通常来说，人们会认为淮军是一支“镇压太平军、捻军”成名的军队，而相对忽视了它在北洋地区即今天辽宁、河北、山东等沿海省份的发展。本文以备受学界忽视的淮军西学兵书为核心史料，探讨了晚清西学东渐史上一个难以捉摸的问题：淮军西学兵书是如何在军队中“自发地”生成？

文章主体内容分为三个部分。第一章以外籍教习瑞乃尔、出洋武弁卞长胜、淮军创办的军事院校北洋武备学堂为研究对象，说明在北洋淮军中有一批人在从事筚路蓝缕的西学译介活动，进而考察西方的兵学知识书写成汉语文本、形成淮军西学兵书的历史过程。第二章通过对浙东、皖南、新疆三处淮军西学兵书生成过程的考证分析，认为北洋淮军在接受西学的过程中存在着进一步传播的现象，揭示了淮军西学兵书由中心传播到边缘的整体历史过程。第三章将视野聚焦至甲午战败后淮军西学兵书的新发展，体现在出现了集大成之作、骑兵专业教材、步兵基层兵书三个方面，认为这一时期的成果是前阶段军事学术的延续与总结。

通过以上考证和分析，淮军西学兵书在北洋地区的酝酿发展并产生全国性影响、甲午战后取得新发展的轨迹得以从不同侧面展现，它对中国晚清军事变革和局部战争的深刻影响亦可见一斑。结语部分，简要总结淮军西学兵书的学术价值。

As conventionally perceived, the Huai Army has often been regarded as a military force renowned for its suppression of the Taiping and Nian Rebellions, with comparatively less attention given to its expansion in the Beiyang region, encompassing present-day Liaoning, Hebei, Shandong, and other coastal provinces. This thesis centers on the overlooked aspect of Huai Army's engagement with Western military treatises, serving as pivotal historical evidence. It endeavors to delve into a perplexing query within the context of late Qing dynasty's Westernization: How did the Huai Army organically generate its knowledge of Western military doctrines within its ranks?

The main body of this thesis is structured into three sections. The first chapter focuses on the research subjects of the foreign instructor Rui Nai'er, the overseas military instructor Bian Changsheng, and the Military Academy founded by the Huai Army. It delineates how a cohort within the Beiyang Huai Army engaged in pioneering efforts to translate Western military knowledge, subsequently delving into the historical process whereby Western military doctrines were transcribed into Chinese texts, thus giving rise to the corpus of Huai Army's Western military treatises. The second chapter employs empirical analysis to explore the genesis of Huai Army's Western military treatises across three regions: eastern Zhejiang, southern Anhui, and Xinjiang. It argues that amidst the assimilation of Western learning by the Beiyang Huai Army, a phenomenon of further dissemination emerged, unveiling the comprehensive historical process whereby Huai Army's Western military treatises propagated from the core to the periphery. The third chapter shifts its focus to the Sino-Japanese War era, examining new developments in Huai Army's Western military treatises. These developments are observed in three dimensions: the emergence of seminal works, specialized cavalry manuals, and infantry primers. It posits that the accomplishments during this period represent a continuum and culmination of preceding phases in military scholarship.

Drawing on the aforementioned examination and analysis, this thesis elucidates the trajectory of the development and nationwide impact of Huai Army's Western military treatises in the Beiyang region, as well as the new developments following the Sino-Japanese War, from various perspectives. It underscores their profound influence on the military reforms in late Qing China and the conduct of localized conflicts. In the concluding section, a succinct summary of the academic significance of Huai Army's Western military treatises is provided.