Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen (鴛鴦陣) — Part 4

Transfer to Northern Frontier

After the conclusion of the campaign against Wokou (倭寇, Japanese coastal pirates), Qi Ji Guang spent some time as the deputy general of Shen Ji Ying (神機營) in Beijing, before being transferred to Ji Defence Region (薊鎮), taking charge of the military matters of Jizhou, Changping and Baoding. Despite having a much larger army under his command, all was not as well as it seemed—the command structure of the defence region was chaotic and inefficient, military equipment and fortifications in disrepair, and the troops were undisciplined, unmotivated and lacked training.

Bu Ying (步營) and the new Mandarin Duck Formation

Qi Ji Guang realised that he was now commanding a completely new army, gained access to new equipment while losing others, and most importantly, facing a completely new threat. Unlike the foot-slogging Wokou, the Mongols were a highly mobile mounted force, but had virtually no access to firearms. Qi Ji Guang modified the Mandarin Duck Formation accordingly, incorporating North China-specific equipment into the formation. Bu Ying (步營, foot regiment) thus formed the infantry branch of Qi Ji Guang's new army.

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Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen (鴛鴦陣) — Part 6

Basic layout of the late formation. Note the lack of Ai Pai (挨牌). From second edition 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'.

A hero's end

Unfortunately for Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光), political fallout following the death of Zhang Ju Zheng (張居正), then Grand Secretariat of the Ming Dynasty, eventually caught up with him. After serving at Ji Defence Region (薊鎮) for sixteen years, Qi Ji Guang was sidelined to Guangdong, a relatively unimportant post, before being discharged from military service altogether. Disheartened and having nothing better to do, Qi Ji Guang began reorganising his life's works and military experience and wrote the second edition of Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》).

Back to square one

Rendition of a full Mandarin Duck squad, without its squad leader and porter. This image is cropped, edited and pieced together from the training manuals of 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'. Weapons are edited to show realistic length.

Save for some minor differences, Mandarin Duck squad of the second edition Ji Xiao Xin Shu reverted back to its original form. It consisted of two identical teams of five, plus one squad leader and one porter. Each team consisted of one swordsman with rattan shield, one Lang Xian (狼筅), two pikemen armed with long spears, and one troop armed with a Tang Pa (鎲鈀). Unlike the original version however, Ai Pai (挨牌) was no longer used, so the teams were now completely identical. Da Bang (大棒) was also removed from the squad, except as backup weapon for the porter (who also used it as carrying pole).

Qi Ji Guang also incorporated the idea of dual role unit into this Mandarin Duck squad. Javelins were given back to the swordsmen, troops armed with Lang Xian were given swords (Lang Xian was considered "long reach" weapon), pikemen given either bows or crossbows (depending on his skill in archery), and troops armed with Tang Pa were equipped with rockets. Additionally, entire squad would be armoured in Qi Jia (緝甲) designed by Qi Ji Guang, most probably inspired by the iron armour of Northern troops. Qi Ji Guang also advised that every arquebusier should be given a Chang Dao (長刀).

While Qi Ji Guang attempted to implement this revised formation to Guangdong troops during his office at Guangdong, he was relieved from duty before his plan was put into motion. However, his former subordinates from Zhejiang likely picked up his book and at least tried to implement it after his death.

Other blog posts in my Mandarin Duck Formation series:

Mi Zhan — the original Yuan Yang Zhen
Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen — Part 1
Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen — Part 2
Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen — Part 3
Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen — Part 4
Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen — Part 5
Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen — Part 6
Xu Guang Qi's Yuan Yang Wu

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Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen (鴛鴦陣) — Part 5

Heavily armoured Sha Shou Dui, from 'Lian Bing Za Ji (《練兵雜紀》)'.

Reunion with the old army

Even after the conception of new Mandarin Duck Formation and the formation of Bu Ying (步營), Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光) was still unsatisfied with the performance of the soldiers of Northern frontiers. He requested for the transfer of Southern troops from Zhejiang province—troops he personally raised, trained, and fought together with—to Northern frontier almost as soon as he took charge in Ji Defence Region (薊鎮). The request was granted. At first three thousand Southern troops were sent, but this number gradually expanded to about twenty thousand.

