Apmi6s anel En6mi6s

of Anci6nt Ghina
Chinese, Hsiung.nu, Kushan Indian, Bactrian, Ferghani",l, Sogdian, Korean, Tu Chueh,
Tokharian, Kuchan, Islamic, Tibetan, Nepalese, Khitan, QaraKhitan, Jurchen, Seljuk
Turk, Mongolian, Japanese, Mountain Tribes, Vietnamese, Burmese.
B.G.-1286 A.D.
John R Gp66P
A WARGAMES RESEARCH GROUP PRODUCTION

DEDICATION
This, my first, to my wife Gail
My inspiration, fellow Society member, and a wargamer ; To Dr. Joseph Chen, Faculty Oriental
History, Califomia State University at Northridge, who introduced me to the history of China,
provided translations, and gave me much advice and encouragement in the writing of this book, ilnd
to David Court, who spent many hours proofreading my manuscript and who gave this work
continuity.
11Ial
Lna,
ookland
k
THE ARMIES AND ENEMlES OF ANClENT CHINA
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Pronuncialion Key
B. Chronological Table
C. Map of China and the Eastern World
n. BRIEf HISTORY, ORGANIZATION, TACTI CS AND TRAINING
A. Chinese Armies
B. Enemies of China
III. MAJOR BATTLES OF THE PERIOD
IV. WEAPONS AND UNIFORMS
A. Chinese Soldiers
B. Enemy Warriors
v. BIBLIOGRAPHY
VI. APPENDICES
Copyright john P. Greer and Wargames Research Group.
Pages
4
4,5
0, 7, 8
9
24
51
61
78
117
INTRODUCTION
ll1is book continues the series on the armies of the ancient world. The intention of this series is to
provide background information for students of military and art history, miniature modellers and
illustrators.
This particular book is the first known attempt in English to compile a chronological record of the
Chinese military systems, with a view to only these systems, segregated from economical-sociological
influences. It is not a military history of China, but rather a documented study of the Chinese soldier
and his enemies.
Tn contrast to the previous puhlications in this series, this is the first book tha t does not concentrate
on the Occidental world. The manuals and histories extant of the west arc abundant when compared
to those of the Oriental \\'orld. As military historians, we are indeed fortunate that, when records
were kept , they were very precise and detailed. In addition. the Oriental passion for artistic
endeavors provide us with a wealth of frescoes , reliefs, and funerary stelae, many of which are
militaristic in theme.
When dealing with the ancient world and it' s military systems, the mili tary historian should have a
secondary discipline: art history. It is in art objects and artifacts that we can see what is merely
indicated in literature or historical records. These two disciplines, when utilized side by side, prove
invaluable to a researcher of this period and subject.
Another difference between this work and those preceding is the time period covered. We are now
dealing with a period of approximately two thousand years. DUring this period of time, numerOus
peoples migrate, develop. and expand. I have chosen to concentrate on the Chinese Army develop-
ment , portraying each of China's enemies in a somewhat secondary role, only showing their
development when they came in contact with China_
An exception to this, of course, is the Mongols. With the rise of the Jenghis Khan, we see the birth of
a military system that easily equals in importance anything that China produced.
As the title of this work deals with China, I will docliment the Mongols only to the point of the
Japanese invasions of the late 13th century. As that time, China was already under the Mongolian
Yiian Dynasty, practically all of Asia was under Mongolian rule, and their eyes turned towards the
west and Europe.
As with the rest of the Research Group series, reliance has been placed on ancient authors and
excavation report s, with emphasis on monumental and archeological evidence. TIle ancient authors of
this period seldom adequately describe armor types or weapons, therefore archeological evidence is
needed. Thi s the Oriental world provides in funera ry reliefs and wall paintings. As Art History is my
primary academic discipline, I will recognize archeological artifacts or visual evidence as the deciding
factor, when the literary evidence and the physical evidence do not coincide.
FelT students starting a journey into the world of Chinese military history, there are a few volumes
that are truly invaluable.
Sun Tzu's The Art of War, translated by S.B. Griffith is an excellent introduction 10 the Chou
Dynasty. In addition to the doctrine included. this edition is by far the most readable and enler-
taining.
The Shih Chi by Ssu-ma Ch'ien, (B. Wat son, translator) and the History of the Furmer Han Dynasty
by Pan Ku (I I. Dubs, translator) provide an excellent start for the Han Dynastic period, along with
the multi volumed wOlks on the Han Administration by M. Loewe.
2
; to
od
the
logical
Didier
trate
>ared
Is
,.
lYe
.w
IS
'po
th of
n
Ie
)rs of
is
my
ling
"
sty
h
.-\ \'ery interesting work is Rome and Chinn by F.1. TeggarL Thi s describes the illterrelationships
.;f (WO great empires, and how one's actions ultimately affected the ot her. The great Chinese
C3J11paigns again 51 the Hsiung-nu resulted in the barbarian invasions of the west , the creation of the
Turks. Tartars. Huns, and Mongol s, the destruction of the Indian Empire (via the Kushan), and the
fill of Parthia and Persia.
Truly excellent works on the Mongols and their empire are offered by, of cOlITse. lhe primary initial
SoHJ rce. TIl e Rook of Ser Marco Polo, in Iwo volumes, translated by Colonel Yule; H, Howorth's five
.,Iume History of the Mongols; and nle Rise of Chinghis Khan and His Conquest of Northern China
by H . .Martin provide two additional valunblc sources.
I should note that many of the ancient accounts of battles have not been named. I have had to
;:<signate names for them to aid in reference. When possible, I have allocated the loc. tion of the
O:! ule as this name. When this was not possihle, a unique OCClirrance or unusual aspect was used for
tile name.
The problem of tran51ating a phonetic alphahet to Engli sh or any western language adds milch to the
Et'neral confusion. The spelling of any Chinese or Oriental name is subject to the nati onality of the
Lr.ID.S.latur and the date of writing. An example is the Genghis Khan , spelled alternatively, Jenghis,
Chingis. Jingis, Genghiz, and many uther ways. For one to slate that his version of translation is the
"'Illy one COrrcct is absurd. Therefore, I have tricd to be selective in my spelling and. I hope, consistent.
Finally. let me say that the overall purpose of this work is to generate interesl in Ihe peoples of the
~ e r n world. Many unique characteristics have surfaced in my research, but the study of ancient
aslern warfare is still in it's infancy. If this work can spark any interest or research into this field ,
ten I will consider my efforts as fruitful.
JPC
\,breh, 1975. Los Angeles, California
3
PRONUNCIATION OF CHINESE NAMES
The following is provided as a guide for the pronunciat ion of the Chinese names in this book. h is
basicall y a modification of the WadeGil es system. and I am indebted to Dr. J. Trabold for it's use in
this work.
Vowel Equivalents
<I as in FAthe r
ie
ai as in Ai sle
ieh
ao as in LOUd
iu
e as in bEt
c as in Err
0
eil
as in sAY
ou
ei as in fEInt
1I
en as in mEN (i
en as in ruN
uai
erh as in ERR
uei
ung
as in machine
ia as in YArn
Aspirates
eh as in Jerk
eh'
as in CHirp
k as in Go
p
p'
k' as in Ki ng
t'
Other Sounds
hs as in huSH
hui
shih
as in CHI va lry
ssu
hU3. huo equals hwa or hwo
IZlI
sSLi
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE CHINESE DYNASTIES
The Chou Dynasty ( 1027 - 22 1 B. C.)
Western Chou
Eastern Choll
" Spring and Autumn Annals"
"The Warri ng Sta tes"
The Ch'in Dynasty (221 - 206 B.C.)
The Han Dynasty (206 B.C - 220 A. D.)
Weste rn Han
Eastern Han
as in SIEsta
as in YEA
as in ad IEU
as in the French j Goie)
as in Or
as in OWE
as in fl Ut e
as in the French 1I (une)
as in WIGht
as in WEIght
as in DOng
asin Back
as in Pack
as in Dab
as in Tab
as in WHey
as in aCE
as in aDZE
as in Sir
1027 - 77 1 B.C.
771 - 22 1 B.C.
722 - 480 B.C.
480 - 22 1 B.C.
206 B.C. - 23 A.D.
25 - 220 A.D.
The Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties (Northern and Southern Dynasties) (220 - 589 A.D.)
The Sui Dynasty (589 - 61 8 A.D. )
The rang Dynasty (61 8 - 906 A.D.)
The Five Dynasties (907 - 960 A.D.)
Chaotic period following coll apse of the T'ang
4
The Liao (Khitan) Dynasty (907 - 11 25 A.D.)
Northe rn China
The Sung Dynasty (960 - 1279 A.D.)
Northern Sung
Southern Sung
The Chin Dynasty ( 1115 - 1234 A.D.)
Northern China (The l urchen)
The YUan Dynasty (1260 - 1368 A.D.)
Mongolian rule
5
960 - 1 117 A.D.
1127 - 1179 A.D.
--
,
I
,
,
- ---
---\
I
' .. - ,
, ,
I ,
" -
, 2:,"
: ~ I
tv
.'
6
()
o
J
- ..... _,
L
-
...
\ ~
\ ~
,
--
'\
I
t
0_;#
~ ~ ~ G \ l
8
=
:') ft
! I
11
o ,
,
..

lIt
, ,
,
M
G
J
-
THE CHOU DYNASTY
The periods prior to the advent of the Chou Dynasty (ca. 1027 B.C.) are still shrouded in mystery
or in unsubSlanriated information. Archeological finds suggest a great cultural history of the Shang
DYnasty (directly preceding the Chou) and possibly indicate an even earlier Hsia Dynasty. It is only
when we get to great historians like Ssu-ma eh' jen and his histories that we can stand on fairly firm
ground. For this reason this work begins with the Chou.
Exactly when or why the Chou descended "from Shansi and Kansu to the Szechuan Plain is not known.
It may have been the result of a "domino" movement originating in Western Asia by the Aryans, but
according to Chinese traditi on thi s was not so. Umi1 we learn more the Chou will be , as the Shang,
still a mystery. Within 20 years the Chou conquered all of the Shang territory, including all 50 states.
Dur ing the period of the early (Western) Chou (ca. 1027 - 771 B.C.) a strong central government
prevailed. Liege lords paid tribute to the king, and all was relatively stable. In 77 1 B.C. , the Duke of
Shen employed Hsiung-nu mercenaries, overthrew the government and killed the king. From this
l ime to the end of the Chou and the unifi cation of the Empire under the Ch' in, China was reduced to
principalities under a feudal system with much power lying in the northern states.
The period of middle (Eastern) Chou, commonly called the Spring and Autumn Annals (ca. 722 -
480 B.C.) saw the life of the great sage K'ungfutzu (Confucius) , the Five Classics, the Book of Tao,
the Four Books of Philosophy, and the Suntzu (Art of War).
The period of the Warring States (ca. 480 - 221 B.C.) saw the growth of strong states such as Ch' u in
lower Yangtze Valley, and the dynamic state of Ch' in in the north and west. The "spartan" Ch' in
state would ultimately put an end to the Chou Dynasty which had, in reality, dissolved in power years
before .
ORGANIZATION
The Sun-tzu or Art of War provides much of the Chou military organization and tactic. It is not
known who wrote the Art of War or if Sun-tzu were his name. Over the years of Chinese history, we
are fortunate 'that the Sun-tzu was maintained and military criti cs of later years would add their
comments on applications of the Sun-tzu's principles, "flavoring" their critiques with insights into
their own military systems. The Art of War remains today as a classic of military writing.
The principle weapon of the Chou was the quadriga, or four-horse chariot. The infantry served
merely to support this main shock weapon. Until rather late in the Chou period , cavalry\vere sadly
neglected as an offensive weapon - - it took the lessons of nomadic warfare to introduce the cavalry
arm to the Chinese way of fighting.
The chariot unit, according to the Li-Ki and also Ssu-ma Fa (ca. 700 B.C.) consisted of the main
vehicle , foot soldiers, and attendants. The Li-Ki , as translated by Friedrich Hirth, calls for one three-
man war chariot to be supported by 25 armored infantry and 72 unarmored men, thus forming an
ancient equivalent to the medieval "lance", or to Kautilya' s Mauryan Indian "unit" of elephant ,
cha riot , archers and infantry.
