Note: This is an outdated version of my article about Jian Qiang, kept here for archival purpose. Updated version of the same article can be read here.
Jian Qiang (劍鎗, lit. 'Sword gun', or possibly 'Sword spear') is another late Ming Dynasty handgonne that is designed to compete with the arquebus. Like 2023-10-10 07:34:45 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: This is an outdated version of my article about Lang Xian, kept here for archival purpose. Updated version of the same article can be read here.
Lang Xian (狼筅, can be written as 筤筅, lit. 'Wolf brush'), sometimes translated as "wolf bamboo" and "multiple tipped bamboo spear", is arguably the MOST uni...
2023-09-19 08:47:22 +0000 UTC View Post
While I already created a legend for the formations in my article to help with the understanding the diagrams, it is still mentally exhausting to try to make sense of all those messily written Chinese characters and left-facing formations, not to mention there are quite a few minor mistakes and omission of details in the diagrams.
As such, I figured I'd recreate all eigh...
2023-08-24 08:16:29 +0000 UTC View Post
Xian Mei (銜枚, lit. 'Bit stick') or simply Mei (枚) is a simple wooden or bamboo stick used as a gag for soldiers, both to prevent unnecessary chattering while the army was on the move, as well as an aid for observing noise discipline during special military operation such as night raid and ambush. Such device has a very long history of military use in ancient China—records of soldiers conducting night raids with Xian Mei between their teeth can be foun...
2023-07-06 09:14:49 +0000 UTC View Post
The region known as Hetao (河套) is a collection of flood plains located in northwestern China. Consists of vast grasslands in stark contrast to its arid desert/steppe surroundings, Hetao region has historically been of utmost strategic importance to both China and its nomadic enemies, as its fertile grasslands are suitable for pastoral and agricultural activit...
2023-06-30 03:27:54 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: This is an outdated version of my article about rocket weaponry of the Ming Dynasty, kept here for archival purpose. I plan to revise and update the blog post in the future.
While first rocket was believed to be invented around twelfth century, it was not until the Ming period that rocket was employed as practical battlefield weapon. Chinese constantly sought to create more deadly rocketry, and developed many platforms to better utilise this devastating...
2023-06-26 04:17:22 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: This is an outdated version of my article about late Ming period Quan Tie Jia armour, kept here for archival purpose. My appreciation of Chinese smiting and metallurgy grew the more I learnt about it, and I feel that "lacking metallurgical expertise" is no longer appropriate as a reason as to why China did not adopt European-style plate armour, so the blog post is in need of an update.
The term "plate armour" is a bit of misnomer here, since this armour...
2023-06-19 03:26:43 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: I came across Zhang Lian's rebellion while researching and revising my blog posts about Wokou. A very interesting figure, Zhang Lian was not a Wokou but a mountain bandit through and through, although he was often conflated and lumped together with other Wokou, especially by later historians, in part due to the unfortunate timing of his rebellion (happened around the same time as Jia Jing Da Wo Kou), and in part due to the legends that arose after his death. In any...
2023-06-16 15:57:34 +0000 UTC View Post
Fei Lun Jia Hai Zhou is a warship of unusual design, possibly a Ming-era throwback to older paddle wheel warships from the previous dynasties (as hinted by its tower ship-style crenellated superstructure). Intended as a capital-class warship despite its moderate size, Fei Lun Jia Hai Zhou is made of ex...
2023-05-18 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: This is an outdated (and in fact erroneous) version of the article about Liu Xing Pao, kept here for archival purpose. The article has since been retracted, and information about Liu Xing Pao is added into my blog post about rocket weaponry.
Liu Xing Pao (流星砲, lit. 'Shooting star bomb', not to be confused ...
2023-05-14 06:06:28 +0000 UTC View Post
Chong Zhen Huo Hu Lu (衝陣火葫蘆, lit. 'Phalanx-charging fire gourd')
Chong Zhen Huo Hu Lu is an unusual weapon which is essentially a gourd-shaped iron "gun barrel" mounted on a six chi long wooden pole. Intended to be paired with a w...
2023-04-14 04:26:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: I am also in the process of updating the article about Great General Cannon. Here's is the older version kept here for archival purpose.
The famous Da Jiang Jun Pao (大將軍砲, lit. 'Great general cannon'), a type of muzzle-loading iron cannon, is one of the most powerful and most widely used cannon developed locally by Chines...
2023-04-10 04:32:00 +0000 UTC View Post
NOTE: I am currently in the process of rewriting my Jia Jing Da Wo Kou series. This is an older version of Part 3 of the series, kept here for archival purpose.
Responses to Wokou Threat
The first, and in fact typical, Ming response to any threats that came from the sea was to enforce maritime trade prohibi...
