Firearms In The Formation Of The Inner Asian Frontier Of The Qing Dynasty

Firearms were closely linked with the formation of the inner Asian frontier ofthe Qing Dynasty. In16thcentury the matchlock as the representative of the Westernfirearms were introduced into the Far East, and became the main infantry firearms ofJapan and the Ming Dynast. The matchlock of the two countries transformed into theLi Chao during "Imjin Patriotic War" from1592to1598and soon became thepreferred firearm of the Li Dynasty rearmament. The matchlock of Li Chao wasintroduced into the Qing Dynasty during the conflict with the Aisin (Qing) from1619to1636. After Korea surrendering to the Qing Dynasty, the Korean musketeerswere moved several times into the war for the Central Plains. In the other end ofEurasia, the Russian getting rid of the control of the Golden Horde, with its firearmsadvantages, annexed a number of Islamic Khanate, and expanded rapidly to theHeilongjiang River valley, and conflicted with the Qing Dynasty for37years. Inorder to obtain the advantage of firearms, the Qing Dynasty delivered the firearmsand firearms soldiers many times from Beijing, Mukden, Ningguta to Heilongjiang,and moved the musketeers of the Li Chao to the war, finally expelled the Cossackfrom the Heilongjiang River valley. Since the16thcentury, the firearms of theOttoman Empire had been introduced into the Central Asia directly impacted thehistorical trend of this region and formed the two "gunpowder empire", Safavid andMogul. In this historical process, Junggar (Choros) of the Oirat Mongolian (DorbenOirat) stood out in rely on the accumulation of firearms, and organized the JunggarKhanate, and in the long-drawn-out war with the Qing Dynasty, the Central Asiafirearms represented by “dzambarat” transformed into the Qing Dynasty and becamethe main light firearms of the Qing Dynasty from the18thto19thcenturies. Tocounter the threat of the Junggar, the Qing dynasty formed the Ujen cooha firearmcorps in1683, which were governed by the specialized officers and drilled the volleytactics, and then became into the most powerful firearms army of the East Asia inlate17thcentury, and which played a key role in the war with the Galdan Boshoktu. The battalion system provided a blueprint for Manchuria firearms corps, the EightBanners Garrison and Green Flag. However, the Qing army was not without theirdrawbacks in the war with the Jungar army equipped with firearms and skilled inriding and shooting. In1731the Qing army was completely defeated in Khoton norin the Altai mountains with the death rate of more than70%. And the rule wasshaken in the Khalkha for some times, which showed the strong military power ofJunggar and the hardships of the Qing Dynasty to develop the inner Asian frontier.From15thto17thcentury, the four empire, Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal and the Qingdynasty rose in the Asian continent from west to east, all of them were established bythe nomads from inland Asia skilled in riding and shooting (Seljuk Turks, Turkmen,Turk-Mogul, Manchuria). In the process the firearms had played an important role,known as the "gunpowder empire". Their decline was related with the backward ofthe firearms and the outside forces difficult to resist. Is it a historical necessity orcoincidence?...