Ssu-ma Fa calls for a " company" of 100; three in the chariot , 72 foot soldiers and 25 auendant s with
the baggage cart. Obviously, this translation by S. Griffith, is quite different from the Li-Ki. The 25
ext ra footmen and their duties were mistranslated by one of the authors. Friedrich Hirth is often
quo ted, but I have found glaring errors in his works, probably due to a misunderstanding o f military
matters or nomenclature. Therefore , Mr. Griffith may be closer to the correct translation. and the 72
infantry would consist of both armored and types. It is probable that a very slllali number
of the company would be blessed with any kind of armor whatsoever. In fact , another source suggest s
tha t the only armor allocated lO these footmen was in the form of a shield.
9
This doctrine of organization was the norm for many years under the Chou. Regiments and ba tt alions
of Guards would be provided for the sovereign and eve ry highranking officer or dignitary as a kind of
" household" unit. The sovereign would have a Guard of2,500 infantry, a Shi: Each high-ranking
offi cer would have a 500-man Guard, a Lii. In the later years of the Spring and Autumn Annals
period , a more formalized system of Shfand LG sized units would prevail. with a typical army
consisting of six shL
The ideal army of the late Chou had 1,000 war chariots; 100,000 infantry (together, these indicate
the presence of 1,000 chariot "units"); and an addi tional 1,000 ligh t chariots. These light chariots
would be employed in reconnaissance work, only consisting of driver and bowman.
As in most nations using such a system, it is quite possible that the Chou brigaded chariots, armored
infantry and skirmishers into " like" unit s - - perhaps Shi or Lii . At least by the Batt le of Ma Ling in
341 B.C. this was the case.
TIle introduction of massed crossbows at Ma Ling caused the phasing out of chari ots from Chinese
warfare, as the Suntzu states that crossbows were able to put chariots out of business.
TACTICS
Clearly, with the chariots being employed as the main shock weapon, little emphasis was placed on
the infantry. The liege lords drove the chari ots and, when the chariots fell back, the infantry protected
them. Striking similarities can be seen to early medieval European practices. Even chivalry lOok pl ace
on the field when opposing chariots fought each other as "codes of conducting warfare" were
stringent ly upheld. TIle chariots of the Chou were as the medieval knight , the main shock element ,
while the in fantry merely served to support their masters. In the European era, the infantry became
the dominant element when armed with a !ongrange, penetrating weapon- the long bow. In the
Chou, the infantry were armed with the deadly crossbow. Both of these weapons, histori cally, had
the same effect: 10 alter tactical thought and practice of their respective eras.
A few "daring" commanders did use the infantry for more than a supporting role. Wu Ch'i and the
Marquis Wen of We i (ca. 387 B.C.) were such commanders. Infantry were issued long spears, halberds,
bows and crossbows, and underwent much training in manuever and tactics so that they could be used
to great effect in baule.
TRAI NING
SunlZu tells us much of the Chinese soldier. It seems that little is mentioned of any training prior to
Wu Ch'i and the year 387 B.C.
Under the auspices ofWu Ch' i, training began with regarding the armament of soldiers.
Short men were armed with the long spears or halberd; tall men with the bow or crossbow (perhaps
to all ow for overhead fire?). The strongest carried the banners and flags; and the valiant carried the
bells and drums.
Precise movements and orders were beaten out on the drums and signalled by the bells. One beat of
the drum signalled "Weapons in Orde r" (fall in); two meant " Practice Formations" (close order drill);
three meant "Mess call" ; four was "Prepare for Action"; and five was "Advance". Ringing of the bells
signalled "Hal t" .
Drill was taught , and the Chou were able to form square and circular defensive formati ons; maneuver
in line and file ; open and close ranks; and extend and close files.
Before closing with the Chou, and going on to the Ch'in and the Han, it must be suessed that a true
feeli ng for Chinese mili tary thought and mode of combat cannot be truly appreciated without a
10
knowledge of the Sun-tzu. The Art of War was required reading for all generals and many stratagems
and dictums stated were frequently used in battle. An example of what is covered in the Sun-tzll is
the note in Chapter V, Section 31. It states that to a surrounded enemy you must leave a way of
escape- for if the enemy sees that there is no hope of escape, you will change a routed foe into a
cornered tiger. Five centuries later, in another part of the world, a certain Julius Caesar will write
precisely the same dictum.
Approximate Composition of the Chou Dynasty Army
~ i 2 x i m u m percentages of types within the total force employed:
Untrained, armored infantry 20%
Untrained, unarmored infantry:;: 70%
After 387 B.C. , the above could be considered to be trained.
Charioteers 10%, of which half were war chariots
Unarmored cavalry 5%
Crossbow armed infantry 20%
II
THE CH'IN DYNASTY
TIle fareastern equivalent to Greece's Sparta was the state of eh'in. In a period of great flux
under the Chou, the Ch'in were scorned by their Chinese neighbors for lacking culture and emulating
their northern barbarian neighbors, the Hsiungnu. Thus segregated from their Chinese kinsmen, the
Ch' in sought to improve themselves and overlooked no opportunity to build their military might and
tactical expertise. Discipline iI)., both civil and familial matters ensued, as the government followed the
structure of the earlier Shang- 'creating order where there was chaos.
By 318 B.C., the Ch'in were strong enough to take the Szechuan Plain, the most fertile and productive
foodproducing area then in China. By 222 B.c. , the Ch'in had conquered all rival states and now
reigned supreme. This was truly the first time that the Chinese were completely united, for in 238
B.C. all fiefdoms were abolished. Great work was done for the people by the Ch'in ruling house,
including a Grand Canal nearly 100 miles long that was cut across Shensi Province to enrich the soil.
An irrigation system, reputedly begun in 300 B.C., has banished serious floods in Szechuan for 22
centuries. The people were disarmed, but given property rights for the first time in Chinese history,
subject only to taxation. Nobility was no longer a gift of birth, but rather a gift from the state in
return for service. Not only was the country unified in purpose and government, but also culturally
and administratively. Customs, writing,laws, weights and measures were now uniform by Imperial
decree and supervision.
TIle Emperor Ch'in Shih-huangti, in 220 B.C., ordered a network of roads to be built across the
Empire. The northern sectional defences were united to form the Great Wall. With all of the assets
Shihhuangti brought to this first Chinese Empire, he also brought the term tyrant.
Fearing that too many things were "threats" to the Ch' in state and his own power, he gradually
degenerated into a despot. Paranoia soon overtook him, and he felt assassination so prevalent a threat
that he sought to abolish the chance of it. He ordered aIr bronze vessels, sculpture, and weapons to be
confiscated and destroyed. Many members of the "literati" were executed and much ancient literature
was burned, for these could cause his death, or incite others to cause it , or remind the people of
another way of life, other than that dictated by the state. The only books to survive the burnings
were those on medicine, divination, farming, arboriculture and his own geneology.
This "intellectual purge" was coupled with a breakdown of morality and the military system. Soon
the Empire was being drained of all it's resources just to supply Shih-huangti's regime. But this
supply did not satiate the despot's desires. Sadness and poverty soon grew into rebellion and
disorder. It was time for a change.
THE CH'IN ARMY
The primary importance of the Ch'in military system I<lY not in any great administrative or organi-
zational difference. It lies in the rype of force employed. In the Chou period, reliance was placed or
the charlot and infantry, to the derrogation of the cavalry arm.
By 320 B.C. , Wu Ling, the Duke of Chao (located just due east of the early state of Ch'in and
bordering the Hsiungnu) adopted the use of cavalry for his army, copying closely the Hsiungnu
system.
The Ch'in duplicated this system, and soon unarmored horse archers swarmed over the slower chariots
and infantry of the Chou armies. The division of the separate Chou states allowed the Ch'in to defeat
each state individually, and the Chou "nation", in detail.
Approximate Composition of the Ch'in Dynasty Army
Maximum percentages of types within the total force employed:
12
1
% D E h . I I U 1 ? J U ! p a J O W l E U n p u e p a J O w I V
% S 1 " ' l u e J l l ! p O W l e - M o q s S O J J
% S s J a a l o p e 4 J
% 0 0 I = S J 3 l J : > J ' E a S J 0 4 A l I t A E : > p c H o w n m n
THE HAN DYNASTY
The anarchy that followed the fall of the Ch'in was complete. The various provinces fell to the army
commanders, as a "free-for-all" threw the unified Empire back into chaos.
Liu Pang, an adventurer of sorts, while serving as a police official in Kiangsu province, carved out a
personal kingdom in a rather novel way. Finding himself as the escort for a body of condemned
prisoners, he decided to remove their chains and form a regiment of brigands. Naturally, they were
delighted at the prospect, and eagerly followed their new-found"condottiere"captain, Liu Pang. Liu
Pang then annointed the drums with his blood, and adopted blood red as the color for his standards.
At the head of his "brigand band" he proceeded to carve out a kingdom in Kiangsu. In 207 B.C., he
marched on Shensi and took it by popularity, not force- a kind of "Anschluss". For five years, Liu
Pang fought his rival , Hsiang YU, and finally defeated him in 202 B.C. This commoner's son, the
leader of an army of convicts, was now the unchallenged Emperor of China. This Empire, the Han
(named after the Han River and Liu Pang's Imperial name, Han Kao-tzu) was to last until 220 A.D. ,
and leave such a mark on China and her history that even today the Chinese refer to themselves as
"The Sons of Han".
ORGANIZATION
The Han were masters at administration and this is reflected in their army organizations. Michael
Loewe' s work on the Chu-yen bamboo strips has brought to light much detail on the Han chain of
command and unit organization.
Field army commanders, the Shang Chun or Ta Chun, were at the head of the army organization,
responsible only to the Emperor. They might also command the militarY regions or provinces.
At the head of a particular army was the commanding officer, the Chiang Chun, or general.-The army
was then brigaded into physical "areas" and commanded by generals of lower rank. The front or
vanguard, commanded by the Ch'ien Chun, was supported by the left wing, commanded by the Tso
Chun, and the right wing, commanded by the Yu Chun. The rear was brought up by the Hou Chun.
These were aided in administrative duties by the Lieh Chun, or general staff. Colonels (Hsiao wei)
were not included in a "normal" chain of command as we know today, but rather seem to have been
administrative officials and not necessarily military commanders.
According to the Chu-yen strips, three Tu-wei-fus or battalions, were allocated to a ChUn, or army.
The Tuweifu was the basic unit in the Han organization. This unit was composed of local troops
(provincial units), local cavalry, but mainly of conscripted infantry. It was commanded by a Tu-wei ,
assisted by a Ch'eng and a Ssuma. This Tu-weifu would consist of any number of Hou-kuan, or
companies, each of which was commanded by a Hou. In turn, each Houkuan was composed of from
four to six platoons, or Hou. Each platoon was commanded by a Hou-chang, and consisted of six to
seven squads or Sui. These squads were commanded by a Sui-chang, and usually consisted of up to
eleven men.
Within the army, the best fighter of every Sui was transferred to a special unit, the shock or elite
troops. This theoretically would be ten percent, or one in ten. Mainly held as a reserve, in Han times
they were called the "Gallants from the Three Rivers".
Cavalry were detached directly from army headquarters to Tu-wei-fu, Hou-kuan, or Hou headquarters.
They may have followed standard army organization, but this is not known for sure. A documented
unit of unknown type had 182 men.
The Han made much use of allied auxiliary cavalry units- the majoriry of which were usually border
tribes of the Hsiung-nu.
14
Tn
or ,
y
Iy
is.
Pri soners and convicts were frequent ly used in the army. in two capac ities. The comIllon labor troops
were convicts merely serving our a prison sentence. They performed the menial rasks around the
camps. dug ditches and latrines. built fortifi cations and the like. and. much to their chagrin. served as
" cannon fodder" in battle. However, the Ch' ih-hsing were amnestied convi cts. serving out their
sentence in the combat arm of the army. These frequent ly were very fierce fighters. not hampered
with too much mil itary !raining.
Pionee rs were not engineers or the like. as we migh t call t hem today. They were the sta ti c garrisons
that manned the Chinese limes and the Grea t Wall. These troops were mainly armed fa rmers. and
actually cuhivated the areas around thei r posts when not on duty, much like their 4th and 5th
century Roman counterparts.
In add ition to the above. there were several specialized units in the Han Army. brought to light by
Chao Ch'unghuo's campaign agains t the rebe llious Western Ch'iang in 61 B.C. It is here that we first
hear of the " Voluntee r Expert Marksmen". who distinguished themselves by their uncanny
marksmanship. These opera ted as a jager or Rifle Brigade type in battle, but as to whether they were
armed with a bow or crossbow the histories do not tell us. The "Winged Forest Orphans" were an
elite body of armored infant!)'. all of whom we re orphaned as a di rect result of their fathers' dying in
ba ttle. The" Liang Chia-tzu" were elite noble-born cavalrymen, and more than likely. armored.
