I like the more obscure corners of aviation history, and today I wish to give some more insight in one of those darker corners.

The origins of Chinese aviations are, in western media, a neglected but interesting part of aviation history. It is closely related to the tumultuous times China was going through at that period. Therefore first some history, mostly focussed on military to better understand the situation and era. I am by no means a good historian, and Chinese politics of the era are way too complicated to present in a short introductionary paragraph. It glossed over many details, omits factions and grossly simplifies events. It does however give a quick overview of the timeline and should best be used as a springboard to better, more detailled articles if this interests you. Thus without further ado, here is a consolidated history of military China from halfway the 19th century to the end of the 2nd word war.

A thing to note is that there are multiple systems for transliterating Chinese characters, so there might be small differences between names between sources. I’ve tried to include other common transliterations as well. For the Hànzì, the Chinese characters, I tried to keep the period-correct traditional variants.

Information is sparce on these topics, and the autor is not fluent in Chinese. Primary sources are difficult to access, if they still exists, and sometimes dont agree with each other. This article is therefore a best-efford and mistakes are likely.

But First, some history

Qing Dynast, the Century of Humiliation and the need to modernize

The Qing (or Ch’ing) Dynasty, officially known as the Great Qing, was a Manchu imperial dynasty that has led China since 1636. At the beginning of the 19th century the main forces under direct control of the Qing were the Eight Banner and the Green Standard Army. The Green standard troops actively governed China locally, akin to a (militarized) police force, whereas the Bannerman were only brought in during emergencies of sustained military resistance such as rebellions and uprisings. They were also called upon during the First and Second Opium Wars, between 1839-1842 and 1852 and 1860 and the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) . These conflics were a military disaster and initiated the so-called “Century of Humiliation”. The Bannermen at this time were horribly outdated, with missionary John Ross writing:

“Their claim to be military men is based on their descent rather than on their skill in arms; and their pay is given them because of their fathers’ prowess, and not at all from any hopes of their efficiency as soldiers. Their soldierly qualities are included in the accomplishments of idleness, riding, and the use of the bow and arrow, at which they practice on a few rare occasions each year.”

They proved, together with the Green standard, completely incompetent to stop both internal uprisings and external invasions such as the Opium wars, the Taiping Rebellion and the Nian Rebellion. By the time of the Boxer rebellion in 1899 even the loyalty to the Qing was gone, with European powers managing to recruit about 10.000 Bannermen. The banner system remained in place in a lesser form until the fall of Qing and even beyond until 1924.

To combat this inadequaty, a series of radical institutional reforms known as the Self-Strengthening Movement were initiated in 1861. In the 1870s and 1880s telegraph lines and railways were constructed, and China made progress modernizing it’s heavy industry and militaries.

The Beiyang Army

As a response to the fact that the Banners and Green Standard were unable to quell uprisings, various regional armies known as yǒng yíng (Brave camps) emerged during the 19th century to help fight China’s wars on the Qing side. They were not part of the official army, and their funding was provided by civil society. One of these yǒng yíng was the Huái Army, which was also the root of Chinas military modernization.

In 1851 the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was established after the successful Jintian Uprising, making use of the internal strife within China. As a mean to suppress the resulting civil war, also known as the Taiping Rebellion, an independent but Qing-allied yǒng yíng known as the Huai Army was raised by Li Hongzhang. It was the first to use modern weapons and a more modern command system, doing away with rotating officers. Using taxes from the five provinces under his control, Hongzhang continuously modernized the army during 1880-1900. During this time the term Beiyang Army began being used for this army as well, after the area surrounding the capital Beijing. A modern navy (The Beiyang Fleet) was also established

First Sino-Japanese War

The Self Strengthening movement came to a halt when the Japanese invaded in 1894, known as the First Sino-Japanese War. During this conflict the Beiyang army, even though it was the best force the Qing could field, proved horribly incapable to stop the Japanese. Although it was unsupported by other Yong Ying Armies, the Banners or the Green Standard. In February 1895, before the war even ended, a new army was raised by the the Qing: The Pacification Army. After a single year the force was regarded as insufficiently trained and handed over to Commander Yuan Shikai by mid December, marking the start of his ascendency to power. A few months later the army was renamed New Army. In 1901, Li Hongzhang died and the was replaced by Shikai, who was overseeing reforms of the Qing military at the time and was trying to create a national army.

After the death of Empress Dowager Cixi in 1908, Yuan Shikai was dismissed by Prince Chun however and the army was placed under control of minister Yinchang. However in practice, as shown during the 1911 revolution, large parts of the army were still loyal to Yuan who carefully maintained his network of personal contacts during his retirement.

The 1911 Xinhai Revolution

The fall of the Qing Dynasty began on 10 October 1911, with a armed rebellion led by elements of the New Army, known as the Wuchang Uprising. This also sparked multiple other regional uprisings. As a reaction, the Qing government called on retired General Yuan Shikai and the Beiyang army to march to Wuchang and quell the uprising. However after capturing to positions from the revolutionaries, Yuan began to negotiate with them, which eventually led to the abduction of Puyi.

On January 1 1912 the Republic of China was declared. As Sun Yat-sen, the provisional president and leader of the revolutionary KMT didn’t hold any military power, Yuan Shikai was sworn in as president on 10 March 1912, as he personally had loyalty from the Beiyang Army, which was at the time the strongest military force in China.

