Township bravery - Kyouyu

Volunteer soldiers of the Qing Dynasty in China. The Qing Dynasty's regular army consisted of the Eight Banners and the Green Camp, but in the late 18th century, when the Lin Shuangwen rebellion occurred in Taiwan, temporary volunteer soldiers were first organized. Then, at the end of the 18th century, during the Jiaqing Bailian Rebellion and the Taiping Rebellion, the organization of volunteer soldiers was approved and encouraged in each region to supplement the regular army, which had become powerless. These were called "town heroes," and there were those organized mainly by local officials and those organized mainly by local influential people (town gentry) who organized peasants and vagrants under their control. Both had the mission of maintaining order in the government against popular rebellions. The latter was based on self-funded training camps for the self-defense of their hometowns, but gradually became large-scale volunteer soldiers funded by the government, and began to advance beyond their hometowns to engage in combat. Particularly famous are the Chu Yong, Xiang Yong, and Huai Yong, which were organized by Jiang Zhongyuan, Zeng Guofan, and Li Hongzhang in their hometowns to suppress the Taiping Rebellion. The Huai Yong became the core of the Qing Dynasty's military power as the Huai Army.

[Shinji Kojima]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、清(しん)代の義勇兵。清の正規軍は八旗(はっき)と緑営であったが、18世紀後半、台湾で起こった林爽文(りんそうぶん)の反乱鎮圧に際し、臨時に義勇兵が組織されたのを最初として18世紀末の嘉慶白蓮(かけいびゃくれん)教反乱、ついで太平天国運動に際し、無力を暴露した正規軍を補うために、各地方で義勇兵を組織することが承認され、奨励された。これを郷勇といい、地方官が主体となって組織するものと、地方有力者＝郷紳(きょうしん)が主体となって支配下の農民や遊民を組織するものとがあった。いずれも民衆反乱に対抗して支配秩序を守ることを任務とした。後者は郷土自衛のために費用を自弁して組織された団練(だんれん)を基礎としたが、しだいに官費で賄われる大規模な義勇兵となり、故郷以外にも進出して戦闘に従事するようになった。江忠源(こうちゅうげん)、曽国藩(そうこくはん)、李鴻章(りこうしょう)らが、それぞれ太平天国鎮圧のため故郷で組織した楚勇(そゆう)、湘勇(しょうゆう)、淮勇(わいゆう)はとくに有名で、淮勇は淮軍として清朝軍事力の中核となった。

［小島晋治］

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