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 cavalryH. G. Creel: "The Role of the Horse in Chinese History", The American Historical Review, Vol. 70, No. 3 (1965), pp. 647–672 (649f.) and Western military technology.Frederic E. Wakeman: The Great Enterprise: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-century China, Vol. 1 (1985), , p. 77 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.Griffith (2006), 1
History of military organization
The military history of China stretches from roughly 1900 BC to the present day. Chinese armies were advanced and powerful, especially after the Warring States period. armies were tasked with the twofold goal of defending China and her subject peoples from foreign intruders, and with expanding China's territory and influence across Asia.Li and Zheng (2001), 212
Pre-Warring States Period
Early Chinese armies were relatively small affairs. Composed of peasant levies, usually serfs dependent upon the king or the feudal lord of their home state, these armies were relatively ill-equipped. While organized military forces existed along with the state, few records remain of these early armies. These armies were centered around the chariot-riding nobility, who played a role akin to the European knight as they were the main fighting force of the army. Bronze weapons such as spears and swords were the main equipment of both the infantry and charioteers. These armies were ill-trained and haphazardly supplied, meaning that they could not campaign for more than a few months and often had to give up their gains due to lack of supplies.Griffith (2006), 23–24 The shi knights had a strict code of chivalry. During the Shang and Western Zhou eras, warfare was seen as an aristocratic affair, complete with protocols that may be compared to the chivalry of the European knight.Sources of East Asian Tradition, Theodore De Bary(Columbia University Press 2008), p. 119
Under the Shang and Zhou, these armies were able to expand China's territory and influence from a narrow part of the Yellow River valley to all of the North China plain. Equipped with bronze weapons, bows, and armor, these armies won victories against the sedentary Dongyi to the East and South, which were the main direction of expansion, as well as defending the western border against the nomadic incursions of the Xirong. However, after the collapse of the Zhou dynasty in 771 BC when the Xirong captured its capital Haojing, China collapsed into a plethora of small states, who warred frequently with each other. The competition between these states would eventually produce the professional armies that marked the Imperial Era of China.Griffith (2006), 49–61
Prehistory and Shang dynasty
Early Bronze Age Chinese cities were characterized by massive defensive walls. The Erlitou culture's bronze workshops probably gave it a decisive edge over competing groups. Armies were probably relatively ineffective given the prevalence of extensive fortifications, although the Erlitou culture probably succeeded in breaching these occasionally since they were able to expand the area of their control. Starting from the 3rd Millennium BC and throughout the 2nd Millennium BC, there is a correlation between elite status and military status in tomb artefacts.
Western Zhou and Spring and Autumn period
While chariots had been used in battle previously, only in the Western Zhou era were they used in large numbers. The Zhou conquest of the Shang may have been linked to their use of the chariot. Under the Shang, chariots were extremely ornate, used by high ranking elite as command and archery platforms, but under the Zhou chariots were simpler and more common. The ratio of chariots to foot soldiers under the Shang is estimated to be 1 to 30, while under the Zhou it is estimated to be 1 to 10. However this was still limited as compared to the 1 to 5 in Ancient Egypt.
In the Spring and Autumn period, archery switched from targeted shooting to massed volleys. By the end of the Spring and Autumn period, cavalry had appeared on the battlefield, and the chariot would gradually revert to being a command platform in the course of the ensuing Warring States period.
