Ming Dynasty Marksman: 明-鸟铳手

July 29, 2025

Ming Dynasty Marksman: 明-鸟铳手

Music: The Backyard Beast

Reenactor: 雨泽佚.

Armorer: Cold Light Armor (寒光甲胄工作室)

A late Ming Bird Gunner marksman. He wears a typical uniform of a infantry man modeled after the Ming painting《蓝章建功图》"Blue Chapter for Meritorious Service". He wears a red lacquered iron helmet with the word 勇 "Brave" painted over, cloth armor, matchlock arquebus, a bag for lead bullets, and one handed sword as his side arm.

Niǎo zuǐ chòng 鸟嘴铳- (lit: "Bird Gun" a general term for matchlock guns and flintlock guns during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Similar to Japanese Teppos- they were largely based on Portuguese examples. The weapon received its name because they were used in bird hunting. They fired round lead bullets, some special versions featured forward and rear sights. Contemporary records stated that: (compared to previous primitive firearms) "the back hand does not need to release the handle to ignite, so it does not shake. Therefore, eight or nine out of ten shots will hit the target, even a flying bird in the forest can be shot down. Hence the name."

In "Shenqipu" (The Book of Divine Weapons), written by Ming Dynasty scholar Zhao Shizhen, the bird gun is described as follows: "It has a rear sight and a front sight. Once the trigger is fired, the gun can aim precisely to the millimeter without moving the hands. Furthermore, the long barrel concentrates the energy, making it even more capable of reaching great distances and destroying strong objects."

Wuguang Wagon 武刚车: shielded pavise wagons: in this version they are presented as a hybrid of a wheelbarrow and mobile pavise screen. With such foldable defenses, whole trains of supply wagons can~ if needed, quickly rearrange into a defensive wagon fort. Ming bird gunners in defensive situations often fired from similar wagons with shields for cover.

THE COMING OF THE SEA PEOPLE- MING & EUROPEAN COLONIAL FORAYS INTO EAST ASIA

European Arquebusier- 17th century. From "Ran: Lost Islands." The Dutch after the 80 Year's War and continental Europe after the devastating 30 Years War had made immense revolutions in firepower, fortifications, and massed artillery production with royal patronage. The Dutch colonial empire at this time spans multiple continents and was sprawling overseas territories.

The Ming China Sea in the 1500s- 1640s was highly chaotic, the Ming had previously engaged in multiple naval battles with the Portuguese around Hong Kong and thereafter maintained a fast and loose relationship with the Portuguese empire. More stable trade remained between the Ming and the Spanish via Manilla. The Dutch by this time made inroads with the isolationist Tokugawa Shogunate by positioning themselves as none- disruptive Protestants (compared to the expelled Catholics,) and were granted sole privileges. The Dutch had also began to establish a foothold in the southwest of Taiwan as a regional staging point.

Music: It Was You

LATE MING- ENEMIES AT THE GATES

Armorer: Cold Light Armor (寒光甲胄工作室)

An Empire Encircled on Land and Sea. The Ming empire that waded into the opening years of the 1600s was one increasingly beset on all sides by enemies. In its north, the Jurchens (soon to rebrand themselves as the Manchus) have increased the intensity of their raids and would soon coalesce around Nurhaci into an ambitious state dead set on conquering south.

In the southern and easter seas new challengers have arrived from the seas- red and blonde haired Europeans had began to make landfall in the great waters- with the Spanish staking their staging point in the Philippines, the Portuguese- having taken Malacca in the 1510s and set their eyes north to the Chinese coast had engaged in several battles with Ming on sea, the Dutch- which aggressively pirated against the Ming also laid their anchor right around the Chinese coast at Taiwan by 1624.

THE TWO REGIONAL MING ANSWERS

Artwork from "Ran: Lost Island"

Ming frontier cavalry guards along the northern frontier of the Great Wall and Liaodong.

More focused article on the Ming Great Wall, the guard garrison in the northern Great Wall lap, and the isolated far off military garrison of Liaodong could be read here. The Northern Army of the Ming were largely composed of mobile cavalry patrol who are stationed in the key fortress garrisons. They wore distinctive conical helmets with square flag pennons- and armguards called Bi fu 臂縛 lit. "Arm Binding"- made up of segmented armored bands that coincidentally resembles Roman manica armguards. The cavalrymen were diversely equipped- and were given sabers, bows, lances, or primitive firearms such as the 3 eyes gun, which were effective at close range akin to shrapnel filled blunderbusses. Ethnically the northern army included Han, Mongol, and at times Ming garrison commanders procured services of various Jurchen chieftains including Nurhaci and his ancestors.

