Bai Zi Chong (百子銃)

Bai Zi Chong (百子銃, lit. 'Hundred bullet gun')

Late Ming Bai Zi Chong discovered at an ancient battle site in Sichuan.

Bai Zi Chong, also known as Bai Zi Lian Zhu Pao (百子連珠砲, lit. 'Hundred bullet rapid fire cannon'), was the Chinese name for a muzzle-loading swivel gun. Prized for its wide arc of fire and accuracy, the Bai Zi Chong served primarily as shipborne anti-personnel ordnance and in siege defence.

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Gun Bei (滾被)

Drawing of an ornate Qing Dynasty Gun Bei, from 'Huang Chao Li Qi Tu Shi (《皇朝禮器圖式》)'.

Gun Bei (滾被, lit. 'Rolling blanket') was an unusual equipment used by the Ming army. A literal two cun thick cotton blanket used as a handheld version of Ruan Bi (軟壁), Gun Bei was usually deployed in front of the main body of an army to screen it against arrows, stones, or even arquebus shots. Using Gun Bei was such a risky prospect (as it did not always stop the projectiles) that the soldier would earn double pay.

Gun Bei was usually used in conjunction with a pair of sabres.

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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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