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The Eight Banners (In Manchu: jakūn gūsa, In Chinese: 八旗 baqí) were administrative divisions into which all Manchu families were placed. They provided the basic framework for the Manchu military organization. The fundamental building block of the banners was the company (Manchu: Image File history File links Zhongwen. ... Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... Image File history File links JakÅ«n_gÅ«sa. ... The Manchu language is a member of the Tungusic languages of Altaic family; it used to be the language of the Manchu, though now most Manchus speak Mandarin Chinese and there are fewer than 100 native speakers of Manchu out of a total of nearly 10 million ethnic Manchus. ... The Manchu (Manchu: Manju; Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: MÇŽnzú, Mongolian: Манж) are a Tungusic people who originated in Manchuria (todays Northeast China). ...

niru, Chinese: 佐領 zuoling), some of which reflected pre-existing lineage or tribal connections in their membership, while others deliberately overrode such connections in an effort to create a more centralized military force. Each company was in principle required to furnish 300 troops to the larger banner army. Image File history File links Niru. ...

The banners were established by Nurhaci in the early seventeenth century (the exact date is unsure) and grew to become the core elite of the Qing empire. Though initially military in nature, the Eight Banners came to assume other administrative duties, including disbursement of salaries, distribution of land, management of property, oversight of popular welfare, and administration of justice. A hierarchy obtained among the Eight Banners, with the so-called three upper banners (Plain Yellow, Bordered Yellow, Bordered White) directly responsible to the emperor himself and five lower banners responsible to imperial princes; later, all the banners were placed under the direct control of the emperor. Also known as Taizu Emperor, Nurhaci or Nuerhachi (Chinese: 努爾哈赤; Manchu: ) (1558-September 30, 1626; r. ... The Qing Dynasty (Chinese: ; pinyin: Qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: Ching chao; Manchu: daicing gurun), occasionally known as the Manchu Dynasty, was a dynasty founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China, expanded into China and the surrounding territories, establishing the Empire... The term prince (the female form is princess), from the Latin root princeps, when used for a member of the highest aristocracy, has several fundamentally different meanings — one generic, and several types of titles. ...

The Eight Banners consisted of three ethnic components: the Manchu, the Han Chinese, and the Mongols. Beginning in the late 1620s Nurhaci's successors incorporated allied and conquered Mongol tribes into the Eight Banner system. The first Chinese additions were merely sprinkled into existing banner as replacements. Eventually the sheer numbers of Chinese soldiers caused Manchu leaders to form them into the "Old Han Army" (舊漢軍), mainly for infantry support. In 1631 a separate Chinese artillery corps was formed. Four Chinese banners were created in 1639 and finally the full eight were established in 1642. The Peoples Republic of China officially describes itself as a multinational unitary state and as such officially recognizes 56 nationalities or Mínzú (民族), within China: the Han being the majority (>92%), and the remaining 55 nationalities being the national minorities. ... The Manchu (Manchu: Manju; Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: MÇŽnzú, Mongolian: Манж) are a Tungusic people who originated in Manchuria (todays Northeast China). ... Han Chinese (Simplified Chinese: 汉族; Traditional Chinese: 漢族; Pinyin: hànzú) is a term which refers to the majority ethnic group within China and the largest single human ethnic group in the world. ... Honorary guard of Mongolia. ... Events and Trends Permanent Dutch settlement of New York Bay and the Hudson River. ... // Events February 5 - Roger Williams emigrates to Boston. ... Events January 14 - Connecticuts first constitution, the Fundamental Orders, is adopted. ... Events January 4 - Charles I attempts to arrest five leading members of the Long Parliament, but they escape. ...

From the time of the conquest of China (1644-1683) the banner soldiers became more professional and bureaucratised. Once the Manchus took over governing, they could no longer satisfy the material needs of soldiers by garnishing and distributing booty; instead, a salary system was instituted, ranks standardized, and the Eight Banners became a sort of hereditary military caste, though with a strong ethnic inflection. Banner soldiers took up permanent positions, either as defenders of the capital, Beijing, where roughly half of them lived with their families, or in the provinces, where some 18 garrisons were established. The largest banner garrisons throughout most of the Qing dynasty were at Beijing, followed by Xi'an and Hangzhou. Sizeable banner populations were also placed in Manchuria and at strategic points along the Great Wall, the Yangtze River and Grand Canal. // Events February to August - Explorer Abel Tasmans second expedition for the Dutch East India Company maps the north coast of Australia. ... Events June 6 - The Ashmolean Museum opens as the worlds first university museum. ... Beijing [English Pronunciation] (Chinese: 北京 [Chinese Pronunciation]; Pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; IPA: ), a city in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Xian (Chinese: ; Pinyin: Xīān; Wade-Giles: Hsi-An; Postal System Pinyin: Sian), is the capital of Shaanxi province in China and a sub-provincial city. ...   (Chinese: ; pinyin: Hángzhōu; Postal map spelling: Hangchow) is a sub-provincial city in China and the capital of Zhejiang province. ... Manchuria (Manchu: Manju; Traditional Chinese: 滿洲; Simplified Chinese: 满洲; pinyin: MÇŽnzhōu, Russian: ) is a vast territorial region in northeast Asia. ... Afternoon light on the jagged grey mountains rising from the Yangtze River gorge The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Cháng Jiāng)   is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world after the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in... The Grand Canal (Simplified Chinese: 大运河; Traditional Chinese: 大運河; Pinyin: Dà Yùnhé) of China, also known as the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (Simplified Chinese: 京杭大运河; Traditional Chinese: 京杭大運河; Pinyin: JÄ«ng Háng Dà Yùnhé) is the largest ancient canal or artificial river in the world. ...

