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Chinese Origin Mauser Stock Engraving ID

163K views 535 replies 118 participants last post by  mparks635 
#1 ·
This is a thread to gather all stock and metal engraving infomation on Chinese origin rifles. I myself and others who can read Chinese will attempt to provide translation and hopefully other info related to the item. Hopefully others with similar branding can obtain info from this post.

Please post pic of your items with Chinese writings.

I'll start with 2:


This is found on a T77 rifle manufactured by Zhe Jiang Iron Works during the War, it is a copy of the FN 1930. The exact origin of this militia unit is un-resolved.
Chinese can be read from right or left depends on when it was done. So it could be He Nan Militia or Nan He Militia.
Background: Usually the militia unit is a local org, not provincial. There is no other sample that had the provincial name associated directly with militia found yet.

This is found on a FN 1938 rifle. It is most likely branded during the War by the military unit which this rifle was assigned to.
 
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#91 ·
It could be read either way depending on where and when it was written. This was discussed off and on here over the years. There is a Henan Province, but the Chinese authorities organized militias locally, not at the province level. One or more counties named Nan He was/were noted.
 
#95 ·
A quick search turns up a Nanhe County in Guizhou and in Hebei. Yes, you're probably right, that's most likely the case given that the mark on the otherside if the stock is read left to right. This probably dates it to after the mid-50s and the standardisation of the written language.

Having said that, while militia units were organised locally, they would have had some higher level of organisation for supply and logistics purposes, through the PLA and maybe the Public Security Bureau, given that the militia was tasked with similar public security duties now tasked to the People's Armed Police. But I've never seen markings that indicate PLA Military Region or a very clear reference to a province (Public Security Bureau).

It would be nice to see more organisational markings like these, to get a better idea of the range of styles and content, but online examples are very few and far between.
 
#93 ·
From top to bottom
cao lian 'drill' or 'practise'
 
#103 ·
You're quite right, it's not 'Militia' (Min Bing) at all. It says Ren Min Wu Zhuang, which is short for Ren Min Wu Zhuang Bu, the 'People's Armed Forces Department'. It could be described as 'military services department'.

The Wu Zhuang is a committee at the local government level (municipal government, small towns, rural county) jointly staffed by the civilian government Communist Party leadership and People's Liberation Army officers, which works in co-ordination with central authorities in the People's Armed Forces Committee. At the local government level, the Wu Zhuang does 'military work', in that it administers and supervises (in political and military terms) the People's Militia (Min Bing), military training at junior and senior high schools and universities, peacetime recruitment into the PLA, wartime mobilisation, maintains administrative lists of reservists, veterans etc.

A rifle marked like this might be a training rifle assigned to the Wu Zhuang, issued to end users for training and then returned to armoury. Maybe for high school and university training.
 
#106 ·
The marking is the same as the Hanyang 88 a few post previously, (the rack numbers are quite close) and I commented on the marking of that one. Edokko is close, but no cigar. Guizhou Huangping Xian(County) and Renmin Wu Zhuang 武装 (People's Armed Forces Department). It's not possible for it to be a Korean bring back. The People's Armed Forces Department was organised around 1958, so the marking probably dates to around that time or later.

It's not the People's Armed Police either, which was established in 1982 as the Renmin Wu Zhuang Jingcha 人民武装警察 , but normally referred to as the Wu Jing 武警, well into the Type 56 SKS and AK as standard issue.
 
#108 ·
Hard to say, but the training organised by the People's Armed Forces Dept was more military familiarisation and introduction. Some range shooting and drill might have been the general level of use in this context.
 
#109 ·




The first picture is the reciever, the second two are on the right side of the stock.

On the reciever, it also says very faintly: 34-9
The serial number is N6687

The first mark on the stock is a six pointed star with a 1 inside it. The second is very faint. It's hard to make out in the picture, but maybe it is a common mark. If not I can try to rub it onto paper with a crayon, so that it can be read. My camera is really bad, and these were the best it could do.
 
#110 ·
The last of the first arsenal ZZS. Receiver with Gear mark & Bow/Arrow (Ordnance Marking), banner with ZZS in it and a 5-point star(the first arsenal mark) on top. S/N is in line with that period. The marking on the last picture may be "Inspected", really too faint to be 100% sure.
 
#111 ·
So, this rifle was made during the 1940s? I'm not very knowledgeable about Chinese weapons.

Also, is the six pointed star on the stock indicating First Arsenal, because it has a 1 inside it?

I'll also try to get a rubbing of the final marking, not sure if I have crayons!
 
#112 · (Edited)
Add 11 to the year date to convert to western calendar. (34-9) + 11 = 45-9 or September 1945.

For stock markings, keep in mind that the stock may not be original to the receiver unless they both have matching serial numbers. I don't recall seeing serial numbers on a Chinese stock.

With Chinese rifles, almost anything goes. If rifle "A" had the stock replaced with stock "B", early stock markings would not be original to the rifle - but later militia stock markings could be original to the "A/B" combination rifle.
 
#116 ·
#117 ·
Yes, this is not a Mauser but a Lee Enfield No4Mk1 (corrected). It does have a Chinese stamping, so hopefully not too OT:

View attachment 551067 View attachment 551068

I might add the calligraphy is very elegant.

Another odd thing: it was made by Savage and dated 1942, but the usual lend-lease "U S PROPERTY" stamp is gone or missing.
Supposedly these were brought back from India by the Chinese Expedition Forces. The stock said "For Education Purpose". These were supplied by the Brits. but I think it should still have the "US Property" marking unless they're early British purchase?
 
#115 ·
That just goes to show that the Chinese used at least one of everything. I'm still looking for a Chinese marked 1847 Colt Walker. ;)
 
#119 ·
Right, the Shanxi Arsenal evacuated already by then. Shanxi province fell under the juristiction of the Northern China Expedition Forces, not Nanjing (Southern China Expedition Forces). There were a lot of resistance units operated in the area, this probably was made by one of there.
 
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