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Famous Military Unit of the Ming Dynasty — Qi Jia Jun (戚家軍)

'Heng Yu Da Jie (《橫嶼大捷》)' painted by Ma Hong Dao (馬宏道) in 1988 to commemorate Qi Jia Jun's great victory at Battle of Heng Yu.

Perhaps the most famous, and the most elite military unit of Ming Dynasty, Qi Jia Jun (戚家軍, lit. 'Army of House Qi') was the army raised and trained by none other than renowned Ming commander Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光) himself. Troops of Qi Jia Jun hailed from Zhejiang province, particularly Yiwu County, and numbered about three to four thousand initially, but became much larger later on.

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Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen (鴛鴦陣) — Part 3

Large Scale Battle

'Nan Ling Po Shan Kou Tu (《南嶺破山寇圖》)', a drawing from the book 'San Sheng Bei Bian Tu Ji (《三省備邊圖記》)' depicts Ming troops engaging a group of bandits. Swordsmen supported by Lang Xian (狼筅) flanked by two pikemen can be clearly seen at the bottom left of the picture.

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Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen (鴛鴦陣) — Part 1

Basic layout of the early formation, from 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'.

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Movie review: God of War movie (《蕩寇風雲》)

The movie God of War is truly a breath of fresh air from the China's cinema scene. From the unimaginative bog that's choke-full of overused, money grabber adaptions of Romance of Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West and fictitious Wuxia stories, we finally get a proper historical war epic! This fact alone is enough to convince me to reach for my wallet, and the attention to details as well as accurate unfolding of historical events are just icing on the cake. What a pleasant surprise!

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Mi Zhan (秘戰) — the original Yuan Yang Zhen (鴛鴦陣)

Rendition of a five-man team forming Tang Shun Zhi's Mandarin Duck Formation. Pikemen were kept at some distance (about 7 to 10 feet) from the shieldmen and Lang Xian until the battle was joined. This image is cropped and doctored from 'Wu Bian Qian Ji (《武編前集》)' and 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'.

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Qi Ji Guang's Che Ying (車營) — Part 1

The Mongol Threat

It was no secret that the Mongols were formidable and extremely dangerous warriors. Being an all-cavalry army, their strength lay way beyond just simple mobility and deadly horse archery, but also their unpredictability and force concentration. It is quite unfathomable, at least to modern minds that are more exposed and accustomed to Western (particularly European) style of medieval warfare, that a nomadic people with but a small fraction of Chinese population and wealth could muster a vastly larger, better trained and better equipped army than the Chinese, yet for most of the Chinese-Mongol conflicts, Chinese soldiers frequently found themselves not only outmanoeuvred but also outnumbered. In fact, it was not unusual in any given conflict to have a Mongol force that fielded more horsemen than Chinese had footmen, even though a horseman was several times more expensive to train and maintain than a foot soldier.

The ability of the Mongols to concentrate their forces essentially forced the Chinese into passive defensive warfare—utilising fortresses and strongholds to balance out the force multiplier created through concentration of force. Yet due to their superior mobility the Mongols could strike at more places than Chinese could defend them, and at times of their choosing. It was under such circumstance that the Chinese invented and pioneered wagon fort tactics to defend against nomadic raids, as war carts served as "fortress that moves" that allowed Chinese troops to operate away from the protection of their fortresses.

Yet even war cart alone could not adequately defend against Mongol horsemen, whom were equally deadly in horse archery as they were in cavalry charge, and often had numerical advantage on their side. For most of China's history, Chinese troops had to rely on massed crossbows, whether handheld or vehicle-mounted, to repel these horsemen. While undoubtedly effective, Chinese crossbow was hard-pressed to match the Mongol bow.

Qi Ji Guang's Che Ying (車營, lit. 'Cart regiment')

Che Ying formed the war cart branch of the reformed Ji Defence Region army devised by Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光), and was arguably the most important unit of his reform. While it was intended to operate alongside the infantry, cavalry and logistic branch of the army, Che Ying was actually self-sufficient even when deployed alone.

Several types of war carts were used in Che Ying, which will be detailed below:

Pian Xiang Che (偏廂車, lit. 'Side cabin cart')

Drawing of a Pian Xiang Che, from 'Si Zhen San Guan Zhi (《四鎮三關志》)'.