The Southern Army were by contrast more designed to intercept piratical activities and stamp down local rebellions- especially in treacherous backwaters of the east China coast or jagged valleys of southwestern China. The Southern Army was more infantry focused. Because the Ming's main existential threat largely came from the Mongols and later the Manchus, for much of the dynasty's history the Northern Army had greater prominence over the south. However the south did manage to achieve its own renown with the likes of legendary general Qi Jiguang who developed the mixed combined arms squad- or the "Mandarin Duck Formation," which proved extremely effective in completely eradicating the Wokuo pirates that plagued China's coasts in one decisive campaign. Ethnically the southern army is also varied, and included many Han subdivisions and fierce tribal auxiliaries 土兵 including Liang, Zhuang, and Yao minority. These troops are distinguished by their colorful high piled turbans. Additionally the Southern Army was also quite enthusiastic in the adoption of arquebuses and muskets. According to records, Qi Jiguang's own Portuguese- styled bird gunners accounted for some 50% of his soldiers.

(Above) A high ranking ennobled Ming official. He wears a prismatic red silk robe with prominently features a dancing python (actually a dragon but without claws) on his left side shoulder and arm. These 赐服 Cifu or "Bequeathed Robes" were extremely rare and were only prestigiously awarded (hence the name) to high ranking nobles, such as sitting Dukes or meritorious officials who had achieved great service to the dynasty.

One of the major crises that the Ming- decisively overcame was the chaotic Imjin War (Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea)- whereby the Ming intervened on the side of Joseon Korea against the Japanese invaders. At the time Japan had long adopted and internalized massed arquebus fire through the various Daimyo's bid for supremacy at the tail end of the Sengoku era- leading to major changes in ship design and castle design that incorporated gunfire. Japanese reliance on such weapons was such that nearly 1/4 of the massive Japanese invasion were of such troops. It was through prevailing against such odds fighting with the Koreans that the Ming also began to adopt arquebuses in increased scale. Other adaptations including the fielding of European cannons.

Breech-loading swivel guns were brought to China after Ming defeated the Portuguese in the 16th century. At the Battle of Xicaowan in 1522, after defeating the Portuguese in battle, the Chinese captured Portuguese breech-loading swivel guns and then reverse engineered them, calling them "Folangji" or "Fo-lang-chi" (佛郎机炮 – Frankish) guns. Ming breech- loading cannon from 1546 could be seen here. The Ming greatly prioritized rapid firing cannons and these guns had mug-shaped chambers that allowed a mug of pre-loaded projectiles to fire then immediately be taken out and replaced with another loaded chamber. The mugs of these cannons are called Zipao 子炮 "Son Cannon" (sub cannon) and the barrel is called Mupao 母炮 "Mother Cannon." By the 1620s Ming cannons were some of the most valued assets against besiegers on the Liaodong front.

The Ming after the 1600s also faced internal issues as well, he once- energetic and diligent Wanli Emperor also lost interest in the hands- on governance of the empire, corruptions within the court soon became severe and soon led to underfunding and equipment shortage for the armies. In the wake of several famines, many peasant rebellions erupted within the empire and lead to the collapse of the empire from first within then from without.

This is the glimpse of the late Ming and its circling wolves: an empire that- though challenged on early all fronts, still tried to adapt and even incorporate each of the new nightmares unleashed against it. Then it began to implode like a gravity well. A troubled state for the soldiers that languished on the frontiers against waves of foreign foes while the interior burned.

When Li Zhicheng- a popular rebel at the head of a massive rebel army besieged and took the capital of Beijing in 1644, the last Ming emperor committed suicide. Hearing of such development, the Manchus- which had long warred with the Ming for several decade by this point approached the Ming Great Wall garrison at Shanhai Pass pledging that they would be allowed to join the Manchus and: combined together they would retake the lost capital and avenge the (fallen) Ming emperor. With no choices, the Ming commander Wu Sangui allowed the Manchus into the empire.

NORTHERN THREAT- MANCHU QING

The strides made by the Manchus were nothing short of astonishing- having taken Beijing peacefully, the Manchu (by now officially Qing dynasty) swiftly conquered much of what once was the interior heartland of Ming. Having ruthlessly crushed stubborn resistance in Yunnan and Anhui- the Qing encountered little major trouble until they stumbled against the Zhejiang and Fujian coast- where the Zheng clan (headed by Ming- loyalist Koxinga- still held a large tract of coastal cities and supplied by his massive clan armada of 800 junks.) At this time, the Qing army had well integrated musketry into its Banner armies and after initial persistent setbacks against Ming (western styled) artillery garrisons, by the middle of the 17th century had also developed their own reverse engineered canons.

