Great Ming Military

10 April 2016

Flails of the Ming Dynasty

Tie Lian Jia Bang (鐵鏈夾棒, lit. 'Iron chain with clubs')

Drawing of a Tie Lian Jia Bang, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Tie Lian Jia Bang was the Chinese version of two-handed infantry flail. It was also known as Lian Ting (連梃, lit. 'Linked staff'), Lian Jia Bang (連耞棒), and several other names.

Early references of this weapon can be found in the works of Warring States period Mo Zi (《墨子》) and Tang period Tong Dian (《通典》). However, according to Song period Wu Jing Zong Yao (《武經總要》), this weapon originated from a specialised cavalry weapon used by the nomadic enemies of China.

A pair of flails, from 'Huang Chao Li Qi Tu Shi (《皇朝禮器圖式》)'.

During Qing period, flail became associated with Han Jun (漢軍, lit. 'Han Banners'). Qing flails were generally smaller and usually used in pairs.

Nowadays this weapon is known as Shao Zi Gun (梢子棍) and Pan Long Gun (盤龍棍, lit. 'Coiling dragon staff') by the Chinese martial arts communities.

Lian Zhu Shuang Tie Bian (連珠雙鐵鞭, lit. 'Linked bead double iron whip')

Drawing of a Lian Zhu Shuang Tie Bian (highlighted), from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Lian Zhu Shuang Tie Bian was a variant of common infantry flail that had two connected striking ends, making it an early predecessor of three-section staff.

Ball-and-chain-flail

Ming period painting of Lei Gong (雷公), Chinese god of thunder, with a ball-and-chain flail. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

While extremely uncommon, ball-and-chain flail was known to the Chinese. However, whether this weapon was actually used on the battlefield is anyone's guess.

Xu Guang Qi's De Sheng Bing (得勝兵) — Part 5

Ying-level Formations

Ying (營) was the largest tactical unit in the army of Xu Guang Qi (徐光啟), although administratively Da Jun (大軍) was the largest unit. A Ying consisted of five Bu (部) plus ninety-nine support personnels (on top of what Bu already had), led by a Jiang Guan (將官).

Fang Ying (方營, square regiment)

Layout of one corner of Fang Ying, from 'Xuan Lian Tiao Ge (《選練条格》)'.

Fang Ying was the largest square formation in Xu Guang Qi's army. It could be formed from Fang Wu (方伍), Yuan Yang Wu (鴛鴦伍) or Yi Zi Ping Wu (一字平伍).

Every troops in the formation was standing five chi apart from his comrades. The formation occupied a space of two hundred eighty by two hundred eighty chi. Like its Bu-level counterpart, this number could be adjusted.

Yuan Ying (圓營, round regiment)

Layout of one corner of Yuan Ying, from 'Xuan Lian Tiao Ge (《選練条格》)'.

Yuan Ying was the circle formation for Ying-level tactical unit and the upscaled version of Yuan Bu (圓部).

Every troops in the formation was standing four chi apart from his comrades. The formation had a circumference of one thousand four hundred and forty chi and diameter of four hundred and eighty chi. It could also be adjusted when the regiment was not at its full strength.

Qu Ying (曲營), Zhi Ying (直營) and Rui Ying (銳營)

Xu Guang Qi only briefly discussed the remaining formations and did not provide any illustrations, as these formations were directly upscaled from their Bu-level counterparts.

Verdict

Xu Guang Qi's army, if successfully raised, would certainly be a force to be reckoned with. However, given the financial situation of late Ming Dynasty, one cannot help but think that Xu Guang Qi's vision of raising such an elite (and expensive) army was simply too idealistic. Even if, against all odds, he succeeded, the new army would most likely face extremely heavy attrition immediately due to rampant peasant rebellions as well as Manchu threat.

While dual role or even multi-role troops were quite common in oriental warfare, Xu Guang Qi's suggested loadout (which would put even Double Armed Man to shame) was probably too extreme and would heavily burden his troops. Worse still, even with all these heavy equipment, the Manchus still held advantage over Xu Guang Qi's army in terms of numbers, equipment (armours, cold weapons, war wagons and bow design), mobility, experience and military leadership.

Xu Guang Qi's De Sheng Bing (得勝兵) — Part 4

Bu-level Formations

Most of the Bu (部) formations were simply multiple Shao (哨) formations assembled together, as such, Xu Guang Qi (徐光啟) only discussed some of the formations in detail. A Bu consisted of five Shao plus nineteen support personnels (on top of what Shao already had), led by a Qian Zong (千總).

Fang Bu (方部, square battalion)

Layout of a Fang Bu, from 'Xuan Lian Tiao Ge (《選練条格》)'. Note: Empty circles represent Wu, circles with black dots represent platoon leaders and four porters, double circles represent company leader with four support personnels, and the bolded double circle with black dot represents battalion leader.

Fang Bu was the square formation for Bu-level tactical unit. It could be formed from Fang Wu (方伍), Yuan Yang Wu (鴛鴦伍) or Yi Zi Ping Wu (一字平伍).

Every troops in the formation was standing five chi apart from his comrades. The formation occupied a space of one hundred twenty by one hundred twenty chi, although this number could be adjusted as the battalion would not always be at its full strength.

Yuan Bu (圓部, round battalion)

Layout of a Yuan Bu, from 'Xuan Lian Tiao Ge (《選練条格》)'.

Yuan Bu was the circle formation for Bu-level tactical unit and the upscaled version of Yuan Shao (圓哨).

Every troops in the formation was standing four chi apart from his comrades. The formation had a circumference of five hundred and seventy-six chi and diameter of one hundred and eighty-four chi. Like its square counterpart, it could be adjusted when the battalion was not at its full strength.

Qu Bu (曲部, crooked battalion)

Layout of a Qu Bu, from 'Xuan Lian Tiao Ge (《選練条格》)'.

Qu Bu was the crooked formation for Bu-level tactical unit. Unlike its smaller cousins, Qu Bu could be formed from Yuan Yang Wu in addition of previous sub-unit formations.

Like all crooked formations, it did not occupy a fixed area.

Zhi Bu (直部, straight battalion)

Zhi Bu was the straight formation for Bu-level tactical unit. It was assembled from several Zhi Shao (直哨), either in one large column, line formation, or two-by-two square (consisted of only four Shao).

Xu Guang Qi did not provide illustration for this formation.

Rui Bu (銳部, sharp battalion)

Layout of a Rui Bu, from 'Xuan Lian Tiao Ge (《選練条格》)'.

Rui Bu was the rhombic formation for Bu-level tactical unit. It was formed by two Rui Shao (銳哨) in Fen He Shi (分合勢) as vanguard and rearguard, two Shao in Yuan Yang Wu facing left and right directions, and one Shao along with porters and battalion leader at the centre of the formation.

Like other Bu-level formations, Rui Bu formation could be adapted according to its current strength. If formed with only two Shao, the middle part was omitted.