Abstract: During the heyday of the Self-Strengthening Movement, the late Qing government was dedicated to reinforcing coastal defense, with military factories across the country eagerly importing and replicating advanced Western artillery technologies. These technologies included British-style Armstrong, Whitworth, and Vavasseur breech-loading and muzzle-loading rifled cannons, as well as German-style Krupp and Gruson dual-purpose breech-loading rifled cannons. In particular, the “Krupp” artillery, with its outstanding performance, quickly became the mainstream equipment in the military. However, details about the production scale, technical level, and actual combat performance of these copied cannon types remain largely unknown. The design inspiration for these cannons came from a delegation sent by the Qing court’s influential minister Li Hongzhang to inspect the Krupp factory, and they were replicated by the Jinling Machine Bureau (abbreviated as “Ning Bureau”). These cannons not only represent the Ning Bureau’s support for the Imperial Guard Camp but also mark the beginning of China’s early introduction of Krupp land-based cannon types, ending the late Qing era’s inability to produce breech-loading rifled cannons domestically. These two cannons were lost overseas for a long time, likely looted by the invading forces during the war.

Key Words: Jinling Machinery Bureau; Krupp artillery; Shenji Camp; Li Hongzhang