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Body at the Qing but Heart at the Ming’: Shifting Ethnic Rhetoric towards Han Soldiers in Pre-Conquest Qing

  • Date in the past
  • Wednesday, 12. February 2025, 15:00 - 17:00
  • Online
    • Michael Yan Hon Chung (PhD Candidate, Emory University)

Michael Yan Hon Chung (PhD Candidate, Emory University) will share his thoughts on the ethnic rhetoric towards Han soldiers during the Ming-Qing transition: 

This webinar examines the evolving ethnic rhetoric directed towards Han soldiers in the pre-conquest Qing state. In an effort to incorporate the latest European artillery technology into the Qing army, the Manchu ruling elites began enlisting defected or captured Han gunners and artillery experts from 1631. However, the Chinese artillery corps, which was known as Hanjun, grew in size and political influence, the Manchu elites grew increasingly wary of its rising political demands and questioned their loyalty, given their shared ethnic background with the Ming adversaries. To curb the Hanjun’s political influence, the emperor crafted an ethnic rhetoric that elevated the military valor and contributions of Manchu soldiers while downplaying those of the Hanjun, citing incidents of Chinese espionage for the Ming. This new ethnic rhetoric not only influenced the development of the Hanjun but also shaped the ethnic landscape of the emerging Qing empire.

For more information about the Research Training Group "Ambivalent Enmity: Dynamics of Antagonism in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East”, please go to our website:

RTG 2840

This project has received funding from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG). 

All Dates of the Event 'Enemy Encounters Webinar Series'

Enemy Encounters in East Asia will have a similar geographic scope to the Aftermath webinar series, covering East Asia, but with a broader temporal reach beyond the Imjin War and its aftermath. It will feature speakers from across different academic disciplines working on East Asia, who deal with antagonisms and processes of enemization in their research. Contributing speakers will discuss enmities in East Asia and associated ambivalences as they have historically manifested in the concrete conflicts they are studying. Case studies will include both states and non-state actors like religious and terrorist movements, as well as antagonisms within societies, such as those revolving around gender differences and class conflicts. We will look at how enmity and processes of enemization took shape, evolved over time and influenced identities, perceptions of self and others, as well as state policies. Please find attached the program for the upcoming term at Heidelberg University, covering October 2024 until February 2025. Information about the first session follows below:

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