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| A pair of Bi Fu, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'. |
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| A Ming cavalryman in lamellar armour. His armguards appear to be laced together rather than riveted, and only cover the outer arms. Image cropped from 'Chu Jing Tu (《出警圖》)'. |
A typical pair of Bi Fu is made of overlapping metal plates riveted to dog leather backing, which are then sewn onto two full-length arm sleeves made of silk. The arm sleeves can be secured to the wearer's arms (or more likely, the sleeves of the garment currently worn by said wearer) with leather straps.
Many variations of Bi Fu exist, some are fixed to single-piece plate spaudlers, some have additional metal plates that cover the armpits, some are laced together rather than riveted, and others only reach down to elbows.
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| Replica Roman manica based on the the Carlisle finds. (Source: The Roman Military Research Society) |
why qing chinese dont were these?
ReplyDeleteThey still use it, especially among high ranking officers and generals. Common troops switch to spaudlers (and sometimes bracers) instead.
DeleteReason for this change is unknown. Maybe this has something to do with the change of (civilian) fashion, just my baseless guess though.
but qing chinese arm guard is not large as this one
ReplyDeleteThat we can't know for sure, since there are only a few armguards survived.
DeleteHello, I had a question in my head for some times, and I was wondering if the bi fu were a total invention of the ming dinasty, or already exists during the song dinasty?also,I was wondering if they were a evolution of the Mongol timurid armguard with a similar construction?
ReplyDeleteI was going to answer Yuan Mongol, but now I think it was more likely come from Timurid influence.
DeleteHello, I have a question. In some depictions, I notice that the Bi Fu almost covers the entire arm, not just the outer arm. Especially in later depictions, with smaller plates with more segments, it seems like there is as much covering as European full plate upper limb armour.
ReplyDeleteSee here: https://imgur.com/a/1ztvqAu
Did this actually exist? It probably wasn't a full covering due to mobility, but it seems like a 70% covering of the limb as opposed to the standard Ming depictions that show 40-50% coverage.
Also, I found this video of someone reconstructing or inventing a Bi Fu type armour. https://b23.tv/meuy97G.
I think he took some liberties, but I think this is the closest to what I'm talking about outside of drawings and depictions. Aside from the chains he put in the inner elbow, how historically accurate is it? Is the armpit covering you talked about what is shown here?
Like many Chinese armours, Bi Fu comes in many variations and constructions, some only cover the upper arm while others cover the entire length of the arm and even back of the hand. However even the most protective version doesn't literally encase the entire arm in metal.
DeleteThe first one (painting) do exist as that painting is a realistic depiction of a very late Ming army. Note however the painting cleverly hide the underside of the arms, i.e. places not covered in metal, from view. Surviving Bi Fu that most resemble that painting can be found on Nurhaci's armour and Hong Taiji's armour.
The second one (video) is obviously not historical, and the creator doesn't claim it to be historical either (he seems to be trying to create some sort of "full plate-style lamellar").