Great Ming Military

Archery had always been one of the most important cultural aspects of China. Considered one of the Six Gentlemanly Arts   in Confucian p...

Drawing of a Gong She Huo Zhe Liu Jian, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Basic equipment Nu Jian Tong (弩箭筒, lit. 'Crossbow arrow cylinder') Drawing of a Jian Tong, from 'Jue Zhang Xin Fa (《蹶張心法》)...

UPDATED DECEMBER 18, 2023 NOTE: This blog post was originally called "Equipment of a Ming soldier — Archer". However, I quickly...

Despite the importance of archery in Chinese culture and warfare, very little is known about Ming bows because of their eventual complete re...

MINOR UPDATE MARCH 05, 2024 Drawing of a crossbow, from 'Chou Hai Tu Bian (《籌海圖編》)'.

Repeating crossbow is one of the unique inventions of China. Although the invention is commonly attributed to Zhu Ge Liang (诸葛亮) , the basic...

Drawing of a crossbow with poisoned quarrel, from 'Chou Hai Tu Bian (《籌海圖編》)'. Liang Guang Yao Jian (兩廣藥箭, lit. 'Poisoned a...

MINOR UPDATE OCTOBER 9, 2024 Drawing of a Bian Jian, from 'Bing Lu (《兵錄》)'. A Bian Jian (邊箭, lit. 'Border arrow' ...