The Xiang Army: Upper, Middle, and Lower (Complete in 3 Volumes)

"Xiang Army" was the name given to local armed forces from Hunan in the late Qing dynasty. First called the "Xiang Braves" and later the "Xiang Army," it was a force that commanded attention both at home and abroad in modern Chinese history. This book is a comprehensive and in-depth history of the Xiang Army. In the late Qing, peasant uprisings led by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom surged across the land, while the court struggled to maintain order. Faced with an urgent crisis, the Xianfeng Emperor broke with convention and promoted civil and military officials from humble backgrounds. Thus a generation of Hunan scholars rose from the countryside. Zuo Zongtang, Jiang Zhongyuan, Liu Changyou, Luo Zhenan, and others joined the fight to defend the court, while former court officials such as Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, Luo Bingzhang, and Guo Songtao would also be tested in the flames of war.

Drawing on historical records, this book recounts the legendary lives of Xiang Army commanders and generals, who won battle after battle. It recreates the Xiang Army's epic history of warfare on a grand scale, while also revealing a major upheaval that profoundly shaped the course of modern China. From 1851 onward, the Xiang Army fought across much of China: against the Taiping, suppressing the Nian rebels, pacifying the northwest, establishing military farms, promoting Westernization, resisting France, and repelling Japanese invaders. Then, at the Battle of Niuzhuang in 1894, the entire Xiang Army was wiped out, bringing one chapter of history vividly to life. The author highlights the many sides of Xiang Army commanders and generals, portraying more than ten late Qing officials, including Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang, and Hu Linyi, and unearthing over a hundred Xiang Army officers long buried beneath the dust of history.