Equipment of a Ming soldier — Xian Mei (銜枚)

Drawing of the flat back side of a Xian Mei, with placeholder soldier and military unit names written on it. From 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'.

Xian Mei (銜枚, lit. 'Bit stick') or simply Mei (枚) was a simple wooden or bamboo stick used as a gag for soldiers, both to prevent unnecessary chattering while the army was on the move, as well as an aid for observing noise discipline during special military operation such as night raid and ambush. Such device had a very long history of military use in ancient China—records of soldiers conducting night raids with Xian Mei between their teeth can be found in some of the earliest Chinese texts such as Rites of Zhou and Records of the Grand Historians. 

Ming Dynasty iteration of Xian Mei, its design largely finalised by famous commander Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光), was a 4 cun (12.8 cm/5 in) long and 5 fen (16 mm/0.6 in) wide bamboo stick that came with a lanyard so that it could be worn around the neck or hung from the side of a helmet when not in use. Qi Ji Guang also specifically preferred semi-cylindrical slip over a round rod so as to have a writable surface, as he intended Xian Mei to double as identification tag for his soldiers.

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Movie review: God of War movie (《蕩寇風雲》)

The movie God of War is truly a breath of fresh air from the China's cinema scene. From the unimaginative bog that's choke-full of overused, money grabber adaptions of Romance of Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West and fictitious Wuxia stories, we finally get a proper historical war epic! This fact alone is enough to convince me to reach for my wallet, and the attention to details as well as accurate unfolding of historical events are just icing on the cake. What a pleasant surprise!

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Qi Ji Guang's Che Ying (車營) — Part 2

Tactics

Drawing of a Pian Xiang Che, from 'Lian Bing Shi Ji (《練兵實紀》)'.

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Qi Ji Guang's Che Ying (車營) — Part 1

The Mongol Threat

It was no secret that the Mongols were formidable and extremely dangerous warriors. Being an all-cavalry army, their strength lay way beyond just simple mobility and deadly horse archery, but also their unpredictability and force concentration. It is quite unfathomable, at least to modern minds that are more exposed and accustomed to Western (particularly European) style of medieval warfare, that a nomadic people with but a small fraction of Chinese population and wealth could muster a vastly larger, better trained and better equipped army than the Chinese, yet for most of the Chinese-Mongol conflicts, Chinese soldiers frequently found themselves not only outmanoeuvred but also outnumbered. In fact, it was not unusual in any given conflict to have a Mongol force that fielded more horsemen than Chinese had footmen, even though a horseman was several times more expensive to train and maintain than a foot soldier.

The ability of the Mongols to concentrate their forces essentially forced the Chinese into passive defensive warfare—utilising fortresses and strongholds to balance out the force multiplier created through concentration of force. Yet due to their superior mobility the Mongols could strike at more places than Chinese could defend them, and at times of their choosing. It was under such circumstance that the Chinese invented and pioneered wagon fort tactics to defend against nomadic raids, as war carts served as "fortress that moves" that allowed Chinese troops to operate away from the protection of their fortresses.

Yet even war cart alone could not adequately defend against Mongol horsemen, whom were equally deadly in horse archery as they were in cavalry charge, and often had numerical advantage on their side. For most of China's history, Chinese troops had to rely on massed crossbows, whether handheld or vehicle-mounted, to repel these horsemen. While undoubtedly effective, Chinese crossbow was hard-pressed to match the Mongol bow.

Qi Ji Guang's Che Ying (車營, lit. 'Cart regiment')

Che Ying formed the war cart branch of the reformed Ji Defence Region army devised by Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光), and was arguably the most important unit of his reform. While it was intended to operate alongside the infantry, cavalry and logistic branch of the army, Che Ying was actually self-sufficient even when deployed alone.

Several types of war carts were used in Che Ying, which will be detailed below:

Pian Xiang Che (偏廂車, lit. 'Side cabin cart')

Drawing of a Pian Xiang Che, from 'Si Zhen San Guan Zhi (《四鎮三關志》)'.

