MINOR UPDATE NOVEMBER 28, 2023
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| Ming cataphracts during an imperial hunt. Image cropped from a copy of 'Shang Lin Tu (《上林圖))' by famous Ming painter Qiu Ying (仇英). |
Horse armour was known as
Ju Zhuang (具裝) in Chinese language. An armoured cavalryman on armoured horse was therefore known as
Jia Qi Ju Zhuang (甲騎具裝, lit. 'Armoured cavalry with armour for horse'). From Ming Dynasty onward, horse armour was also known as
Ma Jia (馬甲) or
Ma Kai (馬鎧).
Importance of horse armour diminished during Ming period due to
shifts in cavalry tactics as well as deteriorating quality and training of both horse and rider. Nevertheless, Ming armouries still manufactured and maintained thousands of horse armours in their arsenal.
Traditional Song Dynasty-style "Cataphract" barding
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| Champron and croupiere/crupper, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'. |
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| Criniere/crinet and peytral, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'. |
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| Champron (side view) and flanchard, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'. |
Traditional Chinese barding was of lamellar construction, and could be made of leather, iron, or some combinations thereof. It consisted of five different components, namely
Ma Mian Lian (馬面簾, lit. 'Horse face screen') or champron,
Ji Jing (雞頸, lit. 'Chicken neck') or criniere/crinet,
Dang Xiong (盪胷, lit. 'Swinging chest') or peytral,
Ma Shen Jia (馬身甲, lit. 'Horse body armour') or flanchard, and
Ma Da Hou (馬搭後, lit. 'Horse back attachment') or croupiere/crupper.
The practice of separating horse armour into multiple pieces seems to began in China's Southern Dynasties, possibly as an adaptation and refinement of single-piece barding preferred by their Northern Dynasties rivals. Both types of horse armours co-existed well into Tang Dynasty, although by Song period single-piece barding was largely displaced by multi-piece horse armour.
The use of Song Dynasty-style "Cataphract" barding probably continued well into Ming period, albeit with greatly diminished numbers.
Late Ming period lightweight horse armour
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| Simplified leather horse armour, from 'Wu Bei Yao Lue (《武備要略》)'. |
Late Ming period military treatise Wu Bei Yao Lue (《武備要略》) contains a record of an unusual lightweight horse armour, made from large pieces of tung oil-treated buffalo hides sewn to padded cotton backings and laced together with rawhide cords. It had a very different design from typical Chinese lamellar barding, and consisted of only three components, namely a
Hu Lian (護臉, lit. 'Face protector') or champron, a
Hou Jia (喉甲, lit 'Throat armour') or criniere, and
Xiong Jia (胸甲, lit. 'Chest armour') or peytral, combined into a single component, and lastly two pieces of small
Qian Jia (膁甲, lit. 'Loin armour') used to protect the flanks of the horse.