Finally. the "Yung-kan" archers are ment ioned but not elaborated upon.
The Han were noted for t heir use of art illery and long-ranged crossbows. These weapons dearly gave
them an advantage as t hey gene rally out -ranged any weapons their enemies possessed.
TACTICS
As is evide nt in the battl e narra ti ves of the Han per iod . not much in the W3.y of stra tagems and
innova ti ons were igno red by Han generals. TIl ey learned much from Sun-tzu and applied hi s principles
we ll.
Basically, much attention was focused o n the missil e weapon as the main arm. and the crossbow
simply out-classed any opponent's weapon. On repeated occasions ( Battlc of Sogdia na. 38 B.C. , Li
Ling. 90 B.C.. for examples) the crossbows were formed up in ranks protected by the armored
infan try who carr ied large shields and long spears. Even the armored cavalry at t imes were equipped
wiih these crossbows, forming a kind of "selfpropelled artillery".
The chariots we re used for the fina l blow. after the bO\\.os had done the real work. Cavalry was used
fo r the shock assault if the ground wasn' t suitable for the chariots. Generally. t he cavalry arm was
used in twO ways- - one. as a reconnaissance and pursuit fo rce. and two. if a high ly mob ile force such
as t he Hsiung-nu were involved as an enemy in ba ttl e, the Han caval ry aHempted to pin the enemy
cava lry. all owing the infant ry and chario ts to cl ose.
TRAINING
In th is category, th e Han Army was fa r supe ri or to any previous Chinese Army and Ill ost of her
enemi es.
During the early Han, all males between t he ages of 23 and 56 were conscripted for two years active
service. During the years 155- 74 B.C., t he age was reduced to 20 for conscr ipt ion. At the age of 56.
all low ranking infantry and marines were classed as " elderly and decrepit" and were "made c ivil ians".
Tr ai ning was not left in boot camp eit her. Every year. on the eighth month . t he enti re army. no ranks
Or arms excepted, was involved in a General Inspect ion and testing program. All units were graded on
15
performance. <Ind woe to the unit cOI11I11<1nder whose unit was not up to p a r ~ Thus. training and
combat proficiency were a constant and ongoing operation dur ing the Han pe riod.
Approximate Composition of the Han Dynasty Army
Maximum percentages of types within the total force employed:
Armored cavalry 5O'ii-
Unarmored or lightly armored cavalry 5O'7r-
Tribal auxiliary unarmored cavalry 5Q<k-
Labor troops = 10%-
Convict Combat troops I (Yh
Armored infant ry = 5OCio
Unarmored infantry 5fY' ib
Of the last two categories . 3OC;' could be armed with the crossbow
Artillerists 10%
Clwrioteers 5% scout. 5% wa r chariots
16
THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN DYNASTIES
Stability, or rather relative stabil ity. was the order of the day for three hundred years under the I lan .
During this lime. the minur princes sumetimes rebelled, but the disruption was quelled quickly.
Dissention was nOI allowed to fester. By the end of the 3rd century A.D .. howeYer. the situation was
different. The in creasing disconte nt erupted into an uncontainable virus that des troyed the cen tral
government and the House of Il an.
The three kingdoms that followed the collapse of !he Han: the Wei in the nurth. the Shu in the west.
and the Wll in the east neatly divided China into three equ<ll .areas. The Wei managed to defci;ll the
other two kingdoms by 280 A.D .. and this Empire. the Tsin. lasted lllorC or less until .+20 A.D.
The Tsin allempted to goad the T" u Cillleit and ll siung-nl! tr ibes inra fighting each uther. and . fur a
while . this succeeded. Unfortunately. the Chinese coun lapsed once <lgain into corruption ;:lJld
deba uche ry resulting in i.l coulHry racked with thieves. drought. famine. :llld !lauds. The
:mnies again degenera ted, in direct cUlltrast [0 their enemy's.
Froillthe period of about 30.+ A. D. to 386, the Turkil:_ Tibewil. Hsiung,nu. 31ld hordes
ravaged China. the Chinese overthrew these barbarians . and were ravaged again . In 386 A.D .. the
Wei Dynasty (founded by the T o-pa Tmks) occupying Shansi orovillee. held on 10 their
conquered terriwry, and soon the Chinese were forced [0 flee sOllth of the YanglLe River.
With the final overthrow of the Eastern Tsin in sOll th China (C<l. 420 A. D.) China was virtually
horizoIltillly split in two. Chinese rule was limited 10 sOllthern China. The southern Chinese still could
nOi st;!bilize, as dynast ies followed dynast ies. The Liu (Sung) (4';0-479) was followed by the Ch' i
(.+79-501), the Liang (501- 557). and the ell'en (557- 589). and all was not stagnant in the TurkiL'
north.
In 535. the Wei split into e<Jst and west factions. and were succeeded by the Northern Ch'i (550- 577).
Ihe :-.Ionhern Chou (557-5S\). and Ihe \..aler Li ang (555- 5S7).
The unificat ion of China occurred again in 590 A.D. , this time by Yang Chi en . A minor official of the
Later Liang. he challenged and slew. one after another. 60 princes of the blood, and dethroned the
last Liang Emperor in 587 A.D. In 589. his <lflnies conquered the Ch'en. All of China was once ;!gain
united, this time under the Sui .
NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN DYNASTIC ARMIES
During this period, the fluctuating dy nast ies and petty kingdoms prohibited any Jrmy. At the
beginning of this period, much of the llan organization was maint<lined. For example, th:- elite shock
troups of the Wu Kingdom were called "Dissulvers of Difficulty". and those of the Ch'i were cal led
"Fate Decide rs" - a traditiun cOlllinued from [he Chou. to the Il an. and now to Ihe Three Kingdoms.
Due to the nature of the upheavals, much use of Turki c mercenaries ensued, with a dcemphasis on
the charior. Heavier cavalry including cataphracls developed. partly due to the T u Chueh i!lOuellcc.
Duri ng the period of the Turkic Wei rule. organizations [hal the T'u Chueh employed would be used.
Generally. heavier infantry (lnd cJvalry follmved the collapse of the Han. with an emphasis on quantity
and not quality.
Approximate Composition of the Northern and Southern Dynas ti c Armies
i\'laximulll percentages of types within the total force employed:
Northern:
Armored . untrained cavalry 6O'fr
\ 7
Armored. untrained infantry
Unarmored. untrained cavalry
Unarmored. untrained infantry
Trained units
Southern:
40%
40%
60%
10%
Armored. poorly trained cavalry 50%
Completely :.mnored (cataphract)
trained cavalry 10%
Unarmored. poorly t rained cava lry 30%
Armored. poorly trained infantry 600/0
Unarmored. poorly trained infantry 50%
Of the last two ca tegories. 1 (f;" could be armed with crossbow
Artilleri sts 5%
18
THE T' ANG DYNASTY
After three and a half centuries of disunion , the Sui Dynasty finally succeeded in uniting China once
again. But at the turn of the 7th century A.D., China was once again plunged into IUfmoil.
Unrestrained Imperial luxury and widespread governmental corruption led the Empire into open
revolt . It just doesn't seem that the pampered Chinese nobility ever learn.
The "King Arthur" of the time was Li Shih-min (later to become the rang Emperor T'ang rai
Tsung) , who, after conquering every other contestant, founded the Tang Dynasty in 6 18 A.D. Under
t his dynasty China was to extend her Empire to further limits than any other dynasty, even the Han.
Trade was exhalted to a height never before known. A never-ending stream of caravans traversed the
silk route, carrying Chinese exports throughout the known world. By 733 A.D .. the Imperial Census
reported 43,090,000 people living within the Tang Empire.
ORGANIZA TION
The organization of the Tang Army began with the six field armies ChUn. The se were divided inlO
two wings each, the left (senior) , and the right , each consist ing of three armies. Each wing was
co mmanded by a general , the left wing commande r bei ng seni or. A Chief of Staff and a cavalry
commander (Ssu-ma) complet ed the army's command positions.
The army was divided into infantry regiments responsible direct ly lO army hea dquarters, while cavalry
regiments were brigaded into divisions subordinate to army headquarters. Infantry organization ca.
744 A.D. allowed for regiments of 800- 1200 men. The main body of infantry, the tvtilitia, had some
600 regiments.
The cavalry were grouped in 4,000 man divisions and regiments of 500 and 1,000 men. Squadrons of
200 and 300 men have been identified as independent spuadrons, not subordinate to a regiment. but
rather subordinate directly lO army command .
The Imperial Guard provided twelve regiments, six cavalry and six infantry to guard the Emperor, and
three of each to protect the Crown Prince.
In addition to the above regular" units, the T'ang made much use of allied auxiliaries. In 617 A.D. ,
the Western Tu Chueh (t he Ta-nai tribe) were allied with Li Shih-min in his bid for power with the
Sui Chinese. During the period 630-682 A.D., the Eastern Tu Chueh allied with the Tang to fight
the Western Tu Chueh and the Kuchan. In 644, the Uighur Tu Chueh also allied to fight the Kuchan.
and in 649, 1,200 Tibetan armored cavalry and 7,000 Nepalese infantry were called in to fight King
Alanashan of India at Chapra on the Ganges Ri ver.
In 617 A.D., command organization for the State of Tang was as follows. As is obvious, the organi-
za tion will remain the same into the Empire, with the exception of positional changes.
Generalissimo
Left Wing (Senior)
Right Wing
Chief of Staff
Cavalry Commander (Ssu-ma)
=
The Duke of T ang
The Duke of Lung-hsi, Li Chien-ch'eng
The Duke of Tunhuang, Li Shih-min
P'ei Chi
Liu Wen-ching
There were several units that distinguished themselves during the Tang period. One was Li Shih-min's
bodyguard of 100 armored cavalry, other units were the " Flying Horse" unarmored cavalry, and the
" Yu-men" squadron of 300 armored cavalry lancers. The last two units were probably independent
fo rmations.
19
Seige artillery for the Tang included numerous large catapults. and large "multiple crossbows"
(simi lar to ballistae?). capable of discharging eight bolts in repeating fire at a range of 500 paces.
TRAINING
TIle bulk of the early Tang infantry and even the cavalry were conscripted. TIle cavalry were all
considered elite when compared to the infantry. Because of this cavalry-oriented philosophy, the in-
fantry of the Tang seldom ever left the farmer-soldier status. It was the heavy cavalry that won Li
Shih-min's great victories such as that at Ssushui in 620 A.D. TIle discipline, esprit de corps, and
tactical expertise of these units provided the ferocity in battle that could annihilate a far superior
force. Indicative of the degree of training and indoctrination, the elite shock troops of the Tang were
called "Leapers and Agitators".
Once the campaigns started to be lost , disintegration quickly followed both in training and adminis-
tration. The numerous rebellions of the 9th century broke the back of the army, and the Chinese
looked to their farmer-soldiers for support that never materialized.
TACTICS
Against nomadic tribes, the Tang sought to capture their flocks and occupy their wells rather than
to fight or to pursue a much faster foe across the Steppes. The Tang also set out to disrupt their foes
via diplomatic means. By setting one tribe against another, a fighting force could lose all cohesiveness
and crumble before the slightest Chinese opposition. When Qadir Khan, in 622 A.D. , entered China
with a force of 150,000 T'u Chueh, the Chinese managed to subdue this massive army piecemeal (see
T'u Chueh).
TIle Tang favoured pinning down an enemy frontally, then w o r ~ i n g their way around the enemy's
flanks. This was used against the Koreans, who had little if any heavy cavalry as a mobile reserve with
which they could counter this move.
Of course, the T'ang were not above any deed if it would ensure victory, or even the chance of it , as
may be seen in the unorthodox method of disrupting an enemy described in the narrative, "The
Battle of Kansu".
As a general, Li Shihmin ranks with the alltime greats. He used the stratagem of displaying more
standards that units in his anny to imply more units than were actually present. Also, when
confronted with impossible odds as at Ssu-Shui , he was not above splitting his force, leading a tiny
squadron out of position and confusing and demoralizing him, and then lashing out with a highly
trained and motivated army on his terms.
