Some random mythbustings

There are many false information about Ming Dynasty military (and ancient Chinese military in general) floating around on the internet. Here are some of the more well known ones, and the truth behind these myths.

Myth 1. Rattan shield is bulletproof.

A Chinese rattan shield, late Qing (Boxer rebellion) period. (Source: Zemanek-Münster)

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101st Post: Commonly available visual references for Ming army (and why you shouldn't trust them)

This blog post was originally meant to be part of my 100th post rant, but that one kind of drag on for too long, so I decided to write a separate one. 

I think I have to apologise beforehand if my tone in this blog post sounds too condescending. I know most illustrators are not historians, and it's very hard to reconstruct a historically accurate illustration with the information (which erred plenty) given to them. With that in mind, I have to say they had done a commendable job bringing the past to life.

Men-At-Arms 251 Medieval Chinese Armies 1260 - 1520
Even though I know Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》) is usually the go-to resource for researching Ming Dynasty military, I still find it odd to use a seventeenth century military manual as the reference to research and reconstruct Ming army of the fourteenth and fifteenth century. Then again, we have very few pre-sixteenth century sources to work with.


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100th Post: Some ramblings and random thoughts on Ming Chinese armies in tabletop wargaming

It has been over a year since I start writing this blog. I originally wrote this blog as a means to reorganise my thoughts on the Ming Dynasty military (it's a long learning process, and I still learn something new everyday), with the added bonus of disclosing the relatively obscure and largely untranslated Chinese sources to the world at large (or whoever that might be interested). Over the time I started to find interest in tabletop wargaming, reenactment and martial arts, but to date I haven't joined any of these, as it is really hard to find a shop that sells miniatures, or a friend to play with, or a reenactment group, at the place I am living.

That being said, I did read a couple of wargaming rulebooks and army books, and seen the currently available miniatures (not that there are many to begin with). I think I have some (arguably extremely limited, and probably full of errors) grasps on how a Ming Chinese army is played on the tabletop, and I think “they are doing it all wrong”.

Random thoughts on Ming Chinese army in wargaming

1. Wear some shoes!

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