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Gang Lun Fa Huo (鋼輪發火)

Components of Gang Lun Fa Huo, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Gang Lun Fa Huo (鋼輪發火, lit. 'Steel wheel igniter'), originally known as Zi Fan Gang Lun Huo (自犯鋼輪火, lit. 'Self-tripped trespassing steel wheel fire'), was a passive firing mechanism used to trigger land mines. The device was invented by renowned Ming commander Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光) during his post at Ji Defence Region (薊鎮) to bolster defence against Mongol incursions (the notion that this device was invented during fourteenth century was unsupported).

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Ju Ma (拒馬)

Ju Ma (拒馬, lit. 'Horse repeller'), also known as Lu Jiao (鹿角, deer horn) and many other names, is the Chinese name for cheval de frise. Chinese armies had been using archer's stake and cheval de frise as early as Warring States period, and over the years many variant designs and modifications were introduced, and Ju Ma gradually became an essential component, rather than simply a supplement, of Chinese armies.

It should be noted that the names listed below were so-called "fancy names", most probably coined by scholars. In practical usage, it was always known as Ju Ma regardless of design.

Jin Shou Ju Ma Lu Jiao Qiang (近守拒馬鹿角鎗, lit. 'Close defence horse repelling deer horn spear')

Drawing of a Jin Shou Ju Ma Lu Jiao Qiang, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Jin Shou Ju Ma Lu Jiao Qiang was the heavy variant of cheval de frise. It was a wooden log covered with nine or ten projecting iron spears. As this variant was quite heavy, it was often used to defend relatively static position.

Yuan Tuo Gu Ying Ju Ma Qiang (遠馱固營拒馬鎗, lit. 'Far carrying, camp reinforcing, horse repelling spear')

Drawing of a Yuan Tuo Gu Ying Ju Ma Qiang, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Yuan Tuo Gu Ying Ju Ma Qiang was the light variant of cheval de frise. Made from three wooden spears joined together at the middle of their shafts, this variant was lighter and more mobile. Yuan Tuo Gu Ying Ju Ma Qiang came with pre-installed iron chains, so that multiple Ju Ma could be linked together to form a barricade.

It was often used to defend temporary camp and wagon fort. Ming foot soldiers and mounted infantry alike often carried Ju Ma wherever they went, only deploying it when they were expecting combat.

Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》) variant

A Ju Ma with hooks (highlighted), from 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'.

Designed by Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光), this variant was similar to Yuan Tuo Gu Ying Ju Ma Qiang, but replaced its spearheads with iron hooks.

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Famous Military Unit of the Ming Dynasty — Qi Jia Jun (戚家軍)

'Heng Yu Da Jie (《橫嶼大捷》)' painted by Ma Hong Dao (馬宏道) in 1988 to commemorate Qi Jia Jun's great victory at Battle of Heng Yu.

Perhaps the most famous, and the most elite military unit of Ming Dynasty, Qi Jia Jun (戚家軍, lit. 'Army of House Qi') was the army raised and trained by none other than renowned Ming commander Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光) himself. Troops of Qi Jia Jun hailed from Zhejiang province, particularly Yiwu County, and numbered about three to four thousand initially, but became much larger later on.

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Happy Chinese New Year 2016

Image courtesy of Freedesignfile.

A happy Chinese New Year to all my readers!

2016 is the "Year of the Monkey" in Chinese zodiac cycle. Monkey is generally associated with wit, resourcefulness, career advancement and handsome salary in Chinese culture, but also represents trickster and pranks. Monkey and its associated traits are very well-liked and firmly ingrained in traditional Chinese worldview. Fictional characters that exhibit one or more of these traits, such as the famous Monkey King Sun Wu Kong (孫悟空) and Wei Xiao Bao (韋小寶) are often well-received by Chinese audience.

Speaking of monkey, famous Ming general Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光) once employed monkey troops against the Wokou (倭寇, Japanese coastal pirates). It was during his campaign near Shizhu Mountain (石竹山) in Fuqing, where firearm training of Qi Ji Guang's troops attracted a large tribe of curious monkeys that tried to imitate the troopers. Inspired by the monkeys' act, Qi Ji Guang ordered his troops to capture several hundred monkeys and actually trained these animals in firearms.

