Chinese Culture & Armor in Total War: Warhammer III : 全面战争：战锤 III 契丹

Trailer: Warhammer III Grand Cathay
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With the release of the exciting trailer for Warhammer III: Dawn of Grand Cathay which prominently featured a Chinese analogue state, I would like to take some time and point out some of the cultural allusions and armor references. Please bear with me that I am only a recent fan to the Warhammer universe through audiobooks and audio- dramas so my interpretation of their version of Grand Cathay's lore will be from a novice's perspective. That said, even without a robust understanding of the Chaos Gods and Grand Cathay's special relations with Skaven, the high elves, nor its influences on the Empire's Hellstorm batteries, I could still recognize the specifically Chinese elements that are being referenced. So without further babble, lets began with the worldbuilding in Grand Cathay.

THE CELESTIAL DRAGON EMPEROR 

It would seem Grand Cathay's key figures are heavily influenced by the Daoist (or at least traditional Chinese folk mythology) Pantheon. The Dragon Emperor himself- a living deity in many ways is very similar to the mythical Jade Emperor 玉帝. In traditional Chinese mythology, the immortal Jade Emperor presided over a heavenly court 天宫 in a palace upon the clouds. As the supreme deity in Daoist and traditional Chinese pantheon the Jade Emperor reigns over a celestial bureaucracy with many gods overseeing the affairs of the mortals and many powerful Daoist immortals as his generals and warriors. 

I have seen people comparing this shot of Cathay to James Cameron's "Avatar" and especially the sequence regarding to its Hallelujah Mountains. However since both of these shots likely took inspiration from the real mountains in Zhangjiajie, China, it's not surprising both looked similar to the OG real thing.

In the famous epic "Journey to the West" the tempestuous Monkey King ran amok in the Jade Emperor's court- and bulldozed through the entire Chinese Pantheon in an epic brawl referred to as "Havoc in Heaven" 大闹天宫. (expertly and humorously summarized by Overly Sarcastic Productions.) Since we know that the Monkey King- at least Warhammer's version of the Monkey King is indeed in this universe, having the Dragon Emperor's realm secluded in the clouds is rather appropriate. 

MOON EMPRESS

In the lore of Warhammer it is stated that the Moon Empress is also highly revered as the Dragon Emperor and their children ruled the empire. It's pretty clear that the idea of her is heavily inspired by the idea of Ying/ Yang duality, where the Dragon Emperor- being male is akin to the forces of the sunny Yang while the Empress- being female is contra positioned as that of the Moon. However a deeper analogue for her in my opinion might be the Queen Mother of the West 西王母 Xi Wangmu (pronounced Shi Wang Mu) - or styled as "Lady Queen Mother" 王母娘娘 Wangmu Niangniang. 

In Daoist mythology, the Queen Mother of the West is an ancient Chinese goddess who tends to the Peaches of Immortality, she served as a guardian to all Daoist women, and is married to the Jade Emperor. 

Queen Mother of the West: Drawn by Snow Fish, a master illustrator of Chinese mythology

ARMORS

CATHAYAN HEAVY CAVALRY/ CATAPHRACT- JIN DYNASTY ARMOR (1115–1234) 

Seeing the cavalryman depicted in such a distinctive lamellar armor I'm pretty sure that they are inspired by medieval China's Jin dynasty (1115–1234)'s Iron Pagoda Cavalry- it's name Tiefutu 铁浮图 is derived from an archaic rendering of a Buddhist metaphor into Chinese 浮图 that sometimes could be referred to as a shrine/ temple, or the Buddha Himself. The Iron Pagoda Cavalry played an aggressive role in Jin's attempted conquest of the Song dynasty in the south. 

The Iron Pagodas were completely armored from head to toes in heavy lamellar armor- with only their eyes and hands exposed. Their horses were also completely encased in armor as well, covered on all sides with thick barding of lamellar plates and padded cotton. They were also given a versatile array of weapons, aside from their customary lance, they were also equipped with a bow and full quiver, at times a large two handed cutting sword. 

CATHAYAN HEAVY INFANTRY- JIN DYNASTY ARMOR (266–420)

Here is where things might get a bit confusing. Because as I noticed through the trailer, some of the heavy infantry were also dressed in this fashion, although a key element that stood out is the fact that the soldier's distinctive iron collar is not a part of the helmet itself but instead part of a collar that is attached to the upper part of his torso. Thus instead of the Jin Iron Pagoda armor of medieval China (1115–1234), these soldiers may have been more influenced by the armor of the much earlier Jin dynasty in 3rd century China (266–420.) Yes, Jin AND Jin, although in English both are spelled as Jin, in effect the 2 dynasties had completely different characters 晋 and 金 and are pronounced differently in Chinese. And even more confusingly enough, BOTH the Jins were known for their heavy cavalry.

Jin dynasty horseman of the 3rd Centur AD. Around the time of the fall of the Han dyansty and the Three Kingdoms, cavalry armor became significantly heavier in the aftermath of the Three Kingdoms period and the 3 centuries of disunity that followed. Lamellar fauld pieces protecting the leg began to appear during this period, secured by the rider's belt. Catahpracts where most of the warhorse was covered in heavy armor also appeared during this period. Both the Jin and the northern- steppe led dynasties of China made use of very heavy horsemen.

