Chiang Kai-shek rifle Country China Type Rifle Introduction 1935 Specifications Weight 4.08 kg Length 1,110 mm Barrel length 600 mm Cartridge 7.92 x 57 mm (8 mm Mauser) Action Bolt-action Rate of fire approximately 15 rounds/minute Muzzle velocity 810 m/s Effective range 500 m Feed system 5-round stripper clip, internal magazine

The Type Zhongzheng rifle, also known as the Chiang Kai-shek Rifle and Type 24, named after the Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, was a Chinese-made copy of the German Mauser Gewehr 98, the forerunner of the Karabiner 98k. Pre-production of the Chiang Kai-Shek rifle started in August 1935 (Year 24 Republican calendar, hence Type 24, but later renamed to Type Zhongzheng) and was in full scale production as early as later 1935. Although the Hanyang 88 rifle was produced in greater numbers than the Type Zhongzheng, the full production and standardization of the Type Zhongzheng rifle only started during the second Sino-Japanese war.

The rifle served China as one of the standard rifles for the army and also helped in defending China during the early part of the Second Sino-Japanese war before being abandoned in favour of American made guns like the Thompson submachine gun and Springfield rifle up until the Chinese Civil War, when the rifle became obsolescent. Some of the Type Zhongzheng rifles managed to reach the exact same quality as the Karabiner 98. Due to time constraint with the ongoing war most of the better quality rifles were usually issued to Chiang Kai-Shek\'s favourite divisions while the majority of regulars were issued with the more hastily made inferior versions.

Although heavy and often slow to reload compared to the Japanese Arisaka infantry rifle, especially as the enemy tended do a Banzai charge after the first volley, which usually forced the poorly trained regulars in the NRA into hand to hand combat, the major advantage of the Type Zhongzheng rifle over the Arisaka was that it had better stopping power with the use of 8mm Mauser rounds and also the rifle has a faster rate of fire and at greater distance than the Arisaka (approx 400m). If used tactically correct the result would be devastating (as shown at numerous times in the Battle of Changsha, when the NRA used encirclement against superior IJA forces).

A total of around 500,000-600,000 rifles were produced between 1935 and 1945, and the rifle saw its last war in the hands of People's Volunteer Army troops against the UN forces during the Korean War.