Part of the imperial hunt's new significance was its perceived value as a form of military training. A Qing dictionary defined the aba hunt as a way of "training for military proficiency". Theoretically, all Manchus were part of the hereditary warrior caste of the Eight Banners, a military organization which expanded rapidly to include Mongol and Han Chinese contingents during the Qing conquest of the Ming. Military skill, hunting, and Manchu ethnic identity were deeply intertwined. As John Bell wrote, Kangxi saw the hunt as a way to prevent the Manchus from acquiring the perceived Chinese traits of "idleness and effeminacy". Kangxi's fears had been shared by his grandfather, Hong Taiji, who believed that the Jin dynasty of his Jurchen ancestors had collapsed as a result of entering the "Chinese Way", to the neglect of their archery and riding skills. The Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors frequently criticized slipping standards and laziness among the troops of the Eight Banners. Qianlong, unlike Kangxi, Hong Taiji, and Nurhaci, never led military campaigns in person. The annual hunt, as reinstated under Qianlong, thus represented the best remaining opportunity he had to personally direct his armies in their military training, as well as to regularly reaffirm old Manchu ways through codified ritual in the face of a rapidly shifting Manchu culture.