Hannibal's trek across the Alps was equalled under the Tang by General Kao Hsien-chin, who, in
747 A.D., took a 10,000 man cavalry army and advanced over a wilderness area , across the Pamir
Mountain range at Baroghil (elevation 12,400') and the Glacier Darkhot (elevation 15,400') descend
ing finally into the Yasin Valley, there defeating a Tibetan-Arabic allied army, after a gruelling journey
of over 700 miles'
Approximate Composition of the T'ang Dynasty Army
Maximum percentages of types within the total force employed before 885 A.D.
Chinese trained, armored cavalry
Chinese trained, unarmored cavalry
Chinese conscripted, poorly trained
spearmen and bowmen
Chinese Guard or trained armored
infantry
=
20
50%, of these, 10% were elite
20%
50%
10%
Tribal auxiliary unarmored cavalry,
armored cavalry. or skirmishers = 30%
In 885 A.D., the army degenerated into regiments of 1,000 men. The army theoretically had 54 of
these. The cavalry fell into disuse, and poorly trained armored infantry constituted the bulk of the
later T' ang Army. This was the case unt il the Empire's fall.
2 1
THE SUNG DYNASTY
Even with the great prosperity of the rang, disaster and collapse lurked behind the Imperial
throne. As was the case in the past is now true also: the government needed or desired more
funds. Fo r many centu ries, the peasants had borne the chief burden when it came to taxation. An
attempt was made in 766 A.D. and 780. [0 transfer paIl of this burden to the wealthier land-
owners. But. as this was administe red by local officials and rampant co rruption ensued, this
"'remedy" failed.
Internal discontent, corruption of high officials and general dissillusion finally brought the
government of the T ang to an end. As was generally the case, political chaos fo\l0wed the dissolution
of .he T'ang.
Between 907 :md 11 25 A.D .. the Khitan horde overran northern China and established the Liao
Empire. Absolute anarchy and chaos prevailed throughout the remainder of China. as bandit s pill aged
and sacked. back and forth, over the southlands.
The inclusive dates of approximately 800-960 A.D. are known to the Chinese hi storians as the period
of the Five Dynasties and Ten lndependant States, which explains rather succinct ly, the state of
affairs over this period of time.
When the last "emperor" of the southern confusion died in 959 A.D. , Chao K'uang-yin became regent
of the largest principality in this chaotic "'nation". After a brief, successful campaign against the
Khitan in the north, by 979 A.D .. China was once again united , with the exception of the northern-
most kingdoms. the Khit an (Liao) and the Hsi-Hsia (due west of the Liao).
From 960- 1279 A. D .. his Empire . he Sung. prevailed. This precarious empire managed to hold ou'
for all of these years with many th reatening enemies vi rt uall y ringing them. To t he north were the
Khi'an (Liao) . he lurchen (Chin) afler 1125 and un.il 1234, and then .he Mongols. n ,e TangUl
Tibetans in the west menaced the Sung border, while the sout hern nank was threatened by the Annam
and Nan Chao kingdoms.
In 11 27. the lurchen threw the Sung boundaries to south of the Yangtze Ri ver. This Empire, now
termed the Southern Sung. enjoyed existence until they violated rvl ongolian terri tory in an attempt
to break our. This gambit resulted in the Mongolian campaign against the Sung. that commenced in
1273 and lasted but six years. terminating in the total destruct ion of the Sung. The foll owing rule
was Mongol. termed the Yuan Dynasty. that lasted unti l 1368 A.D. , when the Ming Dynasty seized
power away frol11 the weakened Mongols- the Chinese were once again in power.
ORGANIZATIO. '
According to Chang Vii, a mili tary cr itic and commentator of the Suntzu during the Sung era , the
Sung had a high degree of military organization. Five men const ituted a two squads, a section;
five sections, a platoon; two platoons , a company: two companies. a battalion: two battalions . a
regiment: two regiments. a group; two groups. a and two b rigades, an army. Therefore, an
H army" would consist of, at pape r strength, 3,200 men.
At the beginning of the Sung period: there were three distinct divisions \\' ithin the army: the Imperial
Guards. the Militia. and the Labor Corps. A professional. standing army 0[200.000 was maintained
for .he flrs. 80 years of .he empire, whereafter i. grew '0 1,400,000. However, the larger .he army
grew. due to insufficient training and equipment. the weaker it became.
In 1050 A.D .. Shen Tsung attempted to reestablish a well-trained. small professional army, backed up
by a vast militia. His organization called for units of 10, 50 and 500. Thi s is the type of army
organization that preva il ed until the final coll apse in 1279.
22
TACTICS
In the Sung period, much reliance was placed on the infantry, supported by artillery. Cavalry,
although highly regarded , was simply not available to the Sung, as they had lost their horse-breeding
areas to the Tartars. The Chinese use of natural barriers such as rivers and rice paddies, coupled with
an astute knowledge of fortifications and seige warfare , left them a near inaccessable foe, hardly
worth the trouble to attack.
Rockets and fire catapults had been known for quite a few years. If not in common use prior to this
period, the Sung made much use of them in both field and seige warfare. The Sung used rockets
against the Mongols and the Khitan (Liao). When Sung China fe ll , the Mongols " drafted" many
Chinese artille rists into their armies. TIlereafter, all of the Mongol's enemies "benefited" from Chinese
military technology .
Approximate Composition of the Sung Dynasty Army
Maximum percentages of types within the lora I force employed:
Armored cavalry
Unarmored cavalry
Armored infantry
Unarmored infantry
Artillerists
l' _ J
10%
10%
90%
70%
25%
THE HSIUNG-NU
"The Hsiungnu move on the feet of swift horses,
and in their breasts beat the hearts of beasts.
They shift from place to place as swiftly as a
flock of birds, so that it is extremely difficult
to corner them and bring them under control.
It would not be expedient to attack the Hsiung-
nu. Better to make peace with them. "
Han Ankuo, Mini ster to the
Han Emperor Ching
Hereditary enemies of the Chinese, the Hsiung-nu harassed, defeated, and were defeated by, the
Chinese time after time.
As is common with the Steppe cultures, the Hsiung-nu were a confederation of tribes, the number and
specific tribes varying. It should be noted that several historians have differing opini ons over the
beginnings and ultimate displacements of these tribes. The term " Hun" is used generically for these
people, as is " Tartar". The Chinese historians add to our consternation by referring, at times, to
anyone north or northwest of their border as the Hsiung-nu. Hsiung-nu is, after all, a Chinese name .
The suffiX "nu" incidentally, is a characteristically derogatory term for these people. It means "slave".
It is generally agreed that the YUeh-chih were a western border "horde" of the Hsiung-nu, although
consistently were at odds with them. The Wu-sun tribe of this " horde" were notable due to their
complexion. which was fair-haired and blue-eyed (see Tokharians) and also because they were
allied with the Chinese and at odds with their kinsmen.
With all of these tribes allied , neutral and enemy, it is no wonder that a leader such as Mao-dun
(ca. 209-1 74 B.C.) was of such importance.
He is the first known leader to unite the Hsiung-nu under one banner into a cohesive fighting nation.
From this time on, the incessant Hsi ung-nu and Tu Chueh pressures will force Chinese intervention
and elaborate defences against this threat. The major breath of the Great Wall was constructed on the
Hsiungnu border.
ORGANIZA nON
In the early days of the Hsiungnu, before the introduction of the caval ry arm, tribes such as the Ti
and Rung were composed entirely of poorly armed infantry. To the time of the great leader Mao-dun,
we know little of any organizational or administrative details.
When Mao-dun consolidated the tribes of the Hun-yli , Ch' li-she , Ting-ling, Ko-k ' un and the Hsin-li ,
into the confederated Hsiungnu, a st ri ct decimal organization was inst ituted.
The leader of the Hsiungnu was called a Shanyii. The confederati on was divided into " left" and
"right" (east and west?) provinces, each commanded by a T'u-ch'i. The " left" (west?) province
commander was the heir presumptive. following the Hsiung-nu principle of assigning the left as point
of honor and rank.
Each of these T'u-ch'j had , as subordinates, a left and right Ku-li. Army commanders subordinate to
these were call ed Tang-ku. This organizati on changed little from the lime of it's inception, to the
take-over by the Mongols_
24
Unlike most Steppe cultures, the HSiung-nu leaders did not always follow along hereditary lines. These
leaders were, for the most part . chosen by a vote of the tribal chiefs.
Although fast moving cavalry was the main arm of the HSiung-nu Army right into the European
contacts with the Huns, some infantry were, at times employed. This can be documented in at least
the period of 36 B.C. to 73 A.D.
In 73 A.D., the infantry were organized into 300 man units
TACTICS
The Hsiung-nu learned most of their tactics and horsemanship from the Indo-Aryans, the Bactrians,
Scythians and hereditary predescessors, whomever they may have been. This is the generally stated
theory of the Hsiung-nu and their development. It is still a mystery as to who exactly and when,
introduced the cavalry way of fighting to the Hsiung-nu. What is known, is that the progression of
cavalry fighting went from Middle Asia and travelled east. The Chinese only started to raise cavalry
units after many defeats by the hands of the fast moving Hsiung-nu.
The bow,javelin and shield were primary weapons as the "hordes" struck fast and hard, only to
disappear in an instan t.
Raids were superstitiously only planned during the cycle of the waxing moon. The waning moon
always would recall raids and the Hsiung-nu would remain dormant during these times. Naturally, it
didn' t take the Chinese long to figure out this recurrent cycle and use it to their advantage.
Time after time, the Hsiung-nu used another stratagem that almost invariably worked. In fact , it
worked so well , that many other eastern nations copied this tactic, including the learned Chinese!
Picked units, renowned for their tenacity, would engage the very centre orthe enemy line. Putting up
a savage fight, on signal, they would feign defeat, and nee in "abject terror". The speed by which
these "routed" troops fled would outdistance most pursuers. Now, thinking that the cream of the
Hsiung-nu were now put to rout, the enemy would chase them- to put an end to the entire Army!
Lurking on the flanks of these "routing" troops were the Hsiung-nu reserves. On signal , the "routing"
troops turned around, and recharged the enemy, with the reserves hitting the bewildered pursuer's
flanks , and enveloping the enemy.
Approximate Composition of the Hsiung-nu Army
Maximum percentages of types within the total rorce employed:
ca. 700- 350 B.C.
350 B.C. and on
Light Infantry or leather armored infantry = 100%
Light cavalry = no more than 5%
Ligh t Cavalry = 100%
Light or leather armored infantry, as skirmishers or battle-line troops = up
to 20%
25
THE KUSHAN
According to the Chinese the Kushan were relatives of the Yueh-chi , a barbarian tribe
of the west. They were also the \Yu-sun, displaced to the south. The ancient name of this tribe, again
conjecturally. is the " Tukhara" . If these are the " Tokharoi" of Greek record (when Alexander's men
were in Bactri a) , then we have them pinned down. For these are also of record, known as the Yiieh-
Chill , an lndo-scythic people, from the area of Bactria. And this completes the circle, as it concurs
with the ancient Chinese historians.
Much about the Kushan is shrouded in mystery_ Or rather , I should say, confusion. The major
problem existing today, with regards to the Kushan, is the dating system used to chronicle the reigns
of the early Kushan Kings. In fact , it is so much a problem, that Chinese dates become confused every
time in their history they came in contact with the Kushan!
The extent of the Kushan Empire would , at it's height , encompass Afganistan, Turkestan, Bukhara
and parts of Russian Turkestan.
The only contact Kushan India had with China, is related in the Battle Narrative section, "Pan eh'ao's
Vi ctory Over the Kushans".
ORGANIZA liON
It is known that the Kushan utilized many Scythi c t actics (which is not unusual , considering that they
are of the same ancestral stock) therefore, we can assume that basically those two armies were not
very dissimil ar.
Unarmored cavalry would dominate , there would be a proportion of armored caval ry to support the
" lights" , and a number of Bactrian camels.
A coin minted by the first Kushan King, KujulaKadphises, portrays a Bactrian camel on the obverse
side of the coin. This reflects their heritage, ancestral lands and common beast of burden.
After the northern Indian subjugat ion by the Kushan, which is prior to the Chinese contact , we
could expect a number of native Indian infantry, cavalry, chariotry and elephants to join the Kushan
army as auxiliaries.
Kushan organization was, like most of the Steppe cultures, and the eastern nations, decimal.
We know that chariotry was still taught under the reign of Kaniska (ca. 144 A.D.) so we can assume
that chariotry played some part in the Kushan army, if perhaps only to ferry officers around.