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Qi Ji Guang's Yuan Yang Zhen (鴛鴦陣) — Part 2

Variant Formation

The Mandarin Duck Formation was by no means a rigid formation. The treacherous wetlands of Southern China necessitated any military unit to be able to change formation at a moment notice.

Liang Yi Zhen (兩儀陣, lit. 'Two Forms Formation') and Wu Xing Zhen (五行陣, lit. 'Five Elements Formation')

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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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Qi Ji Guang's Che Ying (車營) — Part 2

Tactics

Drawing of a Pian Xiang Che, from 'Lian Bing Shi Ji (《練兵實紀》)'.

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Yu Da You's battle formations

Although Yu Da You (俞大猷) was not as well-known as the legendary Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光), especially to modern audience, during his time he was a renowned commander and celebrated hero, and every bit as capable as Qi Ji Guang, if not moreso. Yu Da You's tactics and formations had profound influence over commanders and tacticians that came after him, including Qi Ji Guang and Xu Guang Qi (徐光啟).

Basic Tactic

Unlike Qi Ji Guang, who had a relatively smooth rise to prominence, Yu Da You's military career was nothing short of miserable. He frequently faced obstacles and hostilities from within and without the Ming court, his contributions intentionally downplayed or stolen by others, and his achievements rewarded with punishments. As such, Yu Da You did not have the luxury of raising, equipping and training a fresh army like what Qi Ji Guang did with Qi Jia Jun (戚家軍), and had to make do with whatever troops assigned to him at the time. Such was the charisma and capacity of the legendary commander that he was always able to turn a ragtag bunch of misfits into formidable warriors and disciplined soldiers.

It was also due to this circumstance that Yu Da You did not go into detail about equipment for his formations. Any and every kinds of weapons could be used, although Yu Da You preferred shorter polearms such as Hu Cha (虎叉, tiger fork), Tang Pa (鎲鈀) and Gou Lian Dao (鈎鐮刀), probably because he himself was a quarterstaff master of legendary calibre. The smallest tactical unit in Yu Da You's battle formations was Dui (隊) of five troops. A basic formation consisted of five Dui working together, although it could be upscaled or downscaled as needed.

Die Zhen (疊陣, lit. 'Stacked formation')

A Die Zhen, from 'Zheng Qi Tang Ji (《正氣堂集》)'.

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Ming Chinese infantry tactics — Part 1

Large number of  Ming infantrymen, from  'Wakō-zukan (《倭寇図巻》)'.

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Xu Guang Qi's De Sheng Bing (得勝兵) — Part 3-1

Shao-level Formations

At Shao (哨) level, the formations of Xu Guang Qi (徐光啟) became even more complex. A Shao consisted of five Dui (隊) and four support personnels, led by a Shao Zong (哨總).

Fang Shao (方哨, square company)

Layout of a Fang Shao, from 'Xuan Lian Tiao Ge (《選練条格》)'. Note: Empty circles represent troops, circles with black dots represent porters, circles with  chinese numbers represent platoon leaders, and a slightly larger circle with black dot represents company leader. 

Fang Shao was the square formation for Shao-level tactical unit. It was scaled up from Fang Dui (方隊). Four Dui guarded the four corners of the formation and one additional Dui positioned at the centre to protect company leader.

The formation could be formed from either Fang Wu (方伍), Yuan Yang Wu (鴛鴦伍) or Yi Zi Ping Wu (一字平伍). It occupied a space of fifty by fifty chi.

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Chang Dao (長刀)

MINOR UPDATE DECEMBER 12, 2023

『此自倭犯中國始有之。』
"This (weapon) only became known (to the Chinese) since the incursion of Japanese into China."
— General Qi Ji Guang

Cheng Zong You's Dan Dao (left) and Qi Ji Guang's Chang Dao (right). While superficially similar, Qi Ji Guang's Chang Dao has a one chi long bronze collar/secondary grip, which is not found on Chen Zong You's Dan Dao. Images taken from 'Dan Dao Fa Xuan (《單刀法選》)' and 'Muyedobotongji (《무예도보통지》 or 《武藝圖譜通志》)'.

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Happy Chinese New Year 2016

Image courtesy of Freedesignfile.

A happy Chinese New Year to all my readers!

