MAUSER IN CHINA

Model Xicheng Rifle  BANZAI, ISSUE 485, November 2022 Model Xicheng rifle is a Chinese copy of Mauser M1907 rifle made by Chishui Arsenal (赤水兵工廠) in 1930s. The rifle was named after a Chinese warlord General Zhou Xicheng (周西成) who at the peak of his career became the governor of Guizhou. He established Chishui Arsenal in 1923. Subscribe to BANZAI: http://www.banzaionline.com Selected pages of the article:

 Publications  (Updated October 2025) English Publications (1)  Stanley Zielinski, Aaron Zou, Chinese Model Xicheng Rifle (西成式) . BANZAI, November 2022. (2)  Stanley Zielinski, Aaron Zou, Mauser in China: Model 1904 . BANZAI, June 2023. (3) Aaron Zou, Delin Model (德林式) Rifle A Chinese Copy of the Japanese Model 38 .  BANZAI, July 2023. (4)  Stanley Zielinski,  Aaron Zou,  Chinese Lan Model (蘭式) .  BANZAI, October 2023. (5)  Stanley Zielinski, Aaron Zou, A China Purchased Model 1871 Dreyse Made Carbine .   BANZAI, November 2023. (6)  Stanley Zielinski, Aaron Zou,  The 32nd Year Made Manchu Arisaka .   BANZAI, January 2024. (7)  Aaron Zou, Jim Curlovic, Stanley Zielinski, Winchester Hotchkiss Sales to China , The Winchester Collector, Summer 2024. (8)  Stanley Zielinski, Aaron Zou, Chinese Conversion of Japanese Model 38 To the 8× 57mm Cartridge .   BANZAI, April 2024. (9)  Stanley Zielinski, A...

 ZB established business connection with China dating back to 1924. Several agency made offers to ZB on behalf of Chinese buyers until 1926. ZB directly offering rifles to China happened in 1927 when General Zhang Zuo-ling’s delegate’s visit to Czech. At first. General Zhang would prefer to buy used rifles. The search for used rifles, however, was fruitless in the end. ZB made several offers to the General’s delegate who finally accepted an offer of 40000 rifles in June 1927. 20000 rifles were borrowed from MNO deposit. ZB gained 4.8 million Kc profits from this first direct contract which value amounts to 31 million Kc. Though the transportation was hard owing to embargo and Chinese volatile situation, the consignment arrived in China intact in February 1928 as reported by ZB management.  Following the first contract, in March 1928, ZB immediately secured a second contract of 30000 rifles which were dispatched from ZB on August 12 1928 and arrived in China on October 13. The ...

毛瑟在中国：M1880步枪和M1871/84步枪 Mauser In China: Model 1880 rifle and Model 1871/84 rifle by Aaron J. Zou This article discusses the M1880 rifles and M1871/84 rifles that China purchased from Mauser Company. It first appeared on Chinese language magazine Small Arms ( Qingbingqi , 《轻兵器》) of  September 2022. 《毛瑟在中国》(Mauser in China) is a series of articles studying the contracts of rifles and pistols that Mauser Company sold to China between 1880 and 1939.

The Second Sino-Japanese War outbroke on July 7 1937. At this point, China domestic rifle production amounted to 80000 pieces a year. Huge loss of weapons and machinery forced China to acquire extra small arms from Europe. Within 6 months after outbreak of the war more than 150000 rifles having been ordered from FN and ZB. 1938 Chinese K98k Contract Although China did not award first order to Mauser until February 1938, Chinese government requested German government to provide 100000 rifles right after Japanese full scale invasion in July 1937. In early 1938, the quantity further increased to 300000 rifles which request had never being fulfilled. German government’s reluctant to provide rifles to China compelling Nationalist government to seek a commercial contract. Chinese official Tan Boyu ( 商務專員處專員譚伯羽 ), the Representative of Chinese Commercial Office in Berlin, was deputed by Central Military Committee of Nationalist Government to negotiate a rifle contract with Mauser Company. Th...

 

  I went through several posts on GB about Japanese K98k contract, I'd like to provide some information from Japanese documents. I am not sure if somebody else has done similar job or not, hope I am not repeating. Japan ordered three contracts of Mauser rifles. The very first one ordered in 1938, Japanese reported 8000 "Original Mauser rifles" ( オリヂチル · ﾓｰｾﾞﾙ) were ordered in October 1938. In 1937/38 Mauser sold only 185443.69RM weapons to Japan and 31037.25RM weapons to Manchukuo.  This contract recently has been confirmed by Mr. Jon Speed's Mauser Archive research that 8000 Standard Modell were sold to Japan.  Be aware alongside Mauser rifle is Type I rifles bought by Ministry of Army and were not specifically for Imperial Navy though many of which were sent to Navy and Marine forces. (My writing about the history of Type I rifle:  History of Japanese Type I Rifle – Surplused ) Here's Japanese records of first contract. The second contract were ordered in early ...