Approximate Composition of the Kushan Army
Maximum percentages of types within the total for ce employed :
Unarmored cavalry
Armored cavalry
Unarmored camelry
Unarmored skirmishers
Armored infantry
Charioteers
Elephant riders
26
=
90%
30%
20%
20%
10%
5%
5%
BACTRIA, FERGHANA, AND SOGDIANA:
These t hree principaliti es occupied the region of Central Asia presently represented by upper Sink iang
Province and Russian Uzbek, Tadzhik. Kirghiz. and eastern Kazakh. Sit uated north and west of the
Tarim River Basin. these kingdoms connected the west with the east geographically and culturally.
I t is a recurring coincidence that the Bacrrian and Sogdian people were recorded by Chinese historians
as having reddish hai r and green eyes. The similarities to the Kushan and Tokharian people surely 10 a
C0l111110n source - - perhaps the Aryan invasions?
Important not only for its strategic location between cast and west , these areas also were rich
producers of ores and horses - - bOth of which were necessary fo r the nomads and Chinese alike.
In later times. with the arrival of the silk caravans and the famous "sil k route". these art!as greatly
advanced in importance. The most direct route to the Mediterranean from China was straight through
the Tarim Basin and these kingdoms.
The importance levied on Sogdiana (Kang-gu) can be seen in regards to Chilt-chih's inrerference in the
narrat ive .. Bau le of Sogd iana".
The Ferghanian horses so sought after by all easte rn peoples were the reason for two Chinese
campaigns under the Han - - both of which were successful. In both 102 B.C. and 103 A. D .. the
Chinese defeated these small kingdoms and drew many horses from these lands to stock Chinese
stables.
As the years progressed and Chinese rule left these areas. the Hsiungnu. T u Chueh. and other
nOllladic t ribes moved in and established these horse-breeding areas for their own use.
THE CENTRAL ASIAN ARMIES:
Possibly inheriting their sense of tactics and mode of warfare from the Aryans, the earl y Bactrians
(and their Scythic ancestors) utilized war char iots and cavalry to a maximum. Camelry (the Bactrian
camel) was also developed to support the mounted armies of this area. Alexandrian Hellenistic
influence is shown in Bactrian reliefs in Persepolis. but amazingly little in the way of
warfare rubbed off on the province.
The comlll on ties with the nomadic tribes developed the decimal system of mili tary organiza tion.
Thi s system remai ns constant in the Steppes of Asia virtually throughout the periods covered in this
book.
The horse archer, the main element of each of these kingdom's armies. developed into the well -
trained and mobile Hunnic armies. The Scyths developed the tactic of firing volley after volley of
arrows into an enemy. feigning defeat and goading him into rash pursuit only to be smashed by a
fresh reserve. This stra tagem was handed down to their successors and continued throughout Asian
warfare.
Approximate Composition of the Central Asian Armies:
Bactrian and Sogdian Armies:
Maximum percentages of types within the lOtal force employed:
Unarmored horse archers
Charioteers
Unarmored cameleers
27
=
=
10051
5%
40%
Ferghanan Armies:
\1aximulll percentages of types with the IOtal for ce employed:
Una rmored horse arche rs
Unarmored cameleers
18
100%
1()<ff
THE KOREANS
The Chinese have had a colonial interest in Korea since 346 B.C. when they first established domin-
ance in that area. This dominance however. should 1101 be misconstrued. The Koreans have always had
a strong national spirit. and China"s history of "occupation" and wars with the Koreans. call them
"mop-up operations". or "police ilctioIlS" or whateve r. would fill a volume i n itself.
Forced to send consc ri pted infant ry 10 fight the IIsiu ng-nu . as wcl1may be expected . these fought
wilh something less than vigor.
Uproars begun in the 4th- 6th centuries A.D .. eru pted inlO 10tal war by the 7th cCl1lL1ry. According
(0 Chinese historians. the Army assemb led against the Chinese at An Shih Ch'eilg. was l,'omposcd of
over 200,000 men. This rebell ion was quelled by the grea t Li Shihmin.
The Li ao ( Khit an) dominance followed. subsequent ly by the J urchcn. From 121 8 A.D. to it' s end in
1132 when the King was forced to nee to Kanghwa island. the Koreans vainly fought the
With the Mongol defc<lL rhe Koreans werc no bcuer off than when they were oc(;upied by rhe
Chinese. Relegated to a mere "renuitment pool" of warm bodies. more than::! 1.000 Koreans se rved
in the Mongolian Army as auxiliaries. and very few evt'r returned . These Sallis were employed as the
mai n assault element in both of the illfated and mismanaged Japanese Invasions.
ORGANIZATION
III 997 B.C.. eh"un,son of the "immortal" Kija. organized hi s 7.300 man Army into 59 "regiments"
of abou t I 23 or 124 men c<l ch.
By 346 B.C.. the army had grown to 10.000 infantry and 1.000 cavalry. but unit organizations arc not
known.
The 4th- 7th ce nturi es A.D .. saw infantry as still the main arm. but the introducti on of more bow armed
light cavalry and some ca taphracts.
It is in the pe ri od of the wars with the that we have much infurmation on Korean
organization.
The Chinju commanded the Army. with.a 1.000 man infantry unit commanded by a Toryong. and'l
similar cavalry unit by a Singiyong.
Unit compl cmenrs were normally 1.000. 100. and 50 men. The Guard units. 'Tobang". were uf sao
men cacho A caval ry unit of 1,000 men was called a "Singi". and a similarly sized unit of crossbowmen
was called a " Taegak'.
Three I 00 man units out of eve ry 1.000 man unit. were "shock" or " elite" units.
The cataphracts found in Figure 64. Illay const itute one sll ch unit (elite) in a heavy caval ry unit. or
may constitute the Gua rd Cavalry. 1l1ere is a problcm here. however. as Chinese histories repeatedly
blame the Korean defeats on their consisten t lack of heavy caval ry.
An unusual group that may constitute a type of Gua rd unit. was the ' Maesang". The only infor-
mat ion available on these , is that rhey adorned their shields with designs of "str<lnge beasts".
The Invasion Armies unde r Administrati on consisted of infantry. both armored and
unarmored, and equivalent cavalry types. The three or Armies h<ld 6.000. then 5.000 and
finally. 10.000 men in them. These we re probably organized after their Mongo!lllaster's unit s.
29
TACTICS
Unfortunately. little can be said here. The only battle narrative that has any embell ishment whatever,
simply implies that the infant ry formed the center (possibly leather armored, shield and spear armed)
with missile troops supporting on the flanks and rear ranks. The light cavalry served as a mobile
reserve.
Approximate Composition of the Korean Army
~ h x i m u m percentages of types within the total force employed:
Prior to 346 S.C: Lightly armored infantry skirmishers = 100%
Light Cavalry = 5%
346 B.C. - ca. 300 A.D.: Lightly armored and unarmored archers or spear bearers = 90%
Light Cavalry Horse archers = 10%
ca. 300 A.D. - ca. 1200 A.D.: Lightly armored infantry skirmishers and
unarmored archers = 80%
Unarmored crossbowmen = 10%
Ugh t cavalry horse a,rchers = 15%
Armored cavalry and Cataphracts combined = 10%
ca. 1200 - 1232 A.D.: Lightly armored skirmishers and unarmored archers = 60%
Unarmored crossbowmen = 20%
Mongol Domination:
Guardsmen = 10%
Light cavalry horse archers = 20%
Armored cavalry and Cataphracts combi ned = 20%
Armored infantry = 10%
Liglul y and unarmored skirmishers and archers = 80%
Li ght Cavalry horse archers = 50%
Armored Cavalry, some with partially armored horses = 20%
30
THE TU CHUEH
As with the Hsiung-nu, modern historians disagree on these people's history.
The traditional Chinese account says that the T'u Chueh (who are generically called "turks") are
descended from a tribe of the Hsiungnu who were forced to flee west after being defeated by another
Hsiung-nu horde. This tribe jn question, then migrated to the Altai Mountain range district and settled
around a large, "helmet" shaped hill. This area was extremely rich in iron-ore deposits, and the "turks"
soon became quite adept at ironwork. Their ironwork and the shape of the dominant geographical
feature of the area led to their name, for T'u Chueh or il) di.ffering languages, means
"helmet". In 545 A.D. , Tumen Khan forced these groups to into east and west branches. The
Eastern Tu Chueh occupied an area stretching into the Gobi Desert , the Western stemming into
Central Asia, later to become the Ottoman Turks. A subbranch, the T'uyuhuns occupied north
eastern Tibet.
I would draw the reader to the narrative of The Battle of Sogdiana. In about 38 s.c. , Chil,chih's
tribe drives off the Wusun, as the beginning of his illfated quest for power. As the Wusun were at
the time, situated northeast of Sogdiana- it will be seen that just south and a little west will be found
the Altai Mountain range.
The Wusun were known to be a fairhaired and blue/green eyed people- foreign complexions to the
Hsiung-nu.
The T'o-pa Turks of the Eastern Tu Chueh, the duminant tribe of the branch, had a succession of
yellowbearded Kings.
lust perhaps, Chih-chih's actions had an ultimate detrimental effect on his sworn enemy, the Chinese .
For, in about three or four hundred years after Chihchih's death, the Chinese Dynasties fall to the
T'o-pa Turks, and the Wei Dynasty, a nonChinese Dynasty begins.
It is my own hypothesis, but perhaps Chih-chih's drive on the Wusun ult imately made the Wusun the
forebearers of the T'u Chueh.
ORGANIZATION
The earliest organization found for the T'o-pa T'u Chueh is ca. 540 A.D. This is specifically for the
Tabgatch horde, but other tribes in and around the area would also follow this organization, as part
of the T'opa.
The titular Khan or the equivalent , possibly even Shan-yu denotes the overall commander. Units were
organized in strict decimal progressions. A commander of 10,000 was a Yabghu; of 1,000, a Shad; of
100, a Tekin; and of 10, a Tudun.
The bodyguard of the leader was called "Fuli", or "woIr'. The Western T'u Chueh had a 200 man
bodyguard for their leader.
These units, although composed largely of heavily armored cavalry, unarmored light cavalry and
cameiry, seem to have been poorly disciplined, ill-trained and rather inept. In an encounter in 622
A.D. , against the T'ang Chinese, the Qadir Khan, leading an Army of 150,000 in 10,000 man
suffered 5,000 casualties in a battle and the entire Army went into rout due to the incident. These
casualties represent but 3.3% of the total Army strength.
A partial answer to this lies in the fact that seldom were all tribes loyal to their own Branch, and
seldom were Branches loyal to each other. T'ang China was particularly adept at diplomatic endeavors,
31
as, from the period 630- 682 A.D., the Eastern T'u Chueh were employed as enthusiastic mercenaries
in China's attacks on the Western Tu Chueh.
Also, in 649 A.D. , the Uighur Turks (under their leader Djigin), occupying an area just west of the
Altai range , provided 50,000 men to the Chinese war effort.
By 841 A.D. , the Kirghiz Turks are the dominant tribe in the confederacy. Under their red standards
and led by their Aye!, they vied with the Khitan for power in the Central Steppes. Notably, these
Kirghiz were tall , had reddish hair. were white , tanned in complexion, and had greenish eyes. These
men had a curious custom of tattooing only their hands.
By the time of the Khitan Empire (Liao)ca. 900-1100 A.D., the Ghei tribe enter into alliance with
these new "Chinese" conquerors. The Ghei are unique for this area and time , in that their total
st rength lies in foot archers and unarmored cavalry.
TACTICS
The average Tu Chueh cavalryman was armored, and it is with these soldiers that reliance in battle
was placed. Camels, (of which there were a considerable number) were used in reserve to disrupt a
mounted enemy.
The superstition of the moon's cycle persist s. Raids are still only conducted during the cycle of the
waxing moon.
Approximate Composition of the T'u Chueh Army
Maximum percentages of types within the total force employed:
Unarmored light Camelry
Armored Camelry
Armored Cavalry
Unarmored Cavalry
20%
5%
60%
40%
Ghei allied Unarmored infantry archers 50%
Ghei allied Unarmored caval!)' horse
archers ; 50%
32
TOKHARIAN AND KUCHAN STATES
Located in the area of Turfan, the Tokharians (possibly the ancient " Tokharoi") have been in
contact with Chinese forces at least from 108 B.C. In PanCh'ao's great "march to the Roman Empire"
the Chinese again encountered the Tokharians - - this time TUlfan surrendered without a fight. The
Tokharians are the red-haired and blue-eyed people that could be descended from Scandanavians who
migrated eastward to Siberia and then south. The WuSun,Sogdians, Bactrians, Scythians, some T'u
Chueh tribes (T'o-pa), some Mongolian tribes (Yakka), and the Kushan, not to mention the enigmatic
.. Aryans". may be relatives of these alien people. Whenever contact was made with the above peoples,
Chinese and Indian historians carefully noted the physi cal differences. These Tokharians, the Chieh-
ku, were the stock that would form the Byzantine Varongian Guard in 620 A.D.
