Han Chinese Eight Banners

Han Chinese Eight Banners (Manchu: ᡠᠵᡝᠨ
ᠴᠣᠣᡥᠠᡳ
ᡤᡡᠰᠠ, Möllendorff: ujen coohai gūsa) or Ujen Cooha(Manchu: ᡠᠵᡝᠨ
ᠴᠣᠣᡥᠠ, Möllendorff: ujen cooha; ᡠᠵᡝᠨ
ᠴᠣᠣᡥᠠᡳ
ᡤᡡᠰᠠ), originally called Eight Banners Han Army, commonly referred to as Han Army, or Han Army Banner Division due to its organization under banner companies [zh]. Its members were known as Han Army, Han Army personnel, or Han Army bannermen, forming a key component of the Outer Eight Banners in the Qing dynasty's Eight Banners system.

Sometimes translated as Han-martial Eight Banners, they were hereditary military units, and later honorary posts of the Qing dynasty, similar to the Manchu Eight Banners, but occupied by the "military Han" (Chinese: 漢軍; pinyin: hànjūn).

Members were originally inhabitants of Liaodong (modern Liaoning) in the Ming dynasty, conquered during the transition from Ming to Qing by Nurhaci, who formed separate units for Chinese speakers called Nikan (Manchu: ᠨᡳᡴᠠᠨ, Hu: nikan), who fought under black banners. Over time, membership expanded to also include inhabitants from the newly-conquered regions of China.

The Han Chinese Eight Banners originated primarily from Han Chinese populations within the early Manchu Eight Banners [zh], initially holding a lower status. During the Chongde era [zh], their expertise in casting and operating artillery led Emperor Hong Taiji to organize them into separate banners, establishing their role as the "artillery corps" within the Eight Banners. Beyond artillery skills, the Han Chinese Eight Banners had inherent advantages in terrain familiarity, intelligence gathering, and persuading defections, making them the vanguard in the Qing conquest of China. By the mid-Qing, as the Eight Banners population grew, livelihood issues emerged, prompting the Qing court to mandate that the most recently integrated Han Chinese bannermen—those who joined after the conquest— exit the Eight Banners [zh] to alleviate resource pressures. Only the pre-conquest Liaodong "Old Han Army" remained. By the late Qing, ethnic distinctions within the banners blurred, and Han Chinese bannermen were increasingly assimilated into Manchu culture.

The Han Chinese Eight Banners primarily originated from individuals who voluntarily surrendered or were captured by the Later Jin and its successor, the Qing dynasty, in Liaodong, predominantly Han Chinese, with a small number of Sinicized Jurchens and Mongols who had served in the Ming administration. Initially, they were incorporated into the Manchu Eight Banners [zh] with relatively low status due to harsh policies under Nurhaci. After Hong Taiji ascended the throne, efforts were made to improve their status, with the creation of the Han Army being a key manifestation.

Before 1631 (Tiancong 5), the Later Jin lacked artillery, facing significant challenges in siege warfare. That year, Hong Taiji, leveraging the expertise of Wang Tianxiang, captured during the Yongping campaign, ordered the casting of red cannons and established the first Han Army banner, marked by a green banner, led by prince-consort Tong Yangxing [zh], known as the "heavy troops". The term "heavy troops" in Manchu reflected their role in casting and managing artillery, establishing the Han Army as the Eight Banners' "heavy artillery corps". The importance of artillery elevated the Han Army's status.

In 1637 (Chongde 2), the Han Army expanded to two banners, retaining green banners. By 1639, it grew to four banners with colors of plain green with yellow, white, red, and plain green borders. During the one-, two-, and four-banner phases, Han Army personnel remained under the Manchu banner division, with colors used to distinguish troop types. In 1642 (Chongde 7), following the victory in the Battle of Song-Jin, surrendered personnel from this battle and the earlier Dalinghe campaign were organized into companies, forming the Han Chinese Eight Banners with the same colors as the Manchu Eight Banners, granting them independent banner status.

In 1631 the first separate Han artillery corps was formed by Hong Taiji, and later created the first two Banners in 1637, another four in 1639, finally reaching eight in 1642, two years before the conquest of Beijing in 1644. The colors were the same as the Manchu banners: Yellow, White, Red and Blue; with each one having a "bordered" version in red, excepting the Red Banner, whose border was white.