Patron only: Post-Ulsan skirmishes

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Patron only: Battle of Bantan

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Some random mythbustings — Wokou Edition

Many of the enemies of Ming Dynasty are equally as misunderstood as the Chinese themselves. Wokou (倭寇), or Japanese pirates, were a particularly misunderstood bunch.

Myth 1. Hai Jin (海禁, lit. 'Sea ban') or maritime trade prohibition constituted the Wokou phenomenon.

『倡海市以息亂者，全無後慮，且不知致亂之原蓋在於法弛，而非有嚴法以致之。吾恐市一開，而全浙危矣。』
"Those that suggest to open maritime trade in order to pacify the turmoil have no regard for consequences at all, and (they) have no idea that this chaos is caused by lawlessness instead of stringent law. I am afraid that if the trade is opened, entire Zhejiang will be in dire danger."

— Wan Biao (萬表), protesting the ridiculous notion of opening trade to pacify Wokou, in his book Hai Kou Yi (《海寇議》).

Wokou engaging in rape and pillage, from 'Tai Ping Kang Wo Tu (《太平抗倭圖》)'.

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Ming, Qing and Japanese armour components: A brief introduction and analysis

UPDATED NOVEMBER 10, 2022

Left: An unnamed Ming Jin Yi Wei (錦衣衛, lit. 'Brocade-clad guard') in parade gear. Middle: Fu De (富德), a Manchu general of Plain Yellow Banner. Right: Yamanaka Yukimori (山中幸盛) with his characteristic crescent moon crested helmet.

This blog post is intended to be an introductory article to Chinese armours of Ming and Qing period, their individual components, as well as a comparison between their similarities and differences. I also included a Japanese armour to the analysis in the hope that it can highlight the design considerations that went into each of these armours.

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