Kucha was the largest city state of the Tarim River Basin complex. Commonly called an "Oasis
Kingdom", in antiquity the Tarim Basin was much more fertile and prosperous than it is today.
In its earlier history, Kucha was not very powerful - - as was the case with the other 3S states that
formed the Basin.
However, by 630- 644 A.D. the state of Kucha under their sovereign, King Ho-li Pu-shihpi , amalga
mated a formidable army with which to fight Tang Chinese expansion. A strong force of armored
cavalry were only defeated by a combined Chinese, T'u Chueh, and Uighur army that ironically lured
the Kuchan force into a defeat via the Central Asian stratagem of feigning rout.
Approximate Composition of the Tokharian and Kuchan Armies:
Tokharian Armies:
Maximum percentages of types within the total force employed:
Armored infantry
Unarmored skirmishers
Unarmored cavalry
Kuchan Armies :
Armored cavalry on partially armored
horses
Armored cavalry
Unarmored cavalry
=
=
=
=
=
=
33
10%
100%
5%
5%
90%
5%
THE ISLAMS AND TIDETANS
The caliph successor to Muhammad sent Arab mercenaries to aid Li Shih-min in his take over in
China. Thus, an uneasy alliance now existed between the Islamic and Chinese worlds.
In 674 A.D. Sassanid Persia, then also an ally of T'ang China, sent urgent word to the T'ang Emperor
requesting aid against invading swarms of Islamic cavalry.
This plea fell on deaf ears as no help was sent. Sassanid Persia was overrun as was Bactria and Sogdiana,
both of which had also requested aid.
From 707-713, the Arabs were content with consolidat ing their power on the western borders of
China and in the Tarim Basin. By 712 A.D. when the Islams under MuhammadbinQasim were
attacking another of the Oasis Kingdoms and India's King Dahir, the Bactrians and Syrians were
allied with the Arabs.
After 7 13 A.D., the Arabs began to push the Chinese Empire east , thus expanding their own
boundaries. Along the way they picked up Tibetans (T'utan) as allies.
TItis alliance was challenged by the Chinese General Kao Hsienchih who, a la Hannibal , crossed the
Pamirs and arrived behind the Arab-Tibetan Army. This was only a stalling move, however, as the
Khitan also turned on China at this time. By 75 1 A.D. the Khitan had defeated the Chinese at the
Liao River while the Arabs subdued them in 752 A.D. at the Talas River.
ISLAMIC AND TIBETAN ARMIES:
The Islamic armies consisted of a mounted force of unarmored horse archers and cameleers, armored
cavalry , and artillery with a small portion of infantry.
Islamic sultanates provided most of the fighting force while auxilaries such as Syrians and Bact rians
were sometimes called in.
The decimal system again prevailed as a unit of ten men was called a sari-khalid (after the commander);
a unit of 100, a sipahsalar; of 1,000, an amir; of 10,000, a malik. In MuhammadbinQasim's army of
712 A.D. were 6,000 camels and a baggage train of an additional 3,000 camels.
Islamic infantry were completely secondary to the cavalry. Although armed with bow and swords,
they seldom were used for anything but support. The cavalry reigned at first , though in the later
Seljuk period supported infantry would dominate.
The Ti be tan forces remain a bit of a mystery at lower level organization, although the decimel system
seems likely. In 773 A.D. the Tibetan forces were grouped into four armies or "horns". The Chinese
historians calculated that the one horn facing the Chinese border consi sted of 200,000 men.
The Tibetans relied almost exclusively on their armored cavalry while their long-time ally Nepal
provided bow armed infantry.
In 1270 A.D. the Tibet ans fell to Kublai Khan - - not by defeat but by diplomatic upheaval. Kublai
Khan declared the Tibet an monarchy dissolved, and installed the Abbot of Sakya Monastery, who
happened to be quite popular and proMongol , as sovereign.
The Mongol Empire had a new and powerful ally.
34
Approximate Composition of Islami c, Tibetian, and Nepalese Armies
percentages of lypes within the tOlal force employed:
Islami c Armies:
Unarmored horse archers = 40%
Armored Cavalry = 40%
Infanny = 20%
Anil lerisls = 570
Cameleers = 30%
Aux il iary unarmored cavalry = 30%
Tibetan Armies:
Armored cavalry = 100%
Leather armored cavalry = 20%
Nepalese:
Unarmored archers 50%
(of the Tibetan-Nepalese Army)
35
THE KHITAN (LIAO)
The Liao Dynasty, occupying much of northern China, was established by the Khitan. The Khitan, a
pre-Mongol Steppe culture, swarmed out of what would now be southeastern Mongolia and smashed
the P' ohai Kingdom of the Liao-tung peninsula.
This period, the early 10th century A.D. , was already the scene of the disintegration of the T'ang
Dynasty, therefore, when the Khitan moved south, there was not much opposition.
In 946 A.D. , they sacked the capitol of the Five Dynasties Kingdom of the Later Chin. This brought
direct contact with the Sung Dynasty, for in the II th century, the Sung were forced to pay a
humiliating tribute to these Khitan for an unsteady peace.
The Khitan Empire, which was 10 occupy most of Mongolia and Central China, in addition to
Northern China, was known as the Liao Empire.
ORGANIZATION
The Liao Army was based on the use of cavalry almost exclusively. The Ordo was the basi c unit of
organization, and from this word we can trace a term we are all familiar with. The Chinese term for
the Ordo- "wo-Iu-to", and the Hunnic "ou-1'o" meaning King, give us the source for the Khitan word
"Ordo". It is how "Ordo" is translated into our western languages that is highly significant. In Polish,
Portuguese and Spanish, Ordo becomes horda. In Swedish, it is hord. In German and Danish we have
the familiar English word, horde.
A typical Ordo under the Emperor T'ai-tsu (i Oth centuty A.D.) , constituted of Bodyguards and
retainers; P'o-hai POW's; resettled Chinese and Khitan Armored cavalty shock troops; and a few
conscripted levies from the occupied territories.
Sizes of these ordas varied from time to time, and only "paper-strengths" are known. The Khitan
shock troops are the only reliable soldiers in the ordo- the other prisoners and retainers seldom
fought with the ordo.
In 95 I A.D. , an ordo consisted of 2,000 armored cavalty; by 983 A.D. , 3,000; in 1031 A.D., 5,000;
and by 1125, 6,000.
In addition to the basic ordas, the Liao Army maintained certain allied tribal auxiliaries. For example,
in 986 A.D. , the'lurchen joined the Liao after suffering a defeat at their hands. It is probably at this
time that the l urchen learn of the Liao art of warfare, and retain enough to defeat them later. These
tribal allies were organized as were the Liao, with the exception that the best fighters were grouped
in an elite unit.
The Militia constituted the final portion of the Liao Army, and were the bottom of the heap. In the
Militia were found the Chinese and conscript Khitan infantry, the crossbowmen, and the artillery.
TIlese were used mostly for the "dirty work" of seiges and the like. When utilized in combat, they
were usually the "cannon fodder" to preserve the cavalry.
The basic unit organization of the ordo was the regiment or battalion of 500-700 men, divided into
companies of 100.
Ten regiments constituted an Ordo or Column. Ten columns (ordos) would create an Army or Side.
The vanguard for a typical army would be 3,000 unarmored cavalry.
36
It is not known whether ordos were combined or composite-arm organizations, or whether they were
exclusively armored cavalry formations. A description of an ordo in battle leads me to believe that
within an ordo there would be three regiments of unarmored light cavalry I four regiments of armored
cavalry, and three regiments of armored cavalry on partially armored horses.
The following is a list of the twelve ordos of the Emperor Tai-tsu. The first name is the commander's
name, or whom the ordo is delegated to protect (much like " The Queen's Own"). After this is the
name of the ordo, the Engli sh translat ion of the name , and then the number of cavalry in the Ordo.
I. Tai-tsu; Suan; (The Emperor's Own); 6,000
2. Empress Ying-t'ien P' u; P'u-su-wan; (Development); 5,000
3. T'ai-tsung; Kuo-a-lien; (To rule the Country): 5,000
4. Shih-tsung; Yeh-Iu-wan; (Prosperity); 8,000
5. Mu-tsung; To-Ii-pen; (To Pacify); 2,000
6. Ching-tsung; Chien-mu; (To Transmit); 10,000
7. Empress Dowager Ku-wen; (Jade); 10,000
8. SMng-tsung; Nti-ku; (Gold); 5,000
9. Hsing-tsung; Wo-tu-wan; (Propagation); 10,000
10. Tao-tsung; A-ssii; (Extensive); 15,000
11 . Tien-tsu; A-Iu-wan; (To Assist); 10,000
12. Hsiao-wen; Ch'ih-shih-tf-pen; (Filial Piety); 5,000
TRAINING
The Liao were trained in units of five or ten men, and, like the later Mongols, they were warned that
should any member of the unit be guilty of misconduct or worse, the entire unit would be punished
equally. This naturally creates a very strict and quite harsh discipline. The system must have
degenerated for the lurchen to have conquered them so easily.
The units were well-trained in their combat roles, and all were instructed in logistical self-support. The
unique tactic of relieving fatigued front line troops with fresh troops was practised incessantly so that
there might never be a foul-up in battle.
TACTICS
A typical deployment of the Liao Army, was to have the Ordos arranged rather like the Roman Legion
formation of Simplex Acies, or, Ordas in battle line, with intervals or spaces between each ordo.
Flanks would be relegated to the auxiliary cavalry. In order of battle, the unarmored cavalry would
form the van, followed at 100 yards distance by the armored cavalry on unarmored horses, followed
at 100 yards distance by the armored cavalry on partially armored horses. To the rear of this force
would be found the Chinese engineers, artillerists, and the Militia, ready to be marched up through
the intervals if necessary.
When deploying and manuevering, pre-arranged code names were shouted to bring units into their
proper places in the battle line. Three rolls of the "great Drum" signalled the advance, a blast of the
trumpets indicated halt , and a clash of gongs and conch shells- the charge.
The Liao followed the time-honoured Scythic tactic of volley upon volley of arrows, followed by
close support and exploitation by the armored cavalry.
The tactic of relieving fatigued front line troops with fresh tTOOPS, gave an incessantly attacking front
line of fresh troops that almost invariably reduced her enemies to defeat.
Another reason for the Liao Army's great success in battle, is that most of her foes-the surrounding
tribes or Chinese Kingdoms- consisted mainly of light cavalry horse archers, not much of a foe for the
37
trained Liao armored horseman. Also, non-cooperation between the tribes signalled their falling to
the Liao via "piecemeal" tactics.
By this time, the Chinese Army. had, once again. depreciated into "mobs" of infantry. ill -trained
and poorl y motivated. Hence, the superiority of the Li ao.
Approximate Composition of the Khitan (Liao) Army
Maximum percentages of types within the total fo rce employed:
Khi tan unarmored caval ry
Kh itan armored cavalry
Khi tan armored cavalry on partially
armored horses
Tribal auxil iary una rmored cavalry
Militia infantry
Chinese artillerists
30%
40%
30%
25%
20%
5%
It has been postulated that. after 111 4 A. D .. not more than 2% of the total Khitan armored cavalry
had all of i:'s assigned equipment (including the armor for the horse).
38
THE QARA- KHITAN
Earl y in the 12th century. the Liao Empire was attacked by her one-time ally. the Jurchen. The
l urche n Army had learned much from the Li ao, and the Li ao power was crushed. Aiding the
lurchen in their campaign, lasting from 1114 A.D. - 11 25 A.D .. were the Chinese of the Southern
Sung Dynasty, Liao's southern neighbor. TIle lurchen then established in this area the Chin
Dynasty , friendly and allied to the Sung. The Chin Dynasty. in turn. would fall to the in
1234 A. D.
This was not to be the final chapter on the Khitan (Liao) Dynasty. however. After the fall of the
Li ao to the lurchen. a group of liao tribes managed to fl ee west ward and established the nati on of
the Qara-Khit an. aha known as the "Black Khitan" .
