Left: An unnamed Ming Jin Yi Wei (錦衣衛, lit. 'Brocade-clad guard') in parade gear. Middle: Fu De (富德), a Manchu general of Plain Yellow Banner. Right: Yamanaka Yukimori (山中幸盛) with his characteristic crescent moon crested helmet.

Ming Armour

Components of Ming armour (Click to enlarge).

Armour in the above picture is taken from Ru Bi Tu (《入蹕圖》). This particular suit is a parade armour, although it is reasonably representative of field armours used by Ming troops in North China.





Zhao Jia (罩甲), also known as Chang Shen Da Jia (長身大甲, lit. 'Long body great armour'). It is characterised by its lack of collar and sleeves, as well as single-breasted, button down design. It should be noted that lamellar and scale Zhao Jia were generally reserved for elite troops and officers, while ordinary troopers wore brigandines. This style of armour is called(罩甲), also known as(長身大甲, lit. 'Long body great armour'). It is characterised by its lack of collar and sleeves, as well as single-breasted, button down design. It should be noted thatZhao Jia were generally reserved for elite troops and officers, while ordinary troopers wore









Analysis

Analysis of Ming armour (Click to enlarge).

Qing Armour

Components of Qing armour (Click to enlarge).

Analysis of Qing armour (Click to enlarge).

Small Ma Ti Xiu on the ceremonial armour of Qianlong Emperor.

Japanese Armour

Components of Japanese armour (Click to enlarge).

tsuki hyakushi (《月百姿》), a nineteenth century ukiyo-e (浮世絵) depicting Yamanaka Yukimori (山中幸盛), a prominent samurai that served Amago clan during Sengoku Jidai (戦国時代). This painting is the work of master painter Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月冈芳年). Armour in the picture above is taken from(《月百姿》), a nineteenth centurydepicting Yamanaka Yukimori (山中幸盛), a prominent samurai that served Amago clan during. This painting is the work of master painter Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月冈芳年).





By sixteenth century, samurai armour had evolved into its final iteration: tōsei gusoku (当世具足, lit. 'Present age complete armour'). Like its namesake, the armour covers its wearer from head to toe. Tōsei gusoku was developed as a response to the introduction of Portuguese firearms, shift of battlefield tactic, as well as increasingly intense warfare of the Sengoku period. Riveted or stapled laminar armour known as okegawa-dō (桶側胴) also supplanted earlier lamellar armour to reduce armour cost and improve protective quality.









Analysis

Analysis of Japanese armour (Click to enlarge). Even a rudimentary inspection on Japanese armour of this period will reveal that it is designed for foot combat. This is especially evident on the presence of groin armour, heavy emphasis on thigh protection, and the choice of footwear. Thigh armour is extremely crucial for foot combat, especially for samurai (since they did not use handheld shield and wielded shorter spears or polearms), as injury on femoral artery can cause death within minutes, not to mention very difficult to treat even with modern medical technology.



Samurai of this period were no longer the horse archer-duellists they once were. They became much more close combat-oriented on the battlefield, and this shift of tactic was also reflected on their armour design. Tōsei gusoku protects virtually every part of its wearer's body, and its gaps and weak spots can be further reinforced with auxiliary armour items worn beneath or on top of the main armour, befitting a warrior that was expected to engage in high intensity close combat frequently. Some auxiliary armours such as manchira (満智羅) also provide padding and better weight distribution for the armour.



Another notable feature of later samurai armour is the shrinking of its spaudlers. Early Japanese ō-sode (大袖) were actually shoulder mounted shields designed to protect the flanks and upper arms from incoming arrows. As samurai became less reliant on archery and more on close combat, sode also shrank in size and evolved into proper spaudlers for better protection and mobility for the arms.



Despite its almost complete coverage, tōsei gusoku is not without weaknesses. For an armour with such complete protection, it somehow leaves the lower part of midriff (i.e. area between cuirass and tassets) completely unprotected. Besides, Japanese sode are not tied to the upper arms, which limits their usefulness. Many Japanese armours also do not have backing material, so they are quite noisy to wear due to rubbing between individual armour plates, which also causes premature wear to lacing, lacquer coating, and the plates themselves. Even a rudimentary inspection on Japanese armour of this period will reveal that it is designed for foot combat. This is especially evident on the presence of groin armour, heavy emphasis on thigh protection, and the choice of footwear. Thigh armour is extremely crucial for foot combat, especially for samurai (since they did not use handheld shield and wielded shorter spears or polearms), as injury on femoral artery can cause death within minutes, not to mention very difficult to treat even with modern medical technology.Samurai of this period were no longer the horse archer-duellists they once were. They became much more close combat-oriented on the battlefield, and this shift of tactic was also reflected on their armour design. Tōsei gusoku protects virtually every part of its wearer's body, and its gaps and weak spots can be further reinforced with auxiliary armour items worn beneath or on top of the main armour, befitting a warrior that was expected to engage in high intensity close combat frequently. Some auxiliary armours such as(満智羅) also provide padding and better weight distribution for the armour.Another notable feature of later samurai armour is the shrinking of its spaudlers. Early Japanese(大袖) were actually shoulder mounted shields designed to protect the flanks and upper arms from incoming arrows. As samurai became less reliant on archery and more on close combat, sode also shrank in size and evolved into proper spaudlers for better protection and mobility for the arms.Despite its almost complete coverage, tōsei gusoku is not without weaknesses. For an armour with such complete protection, it somehow leaves the lower part of midriff (i.e. area between cuirass and tassets) completely unprotected. Besides, Japanese sode are not tied to the upper arms, which limits their usefulness. Many Japanese armours also do not have backing material, so they are quite noisy to wear due to rubbing between individual armour plates, which also causes premature wear to lacing, lacquer coating, and the plates themselves.