Warring States
By the time of the Warring States, reforms began that abolished feudalism and created powerful, centralized states. The power of the aristocracy was curbed and for the first time, professional generals were appointed on merit, rather than birth. Technological advances such as iron weapons and crossbows put the chariot-riding nobility out of business and favored large, professional standing armies, who were well-supplied and could fight a sustained campaign. The size of armies increased; whereas before 500 BC Chinese field armies numbered in the tens of thousands, by 300 BC armies regularly included up to a couple of hundred thousand drafted soldiers, accompanied by cavalry. For example, during the Battle of Changping the state of Qin drafted all males over 15 years of age. Although these conscripts with one to two years of training would be no match individually against aristocratic warriors with years of experience, they made up for it with superior standardization, discipline, organization, and size.Pre-modern East Asia: To 1800: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, ed. Patricia Ebrey, Anne Walthall, and James Palais (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006), pp. 29–30 Although most soldiers were conscripts, it was also common to select soldiers based on specific qualifications. The Confucian adviser Xun Zi claimed that foot soldiers from the Wei state were required to wear armor and helmets, shoulder a crossbow with fifty arrows, strap a spear and sword, carry three days' supply of rations, and all the while march 100 li (41.6 km, based on the Eastern Zhou li) in a day. When a man meets this requirement, his household would be exempted from all corvée labor obligations. He would also be given special tax benefits on land and housing. However, this policy made soldiers in the Wei state difficult to replace.Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hsun Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu, ed. Burton Watson (New York and London, 1967), p. 61
In addition, cavalry was introduced. The first recorded use of cavalry took place in the Battle of Maling, in which general Pang Juan of Wei led his division of 5,000 cavalry into a trap by Qi forces. In 307 BC, King Wuling of Zhao ordered the adoption of nomadic clothing in order to train his own division of cavalry archers.Graff (2002), 22
In the field of military planning, the niceties of chivalrous warfare were abandoned in favor of a general who would ideally be a master of maneuver, illusion, and deception. He had to be ruthless in searching for the advantage, and an organizer in integrating units under him.Pre-modern East Asia: To 1800: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, ed. Patricia Ebrey, Anne Walthall, and James Palais (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006), p. 29
Qin–Han
In 221 BC, the Qin unified China and ushered in the Imperial Era of Chinese history. Although it only lasted 15 years, Qin established institutions that would last for millennia. Qin Shi Huan, titling himself as the "First Emperor", standardized writing systems, weights, coinage, and even the axle lengths of carts. To reduce the chance of rebellion, he made the private possession of weapons illegal. In order to increase the rapid deployment of troops, thousands of miles of roads were built, along with canals that allowed boats to travel long distances.Pre-modern East Asia: To 1800: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, ed. Patricia Ebrey, Anne Walthall, and James Palais (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006), p. 45 For the rest of Chinese history, a centralized empire was the norm.
During the Qin dynasty and its successor, the Han, the Chinese armies were faced with a new military threat, that of nomadic confederations such as the Xiongnu in the North. These nomads were fast horse archers who had a significant mobility advantage over the settled nations to the South. In order to counter this threat, the Chinese built the Great Wall as a barrier to these nomadic incursions, and also used diplomacy and bribes to preserve peace. Although the Qin general Meng Tian ousted the Xiong-nu from the Ordos region, they regained power under the rule of Maodun. Maodun conquered the Eastern Hu and drove the Yuezhi tribes west. He reclaimed the Ordos from the now crumbling Qin empire and defeated the first Han emperor Gao in battle. This led to a policy of appeasement until the reign of Wudi of Han, who decided to take a tougher stance.Pre-modern East Asia: To 1800: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, ed. Patricia Ebrey, Anne Walthall, and James Palais (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006), p. 51 However, protecting the borders required a significant investment. Manning the stations of the Great Wall took about ten thousand men. To support them, fifty to sixty thousand soldier-farmers were moved to the frontiers in order to reduce the cost of transporting supplies. These drafted farmers were not good cavalry troops, so a professional army emerged on the frontiers. These consisted of northern Han mercenaries, convicts working for their freedom, and subjected "Southern" Xiong-nu living within Han territory. By 31 AD, the Han dynasty abolished universal military conscription that was passed down from the Warring States.Pre-modern East Asia: To 1800: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, ed. Patricia Ebrey, Anne Walthall, and James Palais (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006), p. 63 In the South, China's territory was roughly doubled as the Chinese conquered much of what is now Southern China, and extended the frontier from the Yangtze to Vietnam.Li and Zheng (2001), 212–247
Armies during the Qin and Han dynasties largely inherited their institutions from the earlier Warring States period, with the major exception that cavalry forces were becoming more and more important, due to the threat of the Xiongnu. Under Emperor Wu of Han, the Chinese launched a series of massive cavalry expeditions against the Xiongnu, defeating them and conquering much of what is now Northern China, Western China, Mongolia, Central Asia, and Korea. After these victories, Chinese armies were tasked with the goal of holding the new territories against incursions and revolts by peoples such as the Qiang, Xianbei and Xiongnu who had come under Chinese rule.Li and Zheng (2001), 247–249
The structure of the army also changed in this period. While the Qin had utilized a conscript army, by Eastern Han, the army was made up largely of volunteers and conscription could be avoided by paying a fee.de Crespigny (2007), 564–565 & 1234; Hucker (1975), 166 Those who presented the government with supplies, horses, or slaves were also exempted from conscription.Bielenstein (1980), 114.
Three Kingdoms–Jin
The end of the Han dynasty saw a massive agrarian uprising that had to be quelled by local governors, who seized the opportunity to form their own armies. The central army disintegrated and was replaced by a series of local warlords, who fought for power until most of the North was unified by Cao Cao, who laid the foundation for the Wei dynasty, which ruled most of China. However, much of Southern China was ruled by two rival Kingdoms, Shu Han and Wu. As a result, this era is known as the Three Kingdoms.Ebrey (1999), 61