2023-04-10 04:14:49 +0000 UTC View Post
NOTE: I am currently in the process of rewriting my Jia Jing Da Wo Kou series. This is an older version of the already updated Part 1 of the series, kept here for archival purpose.
Up-to-date version of the article can be read here.
Jia Jing Da Wo Kou (嘉靖大倭寇, lit. 'Great Japanese Pirates of Jiajin...
2023-04-08 03:48:26 +0000 UTC View Post
NOTE: I am currently in the process of rewriting my Jia Jing Da Wo Kou series. This is an older version of Part 2 of the series, kept here for archival purpose.
Prominent Figures
A period of strife was also a period of heroics (or villainy) and tragedies. A great many Wokou leaders rose to ...
2023-04-07 08:32:28 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: If any of you think that this article looks familiar, it's because it is partially co-oped from my previous blog post about wheelbarrow regiment for Ying Yang Che (鷹揚車).
When I was writing that blog post, I used a 19th century Japanese reprint of 'Shen Qi Pu (《神器譜》)' as my reference, as it was the most...
2023-04-04 07:01:55 +0000 UTC View Post
NOTE: This is a repost of a blog post that was previously published in Great Ming Military blog. I've since detected some errors in the article and will soon update it, so the older version will be kept here for archival purpose.
Up-to-date version of the article can be read here.
Ying Yang Che (鷹揚車, lit. 'Eagle...
2023-04-04 02:27:27 +0000 UTC View Post
Hu Tou Che (虎頭車) and Hu Yi Che (虎翼車) are two types of war wheelbarrow meant to be used together in a formation. They are comparatively simple designs devised by Ming firearm specialist Zhao Shi Zhen (趙士楨) before he went on to develop the more complex Ying Chan...
2023-03-30 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
It's March already, yet I haven't got used to the fact that it's already 2023, which marks the eighth year since I launched Great Ming Military blog.
I started writing with the intention of sharing the fascinating military history of China, in particular Ming Dynasty, to the wider world, hence I've always kept the monetisation of my content to a minimum. Unfortunately, reading, researching and writing articles are a huge commitment and time sink for little return, made worse because I h...
2023-03-13 09:41:44 +0000 UTC View Post
The hardest part of writing this blog post is the fact that the character "𦪞", pronounced "Mu", is no longer part of modern Chinese lexicon. Unfortunately the unicode character doesn't display properly on some devises, so I have to replace it with "喬", which reads as "Qiao".
Also, first post of 2023 Yoooo!
Continue reading at my Great Ming Militar...
2023-02-22 10:43:28 +0000 UTC View Post
Fried my brain reading about ancient coins and stuffs, and faced my most severe writer's block since forever, but I've finally finished revising (or more precisely, rewriting the entire thing) this old blog post from 2016 before the year ends!
You can read about the blog post here.
2022-12-30 07:53:47 +0000 UTC View Post
You know the deal.
Continue reading at my Great Ming Military blog.
2022-11-28 10:12:30 +0000 UTC View Post
Like Japanese armour, Chinese armour has its own share of auxiliary armours, although these are generally much less known than their samurai counterparts. In this article, I will explore various auxiliary armours of Qing brigandine, as due to their relatively short history there are more information and surviving pieces available.
And that concludes my "Four Great Ancient Ships" series.
Continue reading at my Great Ming Military blog.
2022-10-30 08:56:55 +0000 UTC View Post
The most famous Chinese war junk actually doesn't look like what you think it looks like.
Continue reading at my Great Ming Military blog.
2022-10-11 05:08:45 +0000 UTC View Post
For an armour with such complete protection, tōsei gusoku (当世具足) actually has surprising numbers of flaws and gaps. These weaknesses are well-known, even to the Japanese themselves, and samurai even developed specific swordfighting techniques known as kaisha kenjutsu (介者剣術, lit. 'Armoured swordsmanship') to exploit them. While many of these flaws are the result of careful design deliberation (i.e. some armour coverage are sa...
2022-09-26 11:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
Behold Guang Chuan, the toughest of Chinese war junks.
Continue reading at my Great Ming Military blog.
2022-09-15 07:39:14 +0000 UTC View Post
Two types of light coastal warships.
Continue reading at my Great Ming Military blog.
2022-08-17 10:38:52 +0000 UTC View PostIn my previous blog post I discussed a tacital formation used by Ming cavalry during Dao Chao operation. But what exactly was Dao Chao?
Dao Chao (搗巢) was part of the broader Ming defensive strategy against the Mongol...
2022-07-27 03:42:32 +0000 UTC View Post
This is a simple gallery to showcase the many fascinating variety of Ming soldiers found in paintings and arts. It will be continuously updated as I come across new artworks to add to it.
Sources: