Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795-1989

by Elleman,Bruce A.

• ISBN13: 9780415214735
• ISBN10: 0415214734
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-04-06
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Why did the Chinese empire collapse and why did it take so long for a new government to reunite China? Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795-1989 seeks to answer these questions by exploring the most important domestic and international conflicts over the past two hundred years, from the last half of the Qing empire through to modern day China. This book reveals how most of China's wars during this period were fought to preserve Chinese unity, and examines the cyclical pattern of imperial decline, domestic chaos and finally the creation of a new unifying dynasty. Exposing China as an imperialist country, and one which has often manipulated western powers in its favour, Bruce A. Elleman seeks to redress the view of China as a victimised nation. Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795-1989 is a concise survey of the military history of China, and makes a valuable contribution to the debate over whether China poses a military threat to the West today.

Table of Contents

Figures	vii
Preface	ix
PART 1 Imperial decline	1	(68)
The secret societies and Qing dynastic decline	3	(10)
The Opium War and the origin of China's modern warfare	13	(22)
The Taiping Rebellion and the Arrow War	35	(22)
The Nian, Muslim, and Tungan Rebellions	57	(12)
PART 2 Imperial fall	69	(78)
The Ili Crisis and China's defense of Xinjiang against Russia	71	(11)
The Sino--French War in Annam	82	(12)
The Sino--Japanese War and the partitioning of China	94	(22)
The Boxer anti-foreign Uprising	116	(22)
The Chinese Revolution and the fall of the Qing	138	(9)
PART 3 Imperial interregnum	147	(86)
The warlord era and the Nationalists' Northern Expedition to unite China	149	(29)
The Sino--Soviet conflict in Manchuria	178	(16)
The Sino--Japanese conflict	194	(23)
China's Nationalist-Communist civil war	217	(16)
PART 4 Imperial resurgence	233	(66)
China's role in the Korean War	235	(19)
The Sino--Indian border dispute	254	(15)
The Sino--Soviet territorial conflict	269	(15)
The Sino-Vietnamese conflict	284	(15)
PART 5 The dynastic question	299	(11)
The Tiananmen Massacre and the future of the PLA	301	(9)
Notes	310	(29)
Bibliography	339	(14)
Index	353