2016 is the "Year of the Monkey" in Chinese zodiac cycle. Monkey is generally associated with wit, resourcefulness, career advancement and handsome salary in Chinese culture, but also represents trickster and pranks. Monkey and its associated traits are very well-liked and firmly ingrained in traditional Chinese worldview. Fictional characters that exhibit one or more of these traits, such as the famous Monkey King Sun Wu Kong (孫悟空) and Wei Xiao Bao (韋小寶) are often well-received by Chinese audience.

Speaking of monkey, famous Ming general Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光) once employed monkey troops against the Wokou (倭寇, Japanese coastal pirates). It was during his campaign near Shizhu Mountain (石竹山) in Fuqing, where firearm training of Qi Ji Guang's troops attracted a large tribe of curious monkeys that tried to imitate the troopers. Inspired by the monkeys' act, Qi Ji Guang ordered his troops to capture several hundred monkeys and actually trained these animals in firearms.

When the Wokou came, Qi Ji Guang ordered his troops to set up an ambush in the mountain. Once the ambushers were ready, he ordered his other troops to release the monkeys into the Wokou's camp. Unsuspicious, the Wokou allowed these monkeys to ran pass them unhindered. The monkeys proceeded to pick up any guns they could find in Wokou's camp and shoot randomly, causing a great chaos among the Wokou. Qi Ji Guang then ordered his ambushers to commence attack amidst the chaos, and successfully annihilated the Wokou.

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Ming Chinese arquebusier tactics

Even though matchlock gun did not completely replace the more primitive handgonne in China during Ming period, Chinese nevertheless held the weapon in high regard. They were also familiar enough with the weapon to be able to develop their own arquebusier tactics without outside reference.

The most common practise seems to be simply mix the arquebusiers together with artillerymen. Arquebusiers also fought behind the cover of fortifications or war wagons. Ming arquebusiers preferred to use countermarch and rotating ranks, whether they were mixed with artillerymen or fought in their own unit.

Fire discipline

Three rotating ranks

Ming arquebusiers firing in three ranks. This image is often misattributed to fourteenth century 'Huo Long Jing (《火龍經》)',  but in fact comes from seventeenth century 'Jun Qi Tu Shuo (《軍器圖說》)'.

Perhaps the most common tactic used by Ming arquebusiers, this tactic had seen use as early as Song period. It was originally used with crossbows, then adapted to handgonnes and rockets by Mu Ying (沐英) during the fourteenth century, before being finally adapted to arquebuses. 

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Interesting comparison between different warships of the Far East in the sixteenth and seventeenth century

I came across this interesting comparison at Baidu Tieba, although the original post has since been deleted. The original comparison is a simple table written entirely in Chinese, so I translated the table to English and added a few commentaries.

Weight of Cannon (lbs)*	<500	500	1000	1500	2000	3000	4000>
Sixteenth Century Portuguese Galley	34+
Ming Dynasty Feng Zhou (early)	30+
Ming Dynasty Feng Zhou (late)	14+
Mark 1 Warship of Qi Ji Guang's fleet (early)	9+	1
Mark 1 Warship of Qi Ji Guang's fleet (late)	14+		2
Tekkōsen	48 – 70	3
Geobukseon**	20 – 30+
Advanced Ming Dynasty War Junk	30+	14 – 22				6 – 8
Kingdom of Tungning Gong Chuan	100 – 200+	20+					1
Dutch Hired Vessel 'Graaf Hendrik'	?	?	8	10	8	8	2
Mông Đồng							1 – 2

* Although weight of shot is a more reliable measure of firepower, Chinese records seldom mention them. Chinese gunners also frequently loaded their guns with multiple smaller shots in addition to the main shot (which made them less powerful), making measurement purely by weight of shot very misleading.

** This assume a late variant of Geobukseon/Turtle ship with significantly improved armaments, due to the fact that very little is known about the early, Imjin War-era Geobukseon.

Feng Zhou (封舟, lit. 'Investiture ship')

A Qing Dynasty Feng Zhou, from 'Ce Feng Liu Qiu Tu (《冊封琉球圖》)'.

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Some random mythbustings

There are many false information about Ming Dynasty military (and ancient Chinese military in general) floating around on the internet. Here are some of the more well known ones, and the truth behind these myths.

Myth 1. Rattan shield is bulletproof.

A Chinese rattan shield, late Qing (Boxer rebellion) period. (Source: Zemanek-Münster)

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