 

CATHAYAN GUNNERS- MING GUNNERS 

Visually, Grand Cathay's gunners look like they are heavily inspired by Ming dynasty (1368–1644) arquebusiers/ musketeers. In the later part of the Ming dynasty, especially after wars with the Japanese pirates in the 1560s and 1600, the Ming dynasty began to adopt early modern firearms 神机 Shenqi "Divine Machines" or Folan 法兰 "Frankish" Guns from the west, namely the Ottomans. Because China had already long been familiar with volley fire since the early middle ages, the Ming gunners were drilled to maximize their fire. One of the 3 elite imperial guard units was equipped with muskets and was known as 神机营 or the "Divine Machine Battalion."

Illustration of a 1639 Ming musketry volley formation.

DRAGON CANNON- QING DYNASTY LONGSHEN PAO "DRAGON CANNON"

Definitely one of the most ridiculous and excessively ostentatious designs right? Especially considering the brass gilded and painted dragon head relief? Well, despite the almost prototypical Steampunk design, China actually does have cannons that have ornate dragon relifs carved on to them.

Three-Wheeled Wooden Vehicle with Chinese Dragon Cannon  龍身炮 (Longshen Pao) - 

lit: "Dragon Bodied Cannon." Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China, 1875. The dragon carving for the cannon- especially the bronze wrought barbels (whiskers) looked almost like its lifted out from a steampunk fantasy setting, but what's quite hard to comprehend is that this is indeed an actual weapon fielded by the Qing army. 

An example of this type of cannon was taken by Russian photographers in 1875. By this time China's military technology had fallen dangerously behind- especially against the western forces from Europe. However, in a domestic capacity, the Manchu- led Qing dynasty was still able to triumph against many internal rebellions. They were likely based on the Ming dynasty "Thunder Roaring Cannon" which fires explosive fragmentation shells.

CATHAYAN HEAVY INFANTRY- KOXINGA'S "IRON MEN" HEAVY ARMOR

Some of my readers have informed me that they find this type of armor strange and do not at all reflect the design aesthetics of China. Including elements of essentially a pointed medieval European helmet and a strange bulky lamellar design. And while admittedly this design is rather somewhat incongruous of the traditional notions of Chinese armor. Not sure if either CA or many others knows this, there is a type of Chinese armor that's somewhat similar to this. The "Iron Men" 铁人 armors of the famous Ming loyalist general Zheng Chenggong- better known as Koxinga in the west. 

"THE IRON MEN"

Koxinga made his name because in the last days of the Ming dynasty, he took control of much of the eastern coast of China along with Taiwan (from the Dutch) and founded a Ming loyalist kingdom there. The general's elite soldiers were known as his "Iron Men" and they were reportedly encased in heavy armor that covered both their upper and lower bodies with exception to their hands and eyes. They wore a protective mask over their face and likely had a spike over their helmet like some Manchu helmets.

A print from 'Reise nach Java, Formosa, Vorder-Indien und Ceylon' by Albrecht Herport, an artist, soldier of the Dutch East India Company or the VOC, and witness of the battle between Koxinga and the Dutch defenders. Koxinga himself was inspired by the use of heavy armors by the Manchus, the Japanese, and also the Europeans and created these units. When his commanders protested that raw men would be unaccustomed to fight in such heavy gears it was mandated they would train with heavy sand bags tied to their feet at all times. Only the most athletic and promising soldiers were selected to ranks of the "Iron Men"

They were Koxinga's crack vanguard troops and were some of the best soldiers the Ming loyalists had to offer. Originally numbered some 3000 men, their strength eventually increased to 10,000. They were rigorously trained and equipped with extremely heavy armor. Their training was such that they were forced to perform their drills in armor and with heavy sandbags tied to their legs. In war they were both disciplined and suicidally brave, and in battle were known to obediently butcher as ordered, and if ordered on suicidal attacks, charge without hesitation nor complaints. Sources from the Dutch soldiers themselves recorded they were utterly terrified of these fanatical soldiers. 

An interpretation of the "Iron Troop" 铁人 from Age of Empires 3. He wears a heavy armor of reversed brigandine, whereby the square iron plates that's usually sewn within the armor is instead exposed to the outside.

What's more, the "Iron Men" were also equipped with a variety of arms. They could be modularly equipped as either spearmen with rattan shields, pikemen, or great swordsmen wielding the curved two handed horse- chopping Zhangmadao. In addition, all of the "Iron Men" were trained in archery and equipped for it. When the situation required they could fill up a variety of roles. Only their hands are left exposed and some times their feet to give them purchase during scaling attacks.

BONUS ROUND: CHINESE KAIROS FATEWEAVER

Speaking of a showcase of Chinese culture and Tzeentch, there is actually a happy analogue between the two elements. In China, the thunder deity Leigong 雷公 (lit "Duke of Thunder") is actually a celestial inquisitor that swoops down on evil doers and mortals that abuses the dao for evil. He is often depicted as a blue half man- half bird creature with either bird or bat wings and shoots storms and thunder from his mace and hammer. 

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