Showcase: Legendary Qin and Han Dynasty Generals by Li Wenda: 秦汉传奇将领

Art by: Li Wenda

Music: The Grand Ceremony of Qin

Exquisite artworks depicting legendary Qin and Han generals by Li Wenda- 

for Civilization Mobile. 

IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER 

BAI QI

The Slayer of Legions: Undefeated Qin dynasty general Bai Qi. An once in an age level general made so because he crushed all of his enemies in battle. Under the patronage of the extremely ambitious king Zhaoxiang of Qin (Great- Grandfather of the future First Emperor Qin Shihuang.) The neglected Qin war machine returned to peak fighting shape the monarch would spend the rest of his life (a reign of total of 57 years) on utterly crushing any and all of Qin's obstacles toward unification. From this period on Qin went from primus inter pares to virtually unstoppable- breaking and crippling the limbs of all rival states with grim rigor. Though modern imagination often associate Qin primacy and unification with the singular personhood of the First Emperor: he stood on the shoulder of his colossal great- grandfather. 

Under the leadership of Bai Qi, Qin utterly crushed the minor states of Han and Wei on the field, then turned its wars on its most formidable peer competitor Chu, crushing its armies and then taking its ancient ancestral capital. Bai Qi then ensure that one day Qin will rip off one of its other main rival: Zhao's arms and turn a vast borderland into a nearly endless Zhao charnel house, defeating the Zhao at Changping and according to accounts slaughtering up to nearly half a million Zhao soldiers. According to the Record of the Grand historian, he seized more than 73 cities from the other six hostile states, and to date no record has been found to show that he suffered a single defeat throughout his long military career. 

Closeup of the armguard of Qin armor: such armors are frequently seen depicted on charioteers from excavated examples in the Terracotta Army. 

Bai Qi's long career ended with a tinge of characteristic brutality: despite having been amply promoted to the high rungs of the Qin apparatus, Bai Qi fell out with his patron who permitted the state of Zhao (then at the death's door after Bai Qi's pressure and overwhelming assaults) to live. However his master soon regretted this decision and saw a need to end Zhao again. By this time Zhao was in a far better position in defense and resources and Bai Qi realized that should he lead the fresh attempts to destroy Zhao, he would likely face defeat because all previous advantages had been squandered. 

Thus Bai Qi feigned illness despite numerous petitions from his patron, eventually revealing that he would die than at long last be defeated in an impossible to win battle. Enraged, King Zhaoxiang ordered Bai Qi's suicide, which~ he rather calmly accepted. Before he committed suicide, Bai Qi stated that he deserved such a tragic ending after having killed so many people. In over his 30 years of continuous and undefeated career he likely was responsible for a million death inflicted upon Qin's enemies.

WANG JIAN

The Slayer of Nations: Legendary Qin dynasty general Wang Jian who annihilated the 6 of the Warring States and decisively cemented Qin as the first Chinese Empire and his liege the First Emperor of Qin. He is dressed in subdued Qin general's armor. Wang Jian's astute analysis of Qin's enemies, together with other capable generals Li Xin, Wang Ben, allowed the Qin to overmatch and vanquish the 6 kingdoms either by threats or grinding horror. As the emperor's fist, he was the slayer of nations. Unlike the half a century of ultimately regressed gains under King Zhaoxiang and Bai Qi~ the First Emperor and Wang Jian replayed out much of the same beats as those faced by their predecessors but overawed all of the rest of the realm within a single decade.

Example of Qin dynasty general's armor (center) - Qin generals' armors would actually be more garishly painted and sported tassels that indicated their rank- as exhibited by traces of painted pigments recovered from the sculpts of armored generals from the Terracotta Army.

Music: Closing Upon the Enemy

WEI QING

The Han Sledgehammer. Han dynasty general Wei Qing in high ranking cuirass with separated flaps of attached faulds. The armor was fashioned like an article of clothing or a protective coat, and also had sleeves of scales sewn in with the armored coat. Wei Qing was one of Emperor Wu of Han's best generals and together with his young nephew Huo Qubing they decisively crippled the Xiongnu Confederacy in the Han- Xiongnu Wars. His swift reaction and equanimity under intense pressure during the Battle of Mobei (lit. "Northern Wilds") dealt a severe blow to the Xiongnu from which they fell into a protracted decline.

Han ranking Han dynasty armor from the tomb of a Western Han dynasty vassal king of Zhongshan- contemporaneous to this period. During this age the initial limited degree of regional autonomy (via a collection of imperial blooded vassal kings) were slowly confiscated by the imperial court. However from the evidence of the wealth of material culture the vassal kings and high nobles still lived in opulence. Such armors combines great all around protection for the wearer and personal comfort. Note how the faulds over the groin and pelvis, along with the shirt- like sleeves are all additionally sewn on the the armor itself, and the front can be opened as if an article of fashion. The front of the armor could be opened and is secured with silk knots. 

