Traditional Chinese and Byzantine armour components: A brief introduction and analysis

Left: An unnamed commander or guard in Chinese-style "Cataphract" armour. Middle: Wu Dao Jiang Jun (五道將軍), one of the Chinese deities of afterlife. Right: Saint Nicetas the Goth, Christian martyr and military saint of the Russian Orthodox Church.

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Zhua Zu Sha Ma Feng Lian (撾足殺馬風鐮)

Drawing of a Zhua Zu Sha Ma Feng Lian, from 'San Cai Tu Hui (《三才圖會》)'.

Zhua Zu Sha Ma Feng Lian (撾足殺馬風鐮, lit. 'Foot-catching, horse-killing wind sickle') was a simple yet vicious trap designed for anti-cavalry warfare. It consisted of a small wooden hexagonal or rounded hoop with twelve inward-pointing nails made of iron or bamboo, tethered to a sharp sickle blade with a rope.

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Gu Wang (罟網)

Drawing of a Gu Wang, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Gu Wang (罟網, net) was the Chinese term for fishing net and, in military context, also referred to anti-boarding net used to deter enemy boarders. Made of recycled fishing net, it was typically used on smaller warships not equipped with defensive parapets.

Chinese sailors sometimes wrapped their vessels with anywhere from a few dozens to sixty layers of netting, so that these fishing nets could also resist enemy arrows and firearms.

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