Interior of a Qing dynasty brigandine armor displaying square brigandine scales sewn into the interior. The heavies of early Qing harnesses were extremely well protected, and their heavy cavalry excelled both as archers and lancers and were very difficult to contend with on the battlefield.

In all, at this time the Qing army was well- led, well-organized, and soon would be bolstered with the vast resources of the interior of the empire. It's heavy cavalry were ferocious, and with the augmentation of the newly conquered Han populace (Green Standard Army) would assuredly steamroll the rest of the Ming loyalist holdouts underneath.

Steel beneath the Silk: Early Qing Armor. The armor offers excellent protection for the rider from all sides, the torso consisted of double layers of brigandine armor- affording double protection, surmounted by a mirror plate armor that guarded the chest vitals. It's armored sleeves offers great range of movement, and the heavily armored leg guards covers a wide span of the leg from damage. Some western and Chinese sources have recorded that the Manchu cavalry also had iron face masks but they were disused after this era. Additionally, some of the rider's boots were also armored as well, with brigandine like iron scales lining the inside of the boots. Overall, heavy early Qing cavalry were extremely well protected from ranged as well as melee attacks.

AN EASTERN POSTSCRIPT?- THE DUTCH GOLDEN AGE

After the fall of the Ming interior, Taiwan became a focus for the Ming loyalists under the Ming loyalist Koxinga. At the time his clan still controlled a large stretch of the Zhejiang- Fujian coast but having majorly gambled (and failed) to retake Nanjing in 1659 in siege- Koxinga's loyalist army lost any serious change of creating a new Ming capital in the southern interior of the old empire. Instead, Koxinga turned his sights east and sat his sights on Taiwan.

The Art of Firepower: the mid 17th century was still the height of the Dutch Golden Age and the apex of their global preeminence. Militarily it was half a century after Maurice of Orange had dramatically revolutionized warfare on land, and in matters of naval prowess, well after the Dutch had made themselves one of the foremost maritime empires. By contrast, the 1660s was nearly 20 years after the Ming had collapsed and Beijing fell to the Manchu conquerors.

Artwork from "Ran: Lost Island"

The Dutch were the heralds of military innovation in the early 17th century, with its stadholder Maurice of Orange among the first to successfully maximize fire power by drilling his arquebusiers to counter march and maximize volley firepower against approaching enemies. His innovations, augmented by later admirers such as Gustavus Adolphus would resoundingly secure turning the largely bulky pike and shot squares that dominated previous centuries of European warfare into one of long firing lines of fire- belching musketeers.

Additionally, with the invention of socket bayonets after this era- musketeers with bayonet in the next century would completely make pike formations redundant, turning each line of musketeer essentially into both gunner and spearmen. Though this development goes beyond the scope of our current coverage, it is a critical piece of context to illustrate the trajectory of advances the Dutch will readily adopt. Even until the last year of this century the Dutch were on the foremost ranks of military advancements, bookended by another dynamic warrior King- William of Orange.

Above: (Late) Ming musketeers from late Ming "The Illustrated Guide of Arms." The Chinese were no strangers to either gunpowder or volley fire, with both already understood by the late Tang dynasty, the Ming early on even invented primitive handguns such as the 3 eyed gun which is a highly effective short range weapon not unlike a blunderbuss or shotgun. The cavalrymen of the Ming northern garrisons well liked the weapon and they are readily seen in manuals or artworks from the mid Ming period. However, because the vast majority of Ming warfare revolved around countering threats from the steppes who did not possess many walled cities, for the majority of the dynasty the trajectory of Ming firepower were focused on rate of fire- even inaccurate indirect fire over a large area- such as the usage of the nest of bees rockets and rocket pods. By the late 16th century and the early 1600s, this trend would change.

(Late) Ming arquebusier (Bird Gunner.) The type of arquebuses that Ming favored the most were Ottoman and especially Vietnamese ones, which they deemed to be even better than "Frankish" (European) and Japanese variants. Unfortunately for the Ming, despite able to reach a level of parity with its regional neighbors, the aforementioned loss of imperial homeland stymied this development.

Avant Garde Ming dynasty Plug Bayonet Design form 1606. "Mother and Son" for a breech loading rifle. Note the breechloading chamber in the 2nd image. Breech loading weapons- either artillery (^) or guns are called "Mother and Son" because the breech loading chamber with bullet resembles the appearance of a pregnant mother with child.