Shenjiying

The Shenjiying was one of the three elite military divisions of the Ming Dynasty stationed around the capital Beijing. Its name has been variously rendered as Firearms Division, Artillery Camp, Shen-chi Camp, and Firearm Brigade.

Established in the reign of the Yongle Emperor (1360–1434), its main purpose was the research and training in the use of firearms. The divine engine division provided half of General Qi Jiguang's army with firearms and one cannon to every twelve soldiers, considerably high amongst other contemporary armies. The other two divisions were the Five Barracks Division (五軍營; Wu-chun ying), which drilled infantry in tactical manoeuvres and the Three Thousand Division (三千營; San-ch'ien ying), where hired Mongol instructors taught reconnaissance, mounted combat and signalling. Under the Yongle Emperor, Annam was invaded, allowing the Divine Engine Division to employ native Chinese and a large number of Annamese instructors to provide training. Firearms equipped included guns, the fire pistol, the fire lance, fire arrows, cannons, the arquebus and later, matchlock guns.

Qing Dynasty
During the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), a military unit also called Shenjiying but known in English as the Peking Field Force was created in 1862 and put in charge of military protection of the Forbidden City. It was equipped with western modern weapons.