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Sino-Burmese War

Four Qing invasions of Burma ended in a truce.

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Sino-Burmese War

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Under the Qianlong Emperor, four military campaigns against Burma were initiated by the Qing from 1765 to 1769.[1] More than 70,000 Qing troops and four of their commanders died in this conflict, which has been characterized as "the most disastrous frontier war that the Qing dynasty had ever waged".[1]

Life and work

The first two invasions of 1765–1766 and 1766–1767 were defeated by battle-hardened Burmese troops at the border.[2] The third invasion in 1767–1768, led by elite Manchu Bannermen, nearly reached the Burmese capital Ava but was driven back by disease and heavy losses.[2] The Qing ruler's initial strategy for the war was to deploy only Green Standard Army soldiers from Yunnan, anticipating a quick victory.[2] A ceasefire was agreed upon by the commanding officers on both sides in December 1769.[3]

For roughly ten years, the Qing maintained a substantial military presence along the Yunnan frontier, and cross-border commerce was prohibited for twenty years.[4] Diplomatic ties between Burma and China were re-established in 1790, an event that the Qing interpreted as Burma's submission.[5] The Siamese gained the most from the war, recovering most of their lost territories after their capital, Ayutthaya, fell to Burma in 1767.[5]

What the cited sources add

The long border between Burma and China had long been vaguely defined, with local Shan chiefs paying tribute to both sides.[6][7] By 1735, ten sawbwas had sided with the Qing, including states from Mogaung and Bhamo to Kengtung and Sipsongpanna.[8] During the 1730s, the Qing dynasty strengthened its administration of Yunnan's border areas, while Burmese influence waned as the Toungoo dynasty collapsed.[7] The Konbaung dynasty emerged in 1752, and in 1758–59, its founder King Alaungpaya dispatched an expedition to the farther Shan States, which the Qing had annexed, to restore Burmese control.[9]

Three sawbwas—from Mogaung, Bhamo, and Hsenwi—escaped into Yunnan and attempted to convince Qing authorities to launch an invasion of Burma.[10]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Sino-Burmese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Giersch 2006, p. 103; Dai 2004, p. 145; Whiting 2002, p. 480–481; Giersch 2006, p. 103 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Sino-Burmese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hall 1960, p. 27–29; Giersch 2006, p. 103 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Sino-Burmese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dai 2004, p. 145; Harvey 1925, p. 258 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Sino-Burmese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dai 2004, p. 145 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Sino-Burmese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dai 2004, p. 145; Hall 1960, p. 27–29 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Sino-Burmese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Fernquest 2006, p. 61–63 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Sino-Burmese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Woodside 2002, p. 256–262 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Sino-Burmese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Phayre 1884, p. 191–192, 201 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Sino-Burmese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Myint-U 2006, p. 100–101 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Sino-Burmese War" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hall 1960, p. 27–29; Phayre 1884, p. 191–192, 201 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Sino-Burmese War (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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