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| Basic layout of the early formation, from 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'. |
*Note: Yuan Yang (鴛鴦) actually referred to ruddy shelduck in Ming official documents as well as among some Ming literati. The mandarin duck as we know it today was known as Xi Chi (鸂鶒) during Ming period.
The exotic name and astounding battle records shroud the Mandarin Duck Formation in myth. In reality, Mandarin Duck Formation was very simple, straightforward and did not require a high level of martial skills nor complex manoeuvres to be effective (Qi's army was comprised of peasants and miners, most of whom were illiterate). While Mandarin Duck Formation was primarily designed for small engagement, it could be easily scaled up for use in large battle numbering thousands of troops as well.
Basic tactics
A basic Mandarin Duck squad consisted of two near identical teams of five, plus one squad leader and one porter. Each team consisted of one swordsman who was also the team leader, one Lang Xian (狼筅), two pikemen armed with long spears and one Tang Pa (鎲鈀).
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| Rendition of a full Mandarin Duck squad on standby. This image is cropped and then pieced together from 'Wu Bian (《武編》)', 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)' and 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'. Weapons are edited to show a somewhat more realistic length. |
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| Rendition of a full Mandarin Duck squad in combat. This image is cropped and then pieced together from 'Wu Bian (《武編》)', 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)' and 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'. Weapons are edited to show a more realistic length. |
When facing the enemy, both swordsmen crouched at the front rank to protect all those behind them with their shields. Once the battle was joined, the swordsman with rattan shield would throw his javelin and made a quick dash to charge at the enemy, while the swordsman with Ai Pai (挨牌) stood his ground. Lang Xian were projected over the head of the swordsman to provide cover, while pikemen guarded the left and right flanks of the Lang Xian. If enemy troops managed to somehow get pass the Lang Xian and pikemen, they still had to face the shorter but no less deadly Tang Pa.
Other blog posts in my Mandarin Duck Formation series:
Mi Zhan — the original Yuan Yang Zhen
Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen — Part 1
Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen — Part 2
Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen — Part 3
Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen — Part 4
Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen — Part 5
Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen — Part 6
Xu Guang Qi's Yuan Yang Wu
great animation about the formation
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4vtJ5AKvJE
from a Chinese documentary about Qi Ji Guang
I have seen it. The animation is creative and well done, but I am not very impressed with the portrayal of the formation itself.
DeleteI have the impression that this tactic was adopted by the Ming because they didn't have soldiers as good as the Japanese in individual combat.
ReplyDeleteapparently the Ming troops in this formation attacked with 2 or more soldiers to defeat 1 Japanese.
Didn't the Ming develop swordsmen as skilled as the Japanese?
What it suggests is that Japan was the best at sword fighting.
Well, yes and no.
DeleteYes in the sense that this tactic did facilitate multiple lower-skilled soldiers to gank up on better-trained enemies to defeat them.
No in the sense that Qi Jiguang regularly fought Wokou while being outnumbered, sometime significantly, and still won with minimal casualties anyway. Some of his subordinates also dueled with Wokou and won.