Over time many Chinese banner companies in the provincial garrisons were reclassified as civilian or placed in the Green Standard Army. At the end of the Qing dynasty, all members of the Eight Banners, regardless of their original ethnicity, were considered by the Republic of China to be Manchu. Green Standard Army is the name of a category of military units under the control of the Qing Dynasty in China. ... Motto: None Anthem(s): National Anthem of the Republic of China Capital Taipei City (de facto) Nanjing (de jure)1 Largest city Taipei City Official language(s) Mandarin (GuóyÇ”) Government Semi-presidential system  - President Chen Shui-bian  - Vice President Annette Lu  - Premier Su Tseng-chang Establishment Xinhai Revolution   - Declared...

The banners had a hierarchical structure. The smallest unit was niru (or 佐領 zuoling in Chinese; 300 men). The next was jalan (or 參領 canling; 5 niru and 5 jalan consisted a gūsa (banner). Of course, these were ideal numbers and their actual sizes varied substantially.

niru	jalan	gūsa

Eight Banners

English	Manchu	Chinese	L/R	U/L
Plain Yellow Banner	gulu suwayan i gūsa	正黃旗 zhenghuangqi	Right	Upper
Bordered Yellow Banner	kubuhe suwayan i gūsa	鑲黃旗 xianghuangqi	Left	Upper
Plain White Banner	gulu šanggiyan i gūsa	正白旗 zhengbaiqi	Left	Upper
Bordered White Banner	kubuhe šanggiyan i gūsa	鑲白旗 xiangbaiqi	Left	Lower
Plain Red Banner	gulu fulgiyan i gūsa	正紅旗 zhenghongqi	Right	Lower
Bordered Red Banner	kubuhe fulgiyan i gūsa	鑲紅旗 xianghongqi	Right	Lower
Plain Blue Banner	gulu lamun i gūsa	正藍旗 zhenglanqi	Left	Lower
Bordered Blue Banner	kubuhe lamun i gūsa	鑲藍旗 xianglanqi	Right	Lower

Although the banners were instrumental in the Qing Empire takeover of China proper in the 17th century from the Ming Empire, they began to atrophy in the 18th century, and were shown to be ineffective for modern warfare by the second half of the 19th century. The later banners proved unable to defeat Western powers such as Britain in the Opium Wars and were also seriously challenged by the Taiping Rebellion. By the late 19th century, the Qing Dynasty began training and creating New Army units based on Western training, equipment, and organization. Nevertheless, the banner system remained in existence until the fall of the Qing in 1911, and even beyond, with a rump organization continuing to function until the expulsion of Puyi (the former Xuantong emperor) from the Forbidden City in 1924. Image File history File links Niru. ... Image File history File links Jalan. ... Image File history File links GÅ«sa. ... The Qing Dynasty (Manchu: daicing gurun; Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: ching chao), sometimes known as the Manchu Dynasty, was founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what is today northeast China expanded into China proper and the surrounding territories of... China proper refers to the historical heartlands of China in the context of that paradigm which contrasts these heartlands with frontier regions of Outer China (including sections of Inner Asia and other regions). ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Ming Dynasty (Chinese: 明朝; Pinyin: míng cháo) was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, though claims to the Ming throne (now collectively called the Southern Ming) survived until 1662. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... There were two Opium Wars between Britain and China. ... Combatants Qing Empire Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Commanders Xianfeng Emperor, Tongzhi Emperor, Empress Dowager Cixi Hong Xiuquan The Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864) was perhaps the bloodiest civil war in human history, a clash between the forces of the Qing Empire in China and those inspired by a Hakka self-proclaimed mystic... The New Armies (Simplified Chinese: 新军) were the modernized Qing armies trained and equipped according to western standards. ... In Politics, a Rump organization is a remnant of a larger political grouping that continues to exist after the group has formally dissolved, split or been abolished. ...

Banners, as an organizational structure, were also used in Mongolia. See Banner (Inner Mongolia). A banner (Mongolian: khoshuu, Chinese: 旗, pinyin: qí) is an administrative division of Inner Mongolia. ...