When the Wokou came, Qi Ji Guang ordered his troops to set up an ambush in the mountain. Once the ambushers were ready, he ordered his other troops to release the monkeys into the Wokou's camp. Unsuspicious, the Wokou allowed these monkeys to ran pass them unhindered. The monkeys proceeded to pick up any guns they could find in Wokou's camp and shoot randomly, causing a great chaos among the Wokou. Qi Ji Guang then ordered his ambushers to commence attack amidst the chaos, and successfully annihilated the Wokou.

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Bu Cheng (布城)

Drawing of a Bu Cheng (highlighted), from 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'.

Bu Cheng (布城, lit. 'Cloth fortress') was a defensive cloth wall designed by Ming general Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光). It was intended as a substitute of wagon fort in South China, as the muddy terrain of South China made ordinary war wagons unfeasible.

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Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen (鴛鴦陣) — Part 6

Basic layout of the late formation. Note the lack of Ai Pai (挨牌). From second edition 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'.

A hero's end

Unfortunately for Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光), political fallout following the death of Zhang Ju Zheng (張居正), then Grand Secretariat of the Ming Dynasty, eventually caught up with him. After serving at Ji Defence Region (薊鎮) for sixteen years, Qi Ji Guang was sidelined to Guangdong, a relatively unimportant post, before being discharged from military service altogether. Disheartened and having nothing better to do, Qi Ji Guang began reorganising his life's works and military experience and wrote the second edition of Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》).

Back to square one

Rendition of a full Mandarin Duck squad, without its squad leader and porter. This image is cropped, edited and pieced together from the training manuals of 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'. Weapons are edited to show realistic length.

Save for some minor differences, Mandarin Duck squad of the second edition Ji Xiao Xin Shu reverted back to its original form. It consisted of two identical teams of five, plus one squad leader and one porter. Each team consisted of one swordsman with rattan shield, one Lang Xian (狼筅), two pikemen armed with long spears, and one troop armed with a Tang Pa (鎲鈀). Unlike the original version however, Ai Pai (挨牌) was no longer used, so the teams were now completely identical. Da Bang (大棒) was also removed from the squad, except as backup weapon for the porter (who also used it as carrying pole).

Qi Ji Guang also incorporated the idea of dual role unit into this Mandarin Duck squad. Javelins were given back to the swordsmen, troops armed with Lang Xian were given swords (Lang Xian was considered "long reach" weapon), pikemen given either bows or crossbows (depending on his skill in archery), and troops armed with Tang Pa were equipped with rockets. Additionally, entire squad would be armoured in Qi Jia (緝甲) designed by Qi Ji Guang, most probably inspired by the iron armour of Northern troops. Qi Ji Guang also advised that every arquebusier should be given a Chang Dao (長刀).

While Qi Ji Guang attempted to implement this revised formation to Guangdong troops during his office at Guangdong, he was relieved from duty before his plan was put into motion. However, his former subordinates from Zhejiang likely picked up his book and at least tried to implement it after his death.

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

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Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen (鴛鴦陣) — Part 5

Heavily armoured Sha Shou Dui, from 'Lian Bing Za Ji (《練兵雜紀》)'.

Reunion with the old army

Even after the conception of new Mandarin Duck Formation and the formation of Bu Ying (步營), Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光) was still unsatisfied with the performance of the soldiers of Northern frontiers. He requested for the transfer of Southern troops from Zhejiang province—troops he personally raised, trained, and fought together with—to Northern frontier almost as soon as he took charge in Ji Defence Region (薊鎮). The request was granted. At first three thousand Southern troops were sent, but this number gradually expanded to about twenty thousand.

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Ding Pai (釘牌)

Front (right) and back (left) view of a Ding Pai, from 'Bing Jing (《兵鏡》)'.

Ding Pai (釘牌, spiked shield) was a modified Ai Pai (挨牌) that was reinforced with bamboo and covered in iron spikes. Although dangerous looking, Ding Pai was not intended as an offensive weapon, as its size and the way it was gripped (i.e. with straps) prevented it to be used effectively for bashing. Instead, Ding Pai was designed to be discarded should the need to retreat arise—the spiked shield served as makeshift caltrop to slow the advance of pursuers.

