A recall of arms, the close of the Qing Dynasty

Sword typology and Edge Weapons forms of the Chinese Empire and related cultures with an emphasis on their relationship to Swordsmanship.

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Freebooter
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A recall of arms, the close of the Qing Dynasty

Post by Freebooter » Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:38 pm

A tough nut to crack for me as I only read and write English...

I have compelling evidence that suggests at the close of the Qing Dynasty there was a recall of Military sidearms/swords within all Chinese states that were moved to various wharehouses in 1911...I guess a change of the guard so to speak with new regulation forms being adopted for the onset of the Republican era ahead.

Does anyone know of such places historically or heard of such tales and where further information can be researched?

thanks

Gavin
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Dan Pasek
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Re: A recall of arms, the close of the Qing Dynasty

Post by Dan Pasek » Fri Jun 03, 2011 9:51 am

Freebooter wrote:I have compelling evidence that suggests at the close of the Qing Dynasty there was a recall of Military sidearms/swords within all Chinese states that were moved to various wharehouses in 1911...I guess a change of the guard so to speak with new regulation forms being adopted for the onset of the Republican era ahead.
Gavin,

I don’t know of any specific source material for you, but I was somewhat surprised by your findings. I would suggest searching information about the policies of Yuan Shikai (he was very autocratic even though he was second in charge after Sun Yatsen, he was elected as the Provisional President of the Republic of China in 1912, and he was in charge of the army). He negotiated terms with provinces that broke away from the Qing (the revolutionaries were militarily weak and somewhat politically naive) and was apparently the power during the early years after the fall of the Qing. The Revolutionary Alliance held elections in 1913 leading to the Nationalist Party winning a majority, but even then Yuan killed his political opponents, militarily defeated the 6 provinces that declared independence as a result...

After the death of Yuan in 1916, China was essentially in conflict with various warlords vying for control; and even after the Nationalists reestablished some control, they were still usually fighting (e.g. with Communists, Japanese invaders...). So, after the death of Yuan, I doubt that there would have been any ban on military sidearms/swords, and by then any that were warehoused would probably have been returned to service.

Dan

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