Han dynasty at the time of Emperor Wu's ascension (Orange- though much of the west coast still technically existed as semi- independent vassal kingdoms) by the end of Emperor Wu's over half a century of reign the empire would have doubled in size and expanded on nearly all fronts (blue.) Building upon the fruits laid out by his ancestors in reducing the powers of various vassal kingdoms via lawfare and the hoarding of large imperial stable of warhorses, Wu was able to relentlessly pursue war from decades. Following these expansionary wars- especially to secure the vastly exposed northern frontiers where no natural barrier existed, the Han bolstered the already existing Qin great walls and extended the wall across the spine of the north all the way deep into the newly conquered Tarim Basin.

Map: various Han holdings marked in circles with Wei Qing and Huo Qubing's invasions marked in arrows. Han dynasty Great Wall served as critical staging points for Wei Qing and Huo Qubing's long northern invasions. The Xiongnu Wars were crippling for Han dynasty coffers but ultimately- through both grinding attrition and long scouring expeditions that the north, which remained volatile and dangerous for centuries was pacified. With great capability Wei Qing leveraged Han's fundamental strengths and edged out over this relentless foe.

Han tomb relief depicting wars between Han soldiers and Xiongnu horse archers. Han soldiers are distinguished by their dotted scale armor surcoat while the Xiongnu are marked by their distinctive conical cap and recurved bow. 

HUO QUBING

The Martial Emperor's Miracle: Young Han dynasty general Huo Qubing who was born a bastard child of a maid and an official who abandoned the pregnant mother. Though he grew up with little prospects, through his aunt and uncle Wei Qing's good graces and connection to the emperor, he was groomed by the extremely ambitious and meritocratic Emperor Wu of Han. Vain, haughty, and suicidally brave the young untried general entered service at the age of 17 and within only 4 years dealt a series of lopsided victories over the Xiongnu and ensured Han control of the entirety of the Hexi Corridor and stalked the Xiongnu host all the way deep into the shores of Lake Baikal. Though passing from sickness before reaching the age of 23, the young general was never defeated in battle and secured Han primacy on 2 separate cardinal directions. Because of his success, the Han was able to firmly establish its position on what would eventually be called the Silk Road.

Han invasions: it is important to note that both Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were untried commanders thrusted into the conflict simply because of their close patronage by the Emperor himself, but both proved themselves far above expectations: what's more in an international capacity. The Xiognus were already one of the most formidable steppe- lead polities in history and these 2 previously unproven Han commanders~ both comparatively young to the old guards and exceptional cavalry commanders made them edge out over some of the best horsemen warriors in the world. 

Western Han dynasty cavalryman- he is equipped with a long trident shaped spear called sha (铩) which features large winged lugs on its two sides along with a recurved bow and quiverful of arrows. It was during this era that the Han decisively abandoned nearly all of its old chariotry and instead shifted to fighting with true cavalry much like their nimble Xiongnu counterparts (although even with their relatively modest armor- compared to the nearly completely unarmored Xiongnu proved more than adequate for protection in the often long distance campaigns. In matters of dealing with the expert Xiongnu horse archers, the Han responded in turn with massed mounted crossbowmen who were also equipped with melee weapons.

The Han had long leveraged its great strengths as a rich sedentary power against its northern enemies- formidable static defenses and a vast populace (replenished by mandatory conscription service) now~ with highly capable and decisive cavalry commanders with high initiatives? The Han position proved unmatched.  

Above: a Han dynasty infantry sighting a target using the marker on the back of the metal crossbow trigger. Below: Han dynasty relief depicting a Han mounted crossbow man with Hand crossbow (Shou Nu/ 手弩)  pursuing a Xiongnu warrior firing backward from his saddle.

The (first) golden age of crossbows in Chinese history. The crossbow was already extensively deployed the the previous Qin dynasty- and the kingdoms of both Qin and Chu before. During the Han dynasty the crossbow was widely equipped by its soldiers. In both contexts the weapon was extremely optimal in democratizing killing power: Unlike bowmenship, which takes a life time to perfect, the crossbow as well as its trigger mechanisms are very easy to use by even the simplest of the enlisted. 

With only 2 weeks of training or less, rows of crossbowmen could deliver volleys that ends the life of whole vanguards of aristocrats who had been trained in weapons their whole lives. Han ranged units were overwhelmingly crossbowmen. In one of the Han Dynasty armament records (《武库永始四年兵车器集簿》) there were 520,000 crossbows in the arsenal, but only 70,000 bows. Bolts were numbered over 11 million. 

A staunchly meritocratic autocrat, Wu's wars were significant in that they met against a wide diversity of people from both the north and south of the empire- from tattooed Yue tribesmen in the south to the relentless Xiongnu of the steppes, all the way to the bright eyed and haired inhabitants of the Tarim Basin, going as far enough as to wage wars with the remnants of Alexander's Greeks over the prized Heavenly Horses. 

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