Cotton and brigandine armours of the Ming Dynasty

Mian Jia (棉甲, cotton armour)

Section of one of the pages of 'Rui Xi Xian Sheng Nian Pu (《瑞溪先生年譜》)', depicting a horseman wearing a long coat with cross hatch quilting pattern, possibly a cotton armour.

Read more

Bamboo and wooden armours of the Ming Dynasty

Bamboo armour

A Qing period bamboo hat helmet, probably used by the militia. (Source: Trocadero)

Ming army never made use of bamboo body armour, except very rarely as helmet. Nevertheless, one peculiar group did find the bamboo armour useful—warrior monks from Shaolin Monastery. Since warrior monks were often recruited to aid government efforts in combating Wokou (倭寇), so some form of protection must be necessary.

Read more

Rattan armours of the Ming Dynasty

Teng Dou Mou （藤兜牟, rattan hat helmet）

Rattan helmet allegedly belongs to the Koxinga's army, currently exhibited in Zheng Chenggong Memorial Hall, Xiamen, China.

By far the most common type of rattan body defence (apart from rattan shield), rattan helmet was widely used by Chinese troops in the South China (as well as neighbouring countries such as Vietnam).

Read more