History of Study Abroad Education in China

Author: Xie Changfa / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-07-01
Features:
3. The Military Study Trend Under the Demand of Developing Military Equipment
The Qing Dynasty's military equipment had long been supported by the Eight Banners and Green Camps. During the suppression of the Taiping Rebellion, the Xiang and Huai armies took over, but after the First Sino-Japanese War and the Boxer Uprising, the Xiang and Huai troops collapsed completely. The newly established modern navy, which had been meticulously developed by the Self-Strengthening Movement for 30 years, also suffered devastating blows. After the late Qing implemented the New Policies, to achieve military modernization, it decided to train a new army. However, it lacked qualified modern military officers. Therefore, to cultivate new-style military talents, the Qing court abolished the civil service examinations for military candidates and the provincial and county examinations for military subjects, ordering all provinces to establish military preparatory schools. As a result, many military schools were opened. For example, in June 1902 and March 1903, Yuan Shikai, the Viceroy of Zhili, established the Beiyang Military Officer School and the Beiyang Military Preparatory School. At the same time, the Qing court also decided to send officials abroad (especially to Japan) to study military affairs. In 1898, Zhang Zhidong and Liu Kunyi jointly sent 30 land army students to Japan. Afterward, other provinces followed suit. For instance, in 1902, Yuan Shikai selected graduates from various military preparatory schools to study in Japan. According to a 1902 survey, the number of Chinese land army students in Japan that year was as follows: 39 probationary officers from the Imperial Guard, Imperial Guard Cavalry Brigade, Imperial Guard Field Artillery Brigade, and Imperial Engineering Brigade; 6 people from the two artillery factories in Tokyo and Osaka; 25 from the Imperial Military Academy; and 45 from the Seijo School, totaling 115 students. In August 1903, Zhang Zhidong stipulated in the "Self-Administered Plan" that: "Students recommended for admission to Japanese schools, except for vocational schools in agriculture, industry, and commerce, as well as specialized schools in literature and medicine, which are not limited in number, should be limited in number for political, legal, and military subjects. Only a certain number of students can be recommended each year. For the military subject, only official students are allowed to be recommended." ② Since this regulation soon became the standard guiding document for the Qing court's dispatch of students to Japan, it played an important role in guiding the selection of military students at that time. In January 1904, Yang Shu, the envoy to Japan, submitted a memorial suggesting: "The Japanese Imperial Army has operated for decades and achieved remarkable results. China should consider sending more students to Japan to specialize in military schools to achieve great goals and help the times." ③ To provide overall guidance and regulation for the selection of military students in Japan, in May 1904, the Military Training Department formulated the "Regulations for Selecting Military Students for Study in Japan," stipulating that the dispatch of land army students should be "divided into four batches, with one batch selected each year, with 100 students per batch"; "students selected from each province must have a fixed quota"; and required that "in provinces and banners where military preparatory schools have been established, students should be selected from these schools. In areas without such schools, students should be selected from the sons of military and literary families"; the selected students were required to be "of good character, strong physique, intelligent and diligent, with upward aspirations, free from hidden illnesses or addictions, with a solid foundation in Chinese studies and proficiency in military subjects, aged between 18 and 22." In areas without military preparatory schools, students must be well-versed in military affairs, while excelling in classics and current affairs. Afterward, the Military Training Department tested the students sent by each province and sent the qualified ones to Japan for studies. Many provinces followed the "Regulations for Selecting Military Students for Study in Japan" and selected students from their own military preparatory schools to study military affairs in Japan. For example, in September 1904, Shanxi Province selected 20 students from its military preparatory school to study land army in Japan, "to prepare for the ranks of the regular and reserve armies"; in October, the Jiangxi Military Preparatory School sent Hu Qian, Li Liejun, Ouyang Wu, and Yu Heshong to Japan to study at the; in December, Yunnan Province sent over 100 students to Japan, including 28 who studied land army.
The military students sent to Japan during the late Qing period studied at schools such as the, the Imperial Land Surveying School, the Cavalry School, the Artillery and Engineering School, and the Naval School, with the largest number concentrated at the Imperial Military Academy. This junior military officer school, established in Tokyo in 1874 (later moved to Kanagawa Prefecture), had trained many famous generals of modern Japanese land army. Since 1900, it had begun to accept Chinese students selected by the Qing court. It mainly taught basic military knowledge and was divided into departments such as land army, cavalry, artillery, engineering, logistics, and field artillery. According to regulations, any Chinese student wishing to study at the Imperial Military Academy must first attend the military preparatory school—— (renamed in 1903) for one to one and a half years. After graduation, they had to undergo a six-month to one-year internship in a land army brigade (regiment) as a junior soldier or corporal. Then, they could enter the Imperial Military Academy as a corporal for one to one and a half years. After graduation, they had to return to the brigade for another three to six months of internship. Statistics from the "Army Ministry Archives" in 1908 showed that "the number of land army students sent to Japan had exceeded more than a thousand. Among them, 499 students graduated from the and entered the brigades, with 75 currently in the brigades and 255 in the Imperial Military Academy. Among those who had entered the brigades and then the Imperial Military Academy, 229 had graduated and returned to China." In total, from 1900 to 1910, 647 Chinese students from nine batches had entered the Imperial Military Academy. Compared to normal and law students, the Qing court imposed strict management on military students sent to Japan from the very beginning. For the Qing court, sending students to Japan to study military affairs was, on one hand, to train them into loyal dogs to maintain its crumbling rule; on the other hand, it was deeply afraid that these students would be influenced by new ideas abroad and threaten the empire of the Great Qing. Therefore, in the early days of the study-in-Japan movement, the Military Training Department stipulated: "The study of military affairs should be dedicated to strengthening the nation's military power and should be sent by the government, not studied privately. As for self-funded students currently studying military affairs in Japan, the envoy to Japan and the supervisor should examine their aspirations and diligence, and if their term has not expired, they should report to the Military Training Department in time to provide travel expenses and convert them into official students to support their training." P49-50