TIlcse Khit an tri besmen. a constant annoyance to t he t\'longoli an tribes. managed to last from
1143- 12 11 A.D .. and were finally subdued by the Jenghis Khan.
QARA- KHITAN ORDO
The army. as would be expected. was very similar 10 their "parents" . the Li ao.
Organization was exact ly like the Li ao ordo. but with a higher proportion of unarmored . and not
as many armored. cavalry.
By thi s time. the Ordo was stabilized al 10.000 men each. Batt ali ons o r regiments of 500- 700 men
were st ill the rule. but there were now a few at 1.000.
An army fo r the Qara-Khit ans. however. was but th ree ordas.
Some Khitan infantry wou ld st ill be present. but only for minor tasks and for the occasional seige.
Approximate Composition of the Qara-Khitan Army
Maximum percentages of types within the lOtal force employed:
QaraKhitan unarmored caval ry
QaraKhitan armored cavalry
Qara- Khitan armored cavalry on
partially armored
Militi a infantry
39
=
=
60%
35%
Slk
IS'll.
THE JURCHEN
It was very difficult to decide precisely where these people should be placed, for they are neither
Mongolian, Khilan, nor Hsiung-nu. They occupied the area just east of the lands of the Hsiung-nu,
what is present day northern Manchuria.
The l urcheD were never really a threat to anyone, though small border wars occurred sporadically
over the centuries until the 12th century A.D.
With the Khitan (Liao) Empire established, delusions of grandeur followed, and ultimately the Liao
invasion of lurcheD lands resulted in a ferocity unencountered by the Khitan to that time.
Perhaps there were an incredible number of lurchen soldiers, perhaps the Liao military system had
badly degenerated; it is not known. The lurchen warriors smashed into Khitan-held lands and
extinguished the Liao Dynasty.
The Qara-Khitan fled to the west , tile l urchen "Chin" Dynasty foll owed until the lurchen were, in
turn, absorbed by the lenghis Khan and his Mongols.
ORGANIZATION
Very little can be gleaned from any source concerning the lurchen military system. Probably the
best source to date is by ling-shen tao. This article gives a cursory insight into lurchen organization.
The rank or title of Po-chi-Iieh is a rank above a Meng-an (a commander of 1,000) but just how
much higher is not mentioned. A Mou-k'e commands a unit of between 100-300 men.
The paintings we have only show heavily armored l urchen warriors, but lightly armored cavalry
probably accompanied these.
Approximate Composition of the lurchen Army
Maximum percentages of types within the total force employed:
Armored cavalrymen on partially
armored horses
Unarmored camelry
Armored cavalrymen on unarmored
horses
Unannored cavalrymen on unarmored
horses
40
=
=
=
=
10%
10%
90%
20%
THE SEUUK TURKS
The 13th Century dawned in Russian Turkestan still under the influence of the Islamic sultanates,
then called "Khorezm". This principality of the Seljuks, along with the Caliphate at Baghdad, fell
in a brief three year campaign that incorporated the Tigris-Euphrates Valley and all land east into
the Mongolian Empire under the Khanate of IIKhans. Over the years since the Islamic invasions of
the 8th Century A.D. , the armies had degenerated on this eastern front. By 1219, when the legions
of the Jenghis Khan advanced on the Empire of Khorezm (aft er defeating the QaraKhitan), the
Mongol Army simply out-cl assed in every way this remnant of past glories.
ORGANIZATION:
To date , information on the Seljuk and Islamic army organization has been very sketchy. Recently
Phil Barker happened upon a copy of a translated Arab military manual and published an article
in the Journal of the Society of Ancients ( # 55 , September , 1974, pages 13-16) entitled " A
Medieval Arab Military Manual".
This article is an extremely informative one and details the organization and tactics of the Arabic
armies.
Ideally, the organization began with a unit of 16 spearbearers or 8 archers, termed a saff al-magatir.
The usbah consisted of 32 men ; a miquab had 64, a kurdus, 128; a jahfal , 256; a kabkabah,
512; a zumrah, 1,024; a taifah, 2,048; a jash, 4,096; a khamis, 8, 192; and an al-askar al-azam,
16,384.
Another mentioned form of organization, possibly of the cavalry arm, was of a khamsah of 5
cavalry; an ashrah of 10- 20; a tabIikhanah of 80; and an alf of 1,000. Katibahs of infantry (500-
800 men) and faylag (5,000 men) are also mentioned.
The organization of Muhammad-bin-Qasim, ca 712 A.D. , called for a straight decimal system in
which 10 men formed a sar-i-khalil similar to the ashrah; and an amir - - identical to an alf, each
of 1,000.
I agree with Mr. Barker in that the elaborate system of 64, 128, 256, . ... etc. was perhaps never
actually used. The second part of the organization mentioned - - that of Khamsah, ashrah, alf,
and so forth, was probably the organization practiced. An hypothesis made in the article by Mr.
Barker that I cannot verify but seems logical postulates that standard units employed in battle were
the katibah of infantry and the jahfal of cavalry, with independent squadrons (kurd us) Of
unarmored cavalry used in a supporting role.
TACTICS:
The army deployed in battle order in five lines. Infantry occupied the initial line, (divided into
units of 1,000), supported by the cavalry, (divided into units of 3,000), in the second line. The
third line contained the baggage and guards. The fourth consisted of the unarmored cavalry and
guarded the rear of the baggage line. The fifth line guarded the entire army's rear and probably
consisted of cavalry. "F1ying wings" of unarmored cavalry units would protect the flanks of the
army.
In the advance, the infantry bore the brunt of the enemy missiles thus serving to preserve the
cavalry. When the enemy routed, the Arabs were careful in the pursuit , halting and observing the
fleeing enemy rather than pursuing blindly. Interestingly enough, it seems these were one people
that identified the eastern "feign defeat and lure into pursuit" tactic and responded sensibly to it.
The infantry's front ranks consisted of the spear armed troops with the archers in the rear to
support the initial ranks with massive archery fire.
41
Night and pre-dawn attacks on enemy camps were favorite tactics of these earl y armies and an
elaborate system of disrupting enemy communications and demoralizati on of enemy units was
practiced. .
Approximate Composition of the Seljuk Turkish Army:
Maximum pe rcentages of types within the tolal force employed:
Armored riders on part ially armored
horses
Armored cavalr y
Una rmored cavalry
Leather armored in fantry
Unarmored archers or ski rmi shing
infantry
Unarmored cameleers
El ephants
42
10' 1<>
20%
30%
20%
30%
10%
1%
THE MONGOLS
The nomadic tribes of the Steppes over the years had caused the Chinese much concern only when
they had banded together under one leader - - such as the Hsiung-nu had done.
By the end of the 12th century there were three major tribes within the Mongol nation, each of which
despised the others. The need for an able leader was obvious - - the Tangut to the west and the
Jurchen (Chin) to the east hardly considered the Mongols a threat. In 1204 A.D. a leader emerged. The
son of Yesugai of the Yakka tribe, Temujin smashed opposition and soon had the majority of the
Mongol tribes under his banner. In 1206 A.D. , he was proclaimed the Jenghis Khan - - 'Emperor of
the Seas", "Prince of Conquerors", "World Conqueror" are all translations of the title.
As a youth, Temujin had served as an auxiliary to the Khitan-Liao whose tactics and organization he
studied. In 1205 A.D. he defeated the Tangut , in 1209 A.D. he moved on the Jurchen. The walled
cities of the Jurchen-Chin proved too tough for the still young Mongol Army. In 1215 A.D. Yenching
(today's Peking), then capitol of the Chin fell and was put to the torch.
The Mongols continued under Jenghis Khan's command to take Korea, penetrate to the Crimea and
Iran, and continue fighting in and about China.
In 1227 A.D. the Jenghis Khan returned to finally subdue the Tangut - - a campaign in which the
great Khan died.
Oggodai , his third son, continued as successor and re-opened hostilities in 1231 against the Sung. A
grand pincer movement was executed with Oggodai heading down the Yellow River and his brother
Tuli (the fourth son) penetrating the provi nce of Szechuan and encircling much of Sung territory.
Subotai, perhaps the best Mongol general , took Kaifeng in 1233 despite Sung explosive bombardment
from the city.
By 1234 A.D. all Chin and Sung provinces north of the Yellow River belonged to the Mongol Empire.
Content to allow the Southern Sung to remain, the Mongols made no attacks against them.
Instead of accepting this grant of hiatus. the Sung, in a delusion of grandeur, assaulted Mongol cities
and towns in an effort to re-establish their lands. A massive retaliatory campaign followed - - and
put an end to Chinese rule even in the south until 1368 A.D.
In 1260 A.D. , Kublai Khan, grandson of the Jenghis Khan through the line of Tuli , proclaimed
himself Supreme Khan.
At first there was dissention, but soon Kublai was established. Several of the outlying provinces led by
lesser princes of the Mongols still resisted Kublai's assumption to the throne vacated by the Jenghis
Khan' s death.
Kublai's nephew, Caidu, was one of these and the initial battle in 1268 A.D. was only resolved in
1286 with Caidu's submission.
The Mongol General Uriangkatai , son of Subotai , drove deep into Annam (Vietnam), down into the
Tonkin Plain and sacked Hanoi in 1257. In 1258, Annam fell completely to the Mongols. Champa
(Southern Vietnam) submitted politically to the Mongols when their leader surrendered. The people
took to the jungles and hilIs and conducted guerrilla operations against the Mongols for many years.
The Japanese invasion of 1274 saw a fleet of 150 vessels land in Hakata Bay on Kyushu Island. The
invasion force laid waste to Tsushima and Iki-shirna but could not reduce Fortress Mizuki. The
Japanese counter-attacked and drove the Mongols out.
43
In 1281 another invasion wave consisting of 45,000 Mongols and 120,000 Chinese and Korean
auxiliaries landed but the Japanese again held them at bay.
Then, a miraculous "divine wind" (Kamikaze) stirred up a typhoon, totally destroying the invasion
craft and stranding the entire invasion army. All 165,000 invaders were killed or captured. This ended
the Mongolian attempts to take Japan.
The campaign against Burma began and ended with the Battle of Vochan (see battle narrative section).
From 1 2 7 2 ~ 1287 a precarious independence was maintained by the Burmese, but in 1287 they were
vassalized and incorporated into the Mongol Empire. The same fate befell Annam in 1288.
TIle Kingdom of Khmer (Cambodia), appearing so warlike and valorous in the Angor-wat reliefs,
submitted to the Mongols in 1294 without the slightest resistance.
Ruling virtually the entire continent of Asia, the Mongols turned to the west - - and Europe.
ORGANIZATION
The Jenghis Khan's term of service with the Khitan showed him how effective armored cavalry,
closely supported by unarmored cavalry, could be. Accordingly, the Mongol Army many times
consisted totally of cavalry.
The arban consisted of ten men, ten arban constituted a don or jagun. Ten jagun formed a minghan;
ten minghan, a tumen; ten tumen, tuk. An army could consist of two or more tumen.
At the zenith of the Jenghis Khan's reign there were 62,000 men in the left wing; 38,000 in the
right ; each of the princes, Juchi , Chagatai, Oggodai , and Tuli , hada bodyguard of 1,000 men. TIle
Khan had a bodyguard, the Kiishik, of 9,000 men (in 1203 A.D.) detailed as follows: 1,000 in the day
guard; 1,000 in the night guard; 1,000 archers; and 6,000 armored cavalry. A total of 16,000 other
men guarded other sundry members of the Imperial Family.
The supply trains of the Mongols consisted of many pack animals, including over 5,000 camels.
Frequently the Jenghi s Khan would also keep a number of warrior mounted camels as a reserve to
disrupt an enemy cavalry force.
Following the Mongol armies would be allied or conquered auxiliaries, such as Sung Chinese, to serve
as skirmi shers, operate artillery, build fortifications, and conduct seige warfare.
The main force cavalry were employed and organized to strict regulations. The first two ranks of the
cavalry were all armored - - iron if possible, including frontal horse armor. The remaining three
ranks had only hide armor, if any at all , and were used to support the main battle ranks. This ratio of
2:3 was kept to as closely as possible
TACTICS:
The Mongols had their type of mobile warfare down to a pure science.
