Baoding Military Academy or Paoting Military Academy () was a military academy based in

Baoding Baoding is a prefecture-level city in central Hebei province, approximately southwest of Beijing. As of the 2020 census, Baoding City had 11,544,036 inhabitants, of which 2,549,787 lived in the metropolitan area made of 4 out of 5 urban distri ...

, during the late

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

and early

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, in the first two decades of the 20th century. For a time, it was the most important military academy in China, and its cadets played prominent roles in the political and military history of the Republic of China. The Baoding Military Academy closed in 1923, but served as a model for the

Whampoa Military Academy The Republic of China Military Academy ( zh, t=中華民國陸軍軍官學校, p=Zhōnghúa Mīngúo Lùjūn Jūnguān Xúexiào, poj=Tiong-hôa Bîn-kok Lio̍k-kun Kun-koaⁿ Ha̍k-hāu), also known as the Chinese Military Academy (CMA), is ...

, which was founded in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

in 1924. It, along with the

Yunnan Military Academy Yunnan Military Academy () was a military academy based in Kunming, capital of Yunnan, during the late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China. Along with Huangpu Military Academy (Whampoa Military Academy) and Baoding Military Academy, Yunnan ...

and the Whampoa Military Academy, was one of the “three major strategist cradles in modern China”. During the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, half of 300 divisions in China's armed forces were commanded by Whampoa graduates and one-third were Baoding cadets.

Predecessors

In 1885

Li Hongzhang Li Hongzhang, Marquess Suyi ( zh, t=李鴻章; also Li Hung-chang; February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901) was a Chinese statesman, general and diplomat of the late Qing dynasty. He quelled several major rebellions and served in importan ...

founded the Tianjin Military Academy 天津武備學堂 for Chinese army officers, with German advisers, as part of his military reforms. The move was supported by Anhui Army commander Zhou Shengchuan. The academy was to serve Anhui Army and

Green Standard Army The Green Standard Army (; ) was the name of a category of military units under the control of Qing dynasty in China. It was made up mostly of ethnic Han soldiers and operated concurrently with the Manchu-Mongol- Han Eight Banner armies. In are ...

officers. Various practical military, mathematic and science subjects were taught at the academy. The instructors were German officers. Another program was started at the academy for five years in 1887 to train teenagers as new army officers. Mathematics, practical and technical subjects, sciences, foreign languages, Chinese Classics and history were taught at the school. Exams were administered to students. The instruction for Tianjin Military Academy was copied at the Weihaiwei and Shanhaiguan military schools. The 'maritime defense fund' supplied the budget for the Tianjin Military Academy, which was shared with the Tianjin Naval Academy. The Tianjin Military Academy in 1886 adopted as part of its curriculum the

Romance of the Three Kingdoms ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' () is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 184 AD and ...

. Among its alumni were

Wang Yingkai Wang Yingkai (; 1861–1908), whose courtesy name was Shaochen (), was a Chinese general in the Beiyang Army and Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty, first rank official of the Qing dynasty, late Qing dynasty, who served as the vice preside ...

and

Duan Qirui Duan Qirui (, pronounced ) (March 6, 1865 – November 2, 1936) was a Chinese warlord, politician and commander of the Beiyang Army who ruled as the effective dictator of northern China in the late 1910s. He was the Premier of the Republic of C ...

. Among its staff was Yinchang.

History

In 1902,

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 18596 June 1916) was a Chinese general and statesman who served as the second provisional president and the first official president of the Republic of China, head of the Beiyang government from 1912 to 1916 and ...

, the Viceroy of Zhili Province and the Minister of Beiyang, founded an officer academy in Baoding, the capital of

Zhili Province Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and renamed ...

. Baoding was the headquarters for his New Army, which until 1901 was based in Xiaozhan, near

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

. The

Boxer Protocol The Boxer Protocol was a Protocol (diplomacy), diplomatic protocol signed in China's capital Beijing on September 7, 1901, between the Qing dynasty, Qing Empire of China and the Eight-Nation Alliance that had provided military forces (including ...

required the Qing government to demilitarize Tianjin and the New Army was relocated to Baoding. From 1902 to 1912, the officer academy in Baoding took on a number of different names, including the Beiyang Army Expedited Martial Studies Academy. The academy trained officers for the New Army, which was a significant factor in Yuan Shikai's rise to power at the end of the Qing dynasty and the pivotal role he played in the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

. In 1912, after Yuan became the provisional president of the Republic of China, the academy was briefly moved to Beijing and became the Army Academy. In October 1912, the academy was relocated back to Baoding and formally became the Baoding Military Academy.

Notable alumni

Bai Chongxi Bai Chongxi (18 March 1893 – 2 December 1966; , , Xiao'erjing: ) was a Chinese general in the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China (ROC) and a prominent leader of the Kuomintang. He was of Hui ethnicity and of the Muslim faith ...

Cai Tingkai Cai Tingkai (; 1892–1968) was a Chinese general. Cai was in overall command of the 19th Route Army of the Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army and other Chinese forces responsible for holding off the Imperial Japanese Army during ...

* Chiang Kai-shek, president of the

* Huang Shaohong * Xia Wei *

Zhang Qun Zhang Qun; also known as Zhang Yuejun (張岳軍) (May 9, 1889 – December 14, 1990) was a Chinese politician and premier of the Republic of China and a prominent member of the Kuomintang. He served as secretary general to the President of the ...

* Zhang Zhizhong

Successors

* Republic of China Military Academy

Memorial

In 1993, a memorial and museum was built on the site of the academy in Baoding to commemorate the academy and the 11,000 cadets who studied there. In 2006, the memorial became a national-level historical site.(Chinese
''Xinhua''
2006-06-28

References

{{authority control Defunct military academies Military history of China Military academies of China Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Hebei