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) Academic Journal Articles (1) 邹佳宏 (Aaron Zou), 清末新政练兵处制定枪械口径考述，军事史林，2023年第12期 Jiahong Zou (Aaron Zou), A study of the Lianbingchu (练兵处) standardizing rifle caliber during the Late Qing Reforms , Junshi Shilin (the journal of the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution), December 2023. Magazine articles in  English (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...

 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 ...

 Some articles and books in English have already discussed the design of the rifle itself. This article is going to discuss the history of Japanese Type I rifle, which has not yet been realized by western collectors. Japanese named the rifle after Italy as “イ式小銃” or more formally as 伊太利製改造小銃 (Italy made modified rifle) which abbreviates to 伊式小銃. There’s a story circulating out there said these rifles were bought for Japanese Imperial Navy which land troops were hardly to acquire small arms from the Army controlled arsenals. I have to say this is not true though  IJ Navy and marines were main users of these rifles. Italian rifles alongside K98k from Mauser were parts of Trio Pact that Japan-German-Italian exchanges military technologies and weapons for balancing trade deficit. Japanese archives show that the rifle contract was processed by Japanese Ministry of Army under the term of Japanese-Manchuria-Italian Pact. Japan initially ordered about 130,000 Italian rifles (seems lat...

The Second Sino-Japanese war outbreak on July 7 1937, Chinese domestic rifle production incapable of fulfilling enormous demands of rifles as the number of the Army growing fast. Meanwhile, many arsenals and weapon deposits were lost to the Japanese. Nationalist Government had to purchase more than 300,000 Mauser rifles from Mauser Company, FN, A Gavage and CZ between 1937 and 1939. From 1937.7 to 1939.4,  Nationalist Government Military Affairs Commission ordered 322,000 Mauser rifles from Mauser Company, FN, A.Gavage and CZ. This number dose not include local orders, taking over orders prior to the war and other government agencies orders.   Part 1: Chinese Banner Mauser K98k Part 2：Ceskoslovenska Zbrojovka Model 24 CZ was another important source of Mauser rifle to China at the beginning years of the war. CZ supplied 100,000 Model 24 rifles to China between 1937 and 1939.  The first Nationalist Government contract of 50,000 Model 24 was signed in July 1937 in Lond...

毛瑟在中国：M1904步枪合同 Mauser in China: Model 1904 rifle by Aaron J. Zou      This article studies the contract of Model 1904 rifle that Mauser Company sold to China in 1907 and probable commercial sales of Mauser Model 1904 rifles and carbines to China. It first appeared on Chinese language magazine  Small Arms  ( Qingbingqi , 《轻兵器》) of  January 2023. The English version in the title of Mauser in China: Model 1904 rifle has been printed by BANZAI of  Issue 492 (June 2023).      《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.

Months ago a friend in china sent me a picture of this Ludwig Loewe made Russian S&W No.3 revolver, which belongs to his college's reference room collection.  This reminds me of some archives I'd read about  China acquisition of Ludwig Loewe manufactured S&W No.3 revolvers.  In 1878, LI Hongzhang asked China Embassy in Berlin to buy 200 pistols for his army. The ambassador visited Ludwig Loewe Company in Berlin twice in 1878, Ludwig Loewe presented Chinese ambassador S&W No.3 revolver which they were producing for Russian contract. A letter from Berlin Embassy to Tianjin Arsenal stated some opinions of the ambassador about the revolver. He said this "very delicate revolver" disassembles into 66 components and does not suit for Chinese soldiers. This letter also mentioned that t he unit price is 60 Marks and Loewe Company had an top break design revolver which costs 42 marks. Li Hongzhang The ambassador sent a broker named Muller from Diers...

Belgian 7.65 mm Caliber Mauser rifles sold to China in 1894 by Aaron J. Zou This article discusses the first contract that FN signed with China in 1894 to sell Belgian 7.65mm caliber Mauser rifles. It first appeared in the title of 《寻踪追溯：中国订购的比利时FN公司毛瑟M1889步枪》on Chinese language magazine  Small Arms  ( Qingbingqi , 《轻兵器》) of  July 2022.

The article entitled "Mauser in China: M1871 rifle" studies the first rifle contracts that Mauser company made with China between1880 and 1881. This Chinese version of the article appeared in Chinese magazine Small Arms (轻兵器 Qingbingqi), issue of  March 2022, in the title of “毛瑟在中国：开始与终结，从M1871到K98k （上）” The  Mauser in China  studies the contract rifles that Mauser company sold to China from 1880 to 1939. 

This study of Chinese Mauser M1907 rifle and carbine comprises of two parts.  The first part studies the history of China adoption of 6.8mm rifle caliber, which has been published by Junshi Shilin (军事史林) , the journal of the   Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution, on the issue of December 2023 in the title of ' A study of Lianbingchu standardizing rifle caliber in the late Qing Reforms ' ( 清末新政练兵处制定枪械口径考述 ,  Qingmo Xinzheng Lianbingchu Zhiding Qiangxie Koujing Kaoshu ).  Download the article here.   The second part studies the Mauser development and sales of M1907 rifle, carbine and cartridges to China, which will be published soon.