swords from the Warring States period (403–221 BC)