Late Ming "Plate" Armor: 晚明全铁甲式
Music: Way of the Dragon
Armor by: 函人堂
Art by: 蒸魚葱
There was once a fearsome type of armor that was donned by Ming troopers during the twilight of the dynasty. Made for the height of the gunpowder age, these armors were very unique in that they had the appearance of looking like samurais, and they were made of many segmented plates. One could view them as the Ming's attempt to produce their own version of "plate" armors. Though we know scantly little about this armor's adoption, we will relate all that we do know here. Please enjoy.
Mask and Plates: These armors, which gave the wearer an imposing appearance of menpō - wearing samurais, featured 2 very unique qualities which were not frequently featured in Chinese armors. A prominent visor under the wearer's helmet, accompanied by a protective 3 segmented metal neck guard, and cuirass that was made of pieces of lacquered plates. It was the late Ming's answer to late Ming's wars. And according to the author of the record which the armor was found, it was exquisitely resistant to bullets and all form of blows.
Diagrams and passage from the late Ming《武备要略》Wubei Yaolue- "Outline of Military Equipment" in which the author explains that the Full Iron Armor or Quan tie jia 全铁甲 was constructed by sewing several lacquered steel plates on layers of cotton pads, and then laced together into one form by straps. The connecting points of the cotton pads were covered with soft fabrics to prevent chafing. The author then listed the construction cost of such armors, including listing the amount of catties of high quality Fujian iron that would be needed to make a suit of armor, and the amount of coal that would be needed for the forge.
These illustrations were derived from a late Ming edition of the 《武备要略》Wubei Yaolue, pegged to the reign of the Chongzhen Emperor, the last Ming emperor who died in the middle of the 17th century. According to the author's description, this armor is not only good in protection from blows, but also difficult to penetrate with bows, arrows and firearms. What is significant about these illustrations is the detailed way in which the construction of the armor was rendered. Each segment of the armor- including the point of straps and studs were so well documented it was certain that these were not the author's fabrications but the armor was indeed either based on armors he had seen, or tried on himself.
UNIQUE CONSTRUCTION
Diagram showing the Full Iron Armor or Quan tie jia 全铁甲 arranged in an anatomical layout (left arm guard rotated upward so as to show both the front and backside of the cuirass.) The wearer's arms would be well protected by thick segments of plates while the leg protection extends slightly beyond the knees. The Quan tie jia was not a true plate armor in the sense that there were still many openings. If anything they were more similar to the Indian Char-aina چهاﺮآﻳنه "Four Mirror" armor, Ottoman Krug, or the Russian Zertsalo armors. Despite not being fully protective as European platemails, Full Iron Armor offers significantly improved protection compared to Chinese brigandine and lamellar armors traditionally used by the Ming.
Two possible near Ming- references on what these masks could have looked like. Figure 1. Song dynasty bronze visor unearthed in Liaocheng, Shandong. Figure 2. Tibetan visor contemporary to the Ming Dynasty, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Helmet visors had been referenced sporadically in Chinese records but never in extensive detail. Many of the unearthed helmet visors which looked like a face were from the Song- Jin wars and were part of heavy cavalry helmets.
Art by: 蒸魚葱
Several imposing late Ming troopers armored in Full Iron Armor Quan tie jia 全铁甲. The first iteration includes their distinctive visors and segmented neck guards which gave the wearer strong vibes of menpō wearing samurais. For reference, by this point of Ming's history, they would have long been aware of Japanese armors from the height of Sengoku era. After all, the two side had clashed extensively during the Imjin War some 3-4 decades prior to the publishing of this edition of Wubei Yaolue. Japan too experimented with special "Nanban dō gusoku" which were modeled after contemporary European plate armors.
What is noteworthy, is that these armors were recorded from an age of gun powder warfare (Late Ming from 1600- 1644,) and was seen as at least one form of China's answer to this age's challenges. It is well worth to remember, that this type of armor was likely made after the Sengoku era of Japan had just ended, until near the conclusion of the Thirty Years War in Europe (aka the adoption of massed arquebusiers and line infantry volley fire in Early Modern warfare.) However it is unfortunate that beyond the construction and construction cost of these armors, we know virtually nothing in the role they did play during this era.
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Comments
I'm not sure where this line of thought came from. Since Romans have no problems adopting Celtic chainmail, Spanish shields etc. I don't see why Ming wouldn't adopt useful models from the Japanese etc.
Case and point, the western- styled artillery adopted by the Ming general Yuan ChongHuan, and the adoption of arquebus from virtually anyone who's good with them, be they the Ottomans, Europeans, Japanese, or at time the warring Vietnamese dynasties.
One of the reasons I included examples about Chinese helmet visors is that China does have indigenous versions of seemingly Japanese elements. However that doesn't mean this was not inspired by Japan either, since the Ming, especially that of the Ming along the east coast had had long share of contacts with the Japanese even as far back as the Hongwu Emperor's reign.
As for the construction of the chest armor? By this time China was well familiar with Central Asian armors and the core design was not that different from types such as the Four Mirror.