UPDATED DECEMBER 1, 2023, minor update OCTOBER 11, 2024
The Quan Tie Jia (全鐵甲, lit. ‘Full iron armour’) was an interesting and one-of-a-kind Chinese armour design that first appeared towards the end of the Ming Dynasty. Unlike the brigandine and lamellar armour commonly used in China at the time, the Quan Tie Jia was made of large overlapping steel plates, and was often regarded as a late but independent attempt to develop plate armour.