Choice of footwear

The difference between Chinese and Japanese approach to warfare can be seen on their respective footwear of choice as well. Ming Northern troops and Manchu warriors were predominantly cavalrymen, so their footwear of choice was obviously riding boots (infantry-based Ming Southern troops continued to wear shoes with stockings or puttees, or sometimes straw sandals as well). On the other hand, Japanese warriors were predominantly footmen, with almost no cavalry to speak of, so their footwear of choice was sandals.





A pair of Ming-style boots, made by traditional Chinese clothing store Chong Hui Han Tang (重回漢唐).

A boot is known as Xue (靴) or more rarely Yao Xie (靿鞋, lit. 'Shafted shoes') in Chinese language. Traditional Chinese riding boots share many similarities with neighbouring horse cultures such as the Mongols. They can be made of either cloth or leather, although military riding boots are exclusively made of thick, stiff leather to better protect ankle joints. Due to the cold and dry climate of North China, traditional Chinese riding boots are lined with layers thick fabric. Stockings known as Wa (襪) are usually worn underneath the boots.





Unlike Western riding boots, traditional Chinese riding boots are flat-heeled. They have unusually wide shafts and comparatively short vamps, which serve the same purpose as heel, (i.e. to prevent the foot from slipping through the stirrup and get stuck). Both Western and traditional Chinese riding boots also have flat and smooth soles for the same aforementioned reason. Still, boots with flat soles are more slippery, which renders them less suitable for foot combat, especially in rough terrain.



Traditional Chinese boots are almost always pitch black in colour contrasted with pale white soles. They generally have less prominent and rounder upturned toes than Mongolian boots (even though upturned toes design seems to originated from China), and many boots do not have upturned toes at all.







A waraji. Note the toes protruding over the front edge. Straw sandals are still used in traditional Japanese stream hiking known as Sawanobori (沢登り) today. Japanese warriors made use of flip-flops and sandals made of rice straw, called zōri (草履) and waraji (草鞋) respectively, although waraji were by far the more common of the two. Japanese sandals provide excellent ventilation (effective in preventing athlete's foot) and ankle mobility, as well as a firm grip on rocky or mossy surface, making them the prefect footwear to use in the mountainous and humid Japan. While straw sandals are less durable than shoes or boots, they can be cheaply replaced and even manufactured on the fly as long as there is raw material available.

During cold seasons, divided toe socks known as tabi (足袋) can be worn together with sandals. Samurai that wanted better protection for their feet may wear armoured kōgake (甲掛) on top of the socks.

On the flip side, horse riding in sandals is generally a very bad idea, as getting accidentally stepped on by a horse is extremely unpleasant and potentially crippling. This is especially true for Japanese straw sandals, which are traditionally made shorter and narrower than the wearer's feet, providing even less protection than other sandals. Besides, a sandal does not protect the ankle like a boot does, putting the rider at high risk of ankle sprain and fracture.









If you like this blog post, please support my work on Patreon! On the flip side, horse riding in sandals is generally a very bad idea, as getting accidentally stepped on by a horse is extremely unpleasant and potentially crippling. This is especially true for Japanese straw sandals, which are traditionally made shorter and narrower than the wearer's feet, providing even less protection than other sandals. Besides, a sandal does not protect the ankle like a boot does, putting the rider at high risk of ankle sprain and fracture.

This blog post is intended to be an introductory article to Chinese armours of Ming and Qing period, their individual components, as well as a comparison between their similarities and differences. I also included a Japanese armour to the analysis in the hope that it can highlight the design considerations that went into each armours.The sleeveless and collarless Zhao Jia is clearly designed for horse archers, as it allows considerable freedom of movement for the arm and neck, both important elements of archery. However, the presence ofsuggests that Ming cavalrymen were expected to engage in plenty of close combat as well. The long coat reaches down to the knees, long enough to cover entire leg (but not the foot) while its wearer is mounted. Fighting on foot in this armour is slightly less convenient, although many Ming Northern infantry fought behind the protection of relatively immobile war carts anyway.Unlike earlier Chinese armours, Zhao Jia is simple to wear, allowing its user to suit up at a moment's notice. This was especially important to Ming border troops given the unpredictable nature of Mongol raids.Due to the suppleness of Chinese-style brigandine, this type of armour has poor weight distribution compared to rigid lamellar or plate armour. The armguards also leave the hands and fingers of its wearer vulnerable. While this is understandable given the importance of archery in Chinese warfare, it still constitute a weakness (note that other archery cultures still made use of hand protection).Armour in the above picture is taken from(《紫光閣功臣像》) depicting Fu De (富德), a Manchu general of Gūwalgiya clan that participated in the First Jinchuan War and. This armour is typical of the type worn by high-ranking Manchu generals.The design of Qing armour was copied directly from late Ming armour, with only minor modifications and improvements. As widespread adoption of more advanced firearms, both by Qing and their enemies, quickly rendered body armour obsolete, no further modification was needed for Qing armour.The most noticeable differences between Ming and Qing armour are the addition of throat protection, replacement of long coat with two-piece brigandine and metal armguards with pauldrons, as well as the addition of various armour attachments. It should be noted that all of these add-ons were already present on Ming armour. Qing Dynasty simply selected one of the late Ming brigandine designs and pushed for standardisation across the empire, phasing out other designs in the process.Two-piece armour offers superior mobility to its wearer at the expense of reduced protection at the abdomen, buttocks and back thighs. Nevertheless, since majority of Manchu warriors fought mounted, these vulnerabilities were of little concern to them.The only truly indigenous armour development during the Qing Dynasty was(馬蹄袖, lit. 'Horse hoof cuff'), a flared cuff that not only keeps the hand warm, but protects the hand and fingers from many archery-related injuries as well.