User:Ww9980/Tientsin Military Academy

Tientsin Military Academy（中文：天津武备学堂）, also known as Peiyang Military Academy（北洋武备学堂）was a public military school founded in January 1885 in Tientsin. It is known as the first and most important military academy in late Qing dynasty. It was destroyed during the Siege of the International Legations in 1900. Many of its graduates later became important military leaders in the early ROC age.

History
As part of his military reforms after Sino-French War, Li Hongzhang founded the Tientsin Military Academy In January 1885. .A recruitment of students was called nationwide. The academy has 4 divisions: infantry, cavalry, artillery and engineer. A fifth division, railway engineering, was added in 1890.

Duan Qirui and other 4 students left for Germany in 1889 for an exchange study.

The campus was destroyed during the Siege of the International Legations in 1900. The Boxer Protocol required that no Chinese military units exists in Tientsin and 20 miles around it. The campus which is in the restricted area is discarded. The military academy was restored by Yuan Shikai later in Baoding, known as Baoding Military Academy.

Military courses
Tientsin Military Academy offers courses including astronomy, physics, math, chemistry, military engineering, trench defending, and battlefield topography .

Exchange programmes
In 1889, 5 students were sent on an exchange programme including Qirui Duan, Dingyuan Wu, Dequan Shang, Yuzao Teng, Qingtang Kong.

Graduates
In its 15 years of history, approximately 1,000 students graduated which includes Duan Qirui (former Chief Executive and Premier of the Republic of China), Feng Guozhang (former Vice President of the Republic of China ) and General Wu Peifu.