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Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen (鴛鴦陣) — Part 4

Transfer to Northern Frontier

After the conclusion of the campaign against Wokou (倭寇, Japanese coastal pirates), Qi Ji Guang spent some time as the deputy general of Shen Ji Ying (神機營) in Beijing, before being transferred to Ji Defence Region (薊鎮), taking charge of the military matters of Jizhou, Changping and Baoding. Despite having a much larger army under his command, all was not as well as it seemed—the command structure of the defence region was chaotic and inefficient, military equipment and fortifications in disrepair, and the troops were undisciplined, unmotivated and lacked training.

Bu Ying (步營) and the new Mandarin Duck Formation

Qi Ji Guang realised that he was now commanding a completely new army, gained access to new equipment while losing others, and most importantly, facing a completely new threat. Unlike the foot-slogging Wokou, the Mongols were a highly mobile mounted force, but had virtually no access to firearms. Qi Ji Guang modified the Mandarin Duck Formation accordingly, incorporating North China-specific equipment into the formation. Bu Ying (步營, foot regiment) thus formed the infantry branch of Qi Ji Guang's new army.

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Mi Zhan (秘戰) — the original Yuan Yang Zhen (鴛鴦陣)

Rendition of a five-man team forming Tang Shun Zhi's Mandarin Duck Formation. Pikemen were kept at some distance (about 7 to 10 feet) from the shieldmen and Lang Xian until the battle was joined. This image is cropped and doctored from 'Wu Bian Qian Ji (《武編前集》)' and 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'.

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Kuai Qiang (快鎗)

Drawing of a Kuai Qiang, from 'Lian Bing Shi Ji (《練兵實紀》)'.

Kuai Qiang (快鎗, lit. 'Fast gun'), also known as Qiang Bang (鎗棒, lit.'Gun staff'), was a type of single shot iron handgonne mounted on an unusually long (five chi) wooden pole so that it could double as a quarterstaff. It was one of the most widely used handheld firearms among Ming Northern troops during mid to late Ming period, likely surpassing both San Yan Chong (三眼銃) and arquebus in total numbers.

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Sai Gong Chong (賽熕銃)

A Sai Gong Chong and its ramrod, from 'Bing Lu (《兵錄》)'.

Sai Gong Chong (賽熕銃 or 賽貢銃, lit. 'Gun that can match a Fa Gong') was another cannon designed by Ming general Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光). It was a three chi long muzzle-loading cannon, usually loaded with one lead cannonball weighing half jin, a departure from the standard practise of using multiple smaller shots in most Ming artillery.

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Hu Dun Pao (虎蹲砲)

A Hu Dun Pao in remarkable preservation condition.

Hu Dun Pao (虎蹲砲, lit. 'Tiger crouching cannon') was a type of iron cannon widely used by the Ming army. It was perhaps the weapon that best represents the Chinese artillery doctrine of the Ming period.

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Gou Qiang (鈎鎗)

Drawing of a Gou Qiang, from 'Lian Bing Za Ji (《練兵雜紀》)'.

Gou Qiang (鈎鎗, barbed spear) was a cavalry spear with two to four three small hooks below the spearhead. It measured eight chi five cun in length and weighted three jin.

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Xian Qiang (線鎗)

Drawing of a Xian Qiang, from 'Lian Bing Za Ji (《練兵雜紀》)'.

Xian Qiang (線鎗, lit. 'Line spear' or 'Linear spear') was a lightweight lance or cavalry spear used by Ming cavalrymen in Northern China. General Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光) standardised the weapon into its current form, with a two chi spearhead and seven chi shaft, for a total length of nine chi. The spear shaft was extremely thin, only one cun in diameter, and the spear only weighted three jin. The spearhead was tapered to an acute point for better penetration.

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Chang Dao (長刀)

MINOR UPDATE DECEMBER 12, 2023

『此自倭犯中國始有之。』
"This (weapon) only became known (to the Chinese) since the incursion of Japanese into China."
— General Qi Ji Guang

Cheng Zong You's Dan Dao (left) and Qi Ji Guang's Chang Dao (right). While superficially similar, Qi Ji Guang's Chang Dao has a one chi long bronze collar/secondary grip, which is not found on Chen Zong You's Dan Dao. Images taken from 'Dan Dao Fa Xuan (《單刀法選》)' and 'Muyedobotongji (《무예도보통지》 or 《武藝圖譜通志》)'.

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