Chu Army

The Chu Army (Chinese: 楚軍; pinyin: Chǔ Jūn) was a standing regional army organized by Zuo Zongtang (左宗棠). The name is taken from the Hunan region where the Army was raised. The Army was financed through local nobles and gentry, as opposed to the central government.

The Xiang Army was one of two armies known as the Hunan Army. Another Hunan Army, called the Xiang Army, was created by Zeng Guofan to fight in the Taiping Rebellion. Remnants of the Xiang Army which also fought in the war were then called the "Old Hunan Army".

The Xiang Army was part of a new series of original armies called "Yung-ying" in Qing Dynasty China, separate from the Manchu Eight Banners and Green Standard Army. The main points of difference were in their regional affiliations, since these forces were often raised and led via kinship and local networks; and their contravention of the normal Chinese military policy where army generals were frequently rotated to prevent ambitious commanders building power bases. In the case of the yung-ying, the need for unit cohesion meant that officers were appointed by commanders and remained in command of their units throughout entire campaigns.

General Zuo Zongtang commanded the Hunan Army in the Dungan revolt, In December 1872 sending 3,000 of them to Suzhou in Gansu.

In Hunan, the scholar literi were "militarized", and more commoners enlisted as officers in the army.

Zuo raised a 55,000 man army from Hunan before he began the final push to reconquer Gansu from the Dungan rebels, they participated along with other regional armies (the Sichuan, Anhui, and Henan armies also joined the battle).

The Hunan Army was extensively infiltrated by the anti Qing Gelaohui secret society, who started several mutinies during the Dungan revolt, delaying crucial offensives. Zuo put down the mutinies and executed those involved.

Another commander of the Hunan Army during the revolt was the Manchu To-lung-a (Dolonga), who had been transferred from a Manchu banner. His leadership over the Hunan forces defeated the Muslim rebels and totally destroyed their position in Shaanxi province, expelling them to Gansu.

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