Bloodbath Across the Land: The Xiang Army's Campaigns

The Hunan Army was a military force that commanded the attention of China and the rest of the world in modern Chinese history. When China's fortunes were in decline and the Qing government teetered on the brink of collapse, the Hunan Army's emergence gave the dynasty a much-needed boost. It was not only the Qing court's hope for stabilizing the country, but also the force it relied on to fight foreign enemies and preserve national unity. The late Qing court even began to show faint signs of revival. This was also the army that established Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Peng Yulin, and others as eminent statesmen of the dynasty's revival.

Drawing on a wealth of historical sources, this book offers a comprehensive account of the Hunan Army's domestic and foreign wars. Its domestic campaigns chiefly included fierce battles against the Taiping Army and the Nian Army. Its foreign campaigns included Zuo Zongtang's recovery of Xinjiang, the Sino-French War, and the First Sino-Japanese War, as well as conflicts against the foreign enemies of Agubai's forces, Russia, France, Japan, and Germany. Each battle is vividly brought to life, and every figure is portrayed with depth and humanity.

The book also offers an in-depth, multifaceted analysis of this distinctive military force, which “sought no office, no money, and feared no death.” It examines the army's recruitment and command structure, its training principles with their emphasis on discipline and ideological education, its strategy and tactics of using stillness to control movement, and the fierce, unyielding character of the people of Hunan. Yang Du once said, “If China is truly to perish, it will only be when every person in Hunan is dead!” These words are a remarkably apt tribute to the Hunan Army's loyalty, iron will, and prowess in battle.