Fall of the 1st Republic

The KMT won an overwhelming majority in the first election end 1912. During this period, Yuan remained the only man who could hold the Beiyang Army together, and he resisted attempts by the KMT to curb his power and insert outsiders into his chain of command. Soon, Yuan began to ignore the parliament in making decisions. After the assassination of politician Song Jiaoren on march 22 1913, suspected by the KMT to be plotted by Yuan, the Second Revolution ignited to overthrow Yuan. This coup was however was unsuccessful. Yuan dissolved the KMT in response and disbanded the parliament, with many prominent members of the KMT being exiled to Japan. In December 1915, Yuan proclaimed himself president. This however was too much and many provinces and generals started to openly oppose Yuan. Even after backing down, many refused to support him any further and the Beiyang army split into cliques led by his protégés. Disunited, the army started to be able to be challenged again by regional armies. Yuan’s death in 1916, was the final straw and the resulting power vacuum resulted in the country being divided into multiple independent states, ruled by provincial leaders and military cliques of the Beiyang Army, starting a period known as the Warlord Era.

Warlord Era

These factions also each had their own armies, and some understood the importance of aviation. Local knowledge about aviation was severely lacking making each faction rely on western imports. On May 5th 1919 however an international arms embargo was signed aimed at preventing exporting arms to China. This however didn’t truly stop the import of aircraft, only slow it down, with only the USA and Britain truly adhering to the agreement .Soviet, Germans, French and Italian firms kept supplying the various factions in secrecy. In 1929 the embargo was lifted.

As a result, most warlords operated a small hodgepodge fleet consisting of whatever aircraft they could acquire. Even civilian aircraft were used for military purposes. Due to lack of parts, poor flying skills and maintenance knowledge these planes were mostly in poor conditions with most unserviceable.

Nanjing decade

After Yuan’s death in 1917, Sun returned from exile in Japan to establish a military junta in Canton, also known as Guangzhou, with his main goal to overthrow Beiyang government. Sun passed in 1925. Chiang Kai-shek. In 1926, the Kuomintang started what is known as the Northern Expedition with the intention of defeating the Beiyang government in Beijing and unifying the country. This was initially done with the help of the Soviets and the Chinese Communist Party. However the KMT violently purged the communist from the party in 1927, setting the stage for the Chinese Civil War later on. In 1928 the KMT succeeded capturing the capital of Beijing. A one-party nationalist government was installed in Nanjing, starting what is known as the Nanjing decade. Not all warlords accepted Chiang’s government and in 1929 another civil war broke out. This Central Plains War would last until 1930, after intervention from the powerful Northeastern army. It would however take until 1937 for all the local air forces to conglomerate under a single national air force in an effort to fight the Japanese.

Japanese invasion of Manchuria

The Japanese were not happy with the fact that Zhang Xueliang unified Manchuria with the Nationalist. After Zhang’s Northern army intervened in the Central Plains War, the defence of Manchuria. was severely weakened. This eventually led to the Mukden incident in 1931, a Japanese false flag event setting the stage for the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. In September 1931 the Japanese seized Manchuria and installed their own puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932. The KMT didn’t recognize the new Manchurian government, but did accept the Tanggu truce in 1933. What followed was an uneasy peace with limited “incidents”. The KMT in the meantime was more occupied with purging the Communists than resisting the Japanese, under the guise of ‘internal unity before external danger’. This was until the Xi’an Incident in 1936, forcing the KMT to change it’s policies and aligning with the Communists against the Japanese in preparation of the looming full-scale invasion of China. This pressure would also be the influence needed to finally fully unite the country under one military and end the hodgepodge of local forces. The final spark would be in 1937 with the Marco Polo Bridge incident, after which military tensions would continue to escalate and kick off the the 2nd Sino-Japanese War.

2nd Sino-Japanese war

Starting 1941, the United states started a massive military aid program to the KMT to help resisting the Japanese. The Soviets also send aid to China, hoping to deter a Japanese invasion of Siberia.

Chinese Civil war

After the defeat of the Japanese in 1945, China emerged from the war ravaged as an economically weak nation on the verge of civil war. The weakened and unpopular Nationalist government proved an easy prey for the communists. After a resulting civil war the Nationalists were driven to Taiwan in 1949 and Communist rule started in mainland China.

樂士大, The story of the Rosamonde

The Rosamond was one of China’s first indiginous aircraft designs, first taking to the sky in 1923.

Naval Aircraft Manufacturing Department

The Naval Aircraft Engineering Department (海軍飛机工程處, hǎijūn fēijī gōngchéng chù) was the first formal aircraft manufacturer of China, and produced mostly seaplanes. It was established in 1918 by the navy of the Beiyang government in Mawei, Fuzhou. Four engineers; Ba Yuzhao, Wong Tsu, Zeng Yijing, and Wang Xiaofeng, who had returned from Britain and the

Humble beginnings: Nanyuang repair workshops

The Nanyuan Gunbus was the first indigenous Chinese aircraft, with its

Chinese Roundels

The origins of Chinese aviations are, in western media, a neglected but interesting part of aviation history, which is closely related to the tumultuous period in China at the time. Therefore first some history, mostly seen mostly focussed on military aviation to better understand the situation and era. (And because I like history). I am

3th AFAMF & Chengdu Aviation Research Institute

In 1941, due to Japanese blockades of the Burma road, foreign aid could no longer enter China. Up to that point, China heavily relied on foreign equipement, including aircraft. Therefore, the Central Aviation Commision granted approval to construct a 3th Aircraft manufacturing plant in Chengdu, sometimes also called 成都飞机制造厂 / 成都飛機制造廠 (Chéngdū fēijī zhìzào chǎng,

1st AFAMF

The 飛機 製造廠 Fēijī zhìzào chǎng “aircraft manufacturing plant” (often translated as Air Force Aircraft Manufacturing Factory or AFAMF. Designations Chinese planes of this era were both designated with a Chinese name, as well as an Western name, imitating the sytle used by the USAAF (XP-2, XB-3). Interestingly planes from this era also bore an