Tai Ping Che (太平車)

Drawing of a Tai Ping Che (above) and its various componnets (below), from 'Zhan Shou Quan Shu (《戰守全書》)'.

Tai Ping Che (太平車, lit. 'Peaceful cart') was a unique siege defence weapon used by the Ming army. Despite the name, it was not actually a war cart, and anything but peaceful.

Tai Ping Che was actually a semi-cylindrical mobile gun turret armed with five small cannons. Equipped with two wheels, it could be easily raised or lowered down the wall with the help of a wall-mounted crane, which allowed the turret to fend off besieging troops, particularly sappers, hiding in the hard-to-reach "dead zone" of the fortress. Since it would be nearly suicidal to man the turret with gunners and send them outside the wall, Tai Ping Che was also equipped with a Gang Lun Fa Huo (鋼輪發火) so that its five guns could be fired remotely.

The gun turret can be considered a successor of Warring States period Mohist Xian Pi (縣脾, lit. 'Hanging spleen').

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Ye Meng Xiong's Qing Che (輕車)

Drawing of Ye Meng Xiong's Qing Che, from 'Deng Tan Bi Jiu (《登壇必究》)'.

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Patron only: Shields of China's peripherals and Sinosphere

The final part of my Shield Evolution series will cover the shield designs of Gorguyeo Kingdom, Jurchen Jin Dynasty, Dali Kingdom, Joseon Dynasty, Vietnam, ethnic minorities of China, Taiwan indigenous peoples, Xizang, Japan, and Ryūkyū Kingdom. This blog post is exclusive to my Patrons and can be accessed here.

If you like the first three parts of this series, please support me via Patreon!

Other blog posts in my Shield Evolution series:

Part 1: Shang to Han
Part 2: Northern and Southern Dynasties to Tang
Part 3: Song to Qing
Part 4: Shields of China's peripherals and Sinosphere (Patron-only content)

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