Centennial Commemoration: Military 1840-1945 Graphic Archive

Author: Liao Daimao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: This series categorizes modern history by topics, collecting over a thousand precious images to transform the rigid appearance of traditional history books and vividly record the century-long history of China. This volume focuses on military history: the end of the late Qing Dynasty's traditional sword-and-pole armies and the establishment of modern military forces, the bitter struggles of the Opium Wars and the Sino-French War, the heroic efforts of Zuo Zongtang in recapturing Xinjiang, Japan's successive wars to annihilate China and its heinous crimes against the nation, the courageous performance of the Chinese army in the Anti-Japanese War, the bloody scenes of battle, the arrogant and cruel invaders, and the humiliation and suffering endured by the Chinese nation. This series categorizes modern history by topics, collecting over a thousand precious images to transform the rigid appearance of traditional history books and vividly record the century-long history of China. This volume focuses on military history: the end of the late Qing Dynasty's traditional sword-and-pole armies and the establishment of modern military forces, the bitter struggles of the Opium Wars and the Sino-French War, the heroic efforts of Zuo Zongtang in recapturing Xinjiang, Japan's successive wars to annihilate China and its heinous crimes against the nation, the courageous performance of the Chinese army in the Anti-Japanese War, the bloody scenes of battle, the arrogant and cruel invaders, and the humiliation and suffering endured by the Chinese nation. To avoid the shortcomings of purely textual descriptions in traditional history books, this volume meticulously collects a large number of precious historical images to recreate the bloody scenes of war. The arrogance, cruelty, and bloody massacres of the invaders, as well as the humiliation and suffering endured by the Chinese nation, are vividly depicted. At the same time, it also selects numerous images of patriotic officers and soldiers who fought bravely for national sovereignty and ethnic dignity, facing death without fear. Special attention is given to an objective introduction of the resistance activities of both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China during the full-scale Japanese invasion of China.
In March 1839, Lin Zexu, together with Guangdong and Guangxi Governor Deng Tingzhen and Guangdong Water Division Commander Guan Tianpei, planned the suppression of opium in Guangzhou. Lin Zexu vowed, "As long as opium is not eradicated, I will not return for a single day, and I will see this matter through to the end, with no intention of stopping." He demonstrated his determination to ban opium. With the support of the people, he took decisive measures, forcing British merchants to gradually hand over over 20,000 boxes of opium. Under Lin Zexu's leadership, the confiscated opium was publicly destroyed on Humen Beach. The Humen Opium Destruction dealt a heavy blow to the British invaders, showing the Chinese people's firm resolve to uphold national dignity and resist foreign aggression. When news of China's ban on opium reached London, the British bourgeoisie issued arrogant war cries, and an invasion war instigated by the British bourgeoisie broke out.
In June 1840, 47 British warships and 4,000 soldiers, under the command of Rear Admiral Elliot and the Chinese Resident in Guangzhou, Henry Pottinger, arrived successively outside the Pearl River estuary in Guangdong, blocking the ports. The Opium War began. According to British government orders, the expeditionary force blocked the ports of Guangzhou, Xiamen, and other places, cutting off China's overseas trade, and captured Dinghai in Zhejiang (now Zhoushan) in July as a forward base. At this time, coastal areas of China, except for Guangdong which was somewhat prepared under Lin Zexu's command, were poorly defended. In August, British warships reached the Dagu Bay outside Tianjin. Emperor Daoguang, intimidated by the military might, dismissed Lin Zexu and replaced him with Qi Shan as the Imperial Commissioner. Meanwhile, the British also agreed to negotiate in Guangdong due to the spread of disease and the approaching autumn. After the British troops moved south, the Qing court ordered coastal provinces to prepare defenses at the ports and sent Yi Libu, Governor of Jiangnan, to eastern Zhejiang to prepare to recapture Dinghai.
As soon as Qi Shan arrived in Guangzhou, he completely withdrew the defenses Lin Zexu had set up along the coast and abandoned hundreds of cannons he had purchased without guarding them. In December 1840, Qi Shan began negotiations with Elliot in Guangdong. In January 1841, dissatisfied with the progress of negotiations, the British forces launched a military attack, capturing the important gateways of Shajiao and Dadiao fortresses in Humen and initiating the Battle of Humen. Qi Shan sought compromise and secretly signed the Treaty of Chuanbi with Elliot, which included terms for ceding Hong Kong, opening Guangzhou, and paying a indemnity of 60 million taels. Qi Shan's traitorous actions provoked dissatisfaction among the Qing court. Emperor Daoguang believed his actions dishonored the Celestial Empire and ordered a declaration of war against the British, appointing Yongshan, an imperial prince, as the Pacifying General and mobilizing over 10,000 troops from various regions to Guangdong.
When Yongshan's army arrived in Guangzhou, he regarded the local people as Han traitors, opposing and suppressing the people's resistance against the British. He recruited Fujian watermen instead of using Guangdong troops and the troops from other provinces, whose discipline had deteriorated, completely losing the advantage of local. The British forces again launched a military attack, breaking through the fortresses along the Humen and Hengdang lines and the Dahu Mountain fortress, advancing up the Pearl River toward Guangzhou.
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