They would begin a campaign against an enemy by sending a reconnaisance force 200 miles ahead of
the army not only to reconnoiter but also to spread the word that the Mongols were coming. Many
times this was enough to cause the target to submit ~ ~ as did the Cambodians. The fear of the
Mongols was so great and the consequences of resisting and losing so terrible that this stratagem of
psychological warfare was brilliant.
In a campaign the initial blows were dealt by the skirmishing light cavalry that advanced as the
vanguard and wings to harass the enemy with bows and javelins. They would attempt to lure an
enemy over difficult terrain to encumber or destroy that force.
44
Strategically and tactically the Tulughma was favored. This was the Mongol "standard sweep" in
which the enemy's flanks were turned inward and attacked simultaneously from front and rear.
In battle array, the Mongols set a "buffer zone" of POW's and auxiliaries in front to bear the brunt of
enemy missiles and harassing troops. Directly following these were the Mangudai or suicide troops.
These elite veterans were volunteers who would charge the enemy and attempt to goad them into
hasty pursuit. This tacti c, of course, was not original but evidently was still used to effect (see Hsiung-
nul
Behind the Mangudai followed the main body of Mongols supported on the flanks by the most
trustworthy auxiliary cavalry. The main body was formed in five ranks, heavily armored to the front
and lighter armored to the rear.
In the rear of all of these were the Chinese artillerists, closely guarded by Mongol officers.
When the preliminary harassing actions were completed, and the Mongols themselves about to be
committed, it must have been a horrible experience to the enemy but a beautiful sight to see,
Upon the direction of the general, the army would advance at a jogtrot - - in utter silence. Com-
mands were given only by motions of the standards. At the precise moment , the Great Naccara was
sounded - - it was important that no sound be uttered before so that the emphasis was on the Great
Drum's pounding beat. At that moment, the charge was sounded all along the line - - every Mongol
let out with his most diabolical shrieks and screams. It would take quite a bit of discipline to hold
troops and make them face this foe - - especially after the preliminary "propaganda assault".
When feigning rout they also kept firing with their bows behind them just as did the Scythians
centuries before. This tactic seldom had to be employed against their enemies - - the Tulughma
seldom failed.
TRAINING:
A philosophy taken directly irom the Jenghis Khan's mentors, the Khitan, was the emphasis on
discipline and training.
Training in manuever, combat and the like was virtually constant in the Mongol Army. When they
weren't involved in warfare , they practised and honed their talents for it.
Discipline and an effective way of maintaining order was also inherited from the Liao-Khitan. Every
arban was held to account for actions of any member within it. Equal punishment was dealt to every
member of the arban should any member warrant it.
The practical training and experience gathered from years of conquests naturally made virtuaUy each
Mongol cavalryman a veteran member of a very elite corps - - the Mongol Army.
Approximate Composition of the Mongol Army
Maximum percentages of types within the total force employed:
Mongolian Armored Cavalry
Mongolian Unarmored Cavalry
Mongolian Armored Infantry
Mongolian Unarmored Infantry
Auxiliary Armored Cavalry
45
=
40%
60%
20%
30%
20%
Auxiliary Unarmored Cavalry
Auxiliary Armored Infantry
Auxiliary Unarmored Infantry
Chinese Artillerists
46
30%
20%
30%
20%
THE JAPANESE
Karnakura Japan was under a semblance of control by the shogunate HOjo family for over a century
after the Sh6kyu War. It 's power was only seriously threatened by the Mongols under Kublai Khan.
In 1266 the Mongols sent envoys to Japan demanding submission and tribute to the Khan. Reasonably
enough, the Kyoto court feared Mongol invasion but the regent Tokimune, in the great tradition of
Chih-chih of the Hsiung-nu and King Narathihapate of Burma, sneered at the Mongol demands.
In 1274 the first invasion by the Mongols wiped out the defenders on the islands of Ike and Tsushima.
The landing at Hakala Bay in northern Kyushu, however, was not so successful, as the Japanese
succeeded in holding the Mongolian force at bay on the beach. That night the Mongols re-embarked
and returned to the Korean ports.
In 1281 a larger invasion force again struck at Hakala Bay. This time a see-saw battle had raged for
almost two months when a "divine wind", a typhoon, destroyed all landing craft and the invas ion
army was cut to pieces.
ORGANIZA nON:
Feudal Japan in the late 13th cent ury was much like her European counterparts. Little existed in the
way of a national standing army. Feudal lords (daimyos) paid for and maintained an "army" - - all
supposedly ready to provide the Shogun or dictator with a combined army in time of national
emergency.
The samurai warriors were employed by these feudal lords and were the equivalents of the European
knight. Each samurai employed a number of retainers or chugen which might also contain a number
of poorer samurai or "squires".
These retainers, although constituting the majority of the Japanese feudal army, were mostly ill or
unrrained warriors armed with a variety of weapons. Needless to say. they were held in little more
regard than the grooms of the samurai's horse.
According to contempory histories, the samurai apparently commanded his own body of troops
(chugen) in battle. Standard "units" of samurai and units of trained and equipped infantry were
supposedly not to come into effect until the early 16th century A.D. Here we have a contradiction -
for in the Mongol Invasion Scrolls themselves we see uniformly equipped and dressed infantry and
definite bodies of samurai grouped under a single banner and commander.
I feel that a military organization of some kind existed in this period of Japan (the Mongol invasions),
and that the feudal system was "modified" to combine chugen and samurai into uniform fighting
units - - not simply independant "bands". The size of such units is completely up to conjecture but
there are some likely possibilities. We know that Chinese influence in Japan had always been great ,
especially during the T'ang period. Perhaps the Japanese adopted the T'ang or Sung organizations.
Unfortunately. to date this has not been substantiated.
Approximate Composition of the Japanese Army:
Maximum percentages of types within the total force employed:
Armored cavalry, samurai
Armored cavalry, chugen
Leather armored and unarmored
infantry (untrained chugen)
Armored infantry
47
= 10%
10%
70%
10%
MOUNTAIN TRIBES OF CHINA
The Kaloman. renowned as the best fighters among the "uncivilized" mountain tribes of China. were
recorded by Mar co Polo in his expeditionary journal. During the time of Kublai Khan. they occupied
the area of the present day junction of Kweichau , Yunnan. and Kwangsi Provinces.
Lit tie else was recorded by Marco Polo except for costume and equestrian mode of life. They were a
mercenary group, never totally subjugated by the Mongols but rather loose ly allied to them. 0
mention is made whatsoever regarding military organizations.
The Sangmiau tribe of Kweichau Province were the northern neighbors of the Kaloman. Under the
reign of their king Cogachin thi s rribe was definitely a subject tribe of the Mongols. Before Kublai
Khan had subdued them, Marco Polo recorded a strange custom among these mountain people.
Whenever a fo reign high noble or official travelled through Sangmiau lands they encountered
hospitality of the first order. Treated as a king. they were given anything they desired at the host's
home. That night they were ceremoniously murdered .- in order to gain for the host his "'inner favor"
or spirit.
This "worship" of successful "spirits" led to an uneasy feeling whenever anyone ventured into
Sangmiau territory. After subjugation by the Khan , this custom was abolished!
This tribe. along with the tribe. wore heavy leather armor reinforced with iron plates. While
the i ... concentrated on the infantry arm. the Siangmiau concentrated on the cavalry wit h lighter
armored. missile armed infantry.
Approximate Composition of the Mountain Tribes of China:
Maximulll percentages of types within the total force employed:
Koloman:
Leather armored cavalry 100%
Sangmiau:
Armored caval ry 80%
Unarmored cavalry 20%
MiautSe:
Ar mored infantry

50%
Unarmored infantry 50%
48
THE VIETNAMESE
The kingdoms of AIln3m (northern Vietnam) and Champa have bounced between foreign
domination and independence virtually th roughout their history. Occupa ti on of northern Vietnam
began with the Chou and ranged to the Yuan when the Mongols occupied the entire COUnIry.
Whenever the government of the Vietnamese fell. the standard operating procedure (SOP) was for the
army to fall back into the jungles and mountains . conduct guerrilla operations and harass the enemy
until the time was ripe for an overthrow. Unfamiliarity of terrain. hostile cnvirOIllllenL and weather
forced most occupying nations to forego pursuit of Vietnamese guerr ill as and fortify coastal areas.
Thi s type of warfare was conducted agai nst the Han and the T' ang Dynastiesjust prior 10 the empi re's
collapse. It 's interesting to note that this form of warfare. almost 22 cen turies old. is still effective
today. The country is very aptly suited to hit and run tacti cs .
Totally infantry. the military organization was probably not standardized but rather an amalgamation
of what was locally avai lable. If any organization was used it could have been styled after their Chinese
master's organizat ions.
Approximate Composition of the Vietnamese Army :
Maximum pe rce ntages of types within the [Otal force employed:
Unarmored sk ir mishers
Bamboo. oxhide armored infantry
Primitive crossbows
49
;
;
;
100%
10%
25%
'T"
THE BURMESE
The kingdom of Mien, or Burma, was one of the last kingdoms in the east to fall to the Mongols. After
every other surrounding country had fallen , the Mongol emissaries, as was customary, were sent to
King Narathihapate's court to demand tribute. As noted in the battle narrative "Battle ofVochan",
the somewhat unbelievable King had the emissaries beheaded for nO( removing their shoes fast enough
or often enough in his presence. Thus asking for war, his a r ~ i e s met the Mongols at the Plain of
Vachan in 1272 and were defeated. In 1287 all of Burma was vassalized and incorporated into the
Mongolian Empire.
The Burmese relied heavily on their multi-manned war elephants but had a strong infantry and
cavalry army to support them. At the Battle of Pyedawthagyun in 1084 A.D., the Burmese Army
employed units of 1,000 men. It is probable that this remained {he case through this period as no
changes are recorded in military organization.
Aung's A History of Burma states that there was a "sprinkling of cavalry" in the Burmese army. but
Yule's translation of Marco Polo states that there were 10,000 cavalry and 50,000 infantry. That is
certainly more than a "sprinkling". As Marco Polo was there, I am inclined towards his figures.
Approximate Composition of the Burmese Army:
Maximum percentages of types within the total force employed:
Elephant riders
Armored cavalry
Unarmored cavalry
Armored infantry
Guard
Unarmored infantry
50
30%
8%
7%
20%
5%
30%
BA TILES OF THE PERIOD
I have had lO be selective in my choice of battle narratives of this period. as this is not a milit ary
history. I have tried to pick narratives that were either unusual to western history, representat ive of
tactical modes. of historical import ance and ente rt aining as well.
Obviously, these are not all representative of the eastern mode of fighting. but Illost are.
714 B.C. THE NORTHERN BARBARIANS
In this batt le. the forces of the Chou reli ed heavil y on their threeman war chariots. and rhe Nort hern
barbarians, the Rung, fought mainly as poorly armed infant ry. The result of thi s ba ttl e was obvious -
the barbari ans were soundly defeated .
541 B.C. THE INVASION OF THE T1 TRIBE
Two hundred years after the Rung battle, in Sha nsi Province. the Ti tr ibe of rhe northern barbarians
invaded Chou China. The Ti army. composed entirely of infantry. deployed in m<lssive numbers.
defending a mountain pass. The force sent by the Chou must have been almost entirely chariots, as
orde rs were given for many of the crews to dismount. since chariots could not effectively maneuver
in this area. The Chinese infa ntry evidently were lacking. as ten footmen per chariot were provided by
dismount ed crews. This steady force met the Ti warriors and defeated them with a deft combination
of infantry support ed by the war cha riots.
341 B.C. THE BATTLE OF MA LING
This ba ltl!:! is the fi lS( recorded li se of the crossbow in warfare.
Ssu-ma Ch'ien tells us that Sun Pin, of the state of Ch' i, had ove r 10.000 crossbows and ambushed the
enemy.
The state of Wei' s forces, led by P'ang Chuan, were practically annihil ated.
206 B.C. THE BATTLE OF Y AO PASS
Thi s battle led to the defeat of the Ch' in Emperor and the institution of China's second greatest
empire, the Han.
The Ch'in Ar my. consist ing main I): of horse archers. was deployed at Yao Pass. awai ti ng the Han
Army.
The forces led by Gene ral Chang Li ang of the Han relied more on armored infantry and heavier
cavalry .
The Han forces, being grea tl y outnumbe red, made li se of a stratagem in whi ch all of the Ar my's
standards we re massed on one flank. j ust out of sight.
The appearance of a massive number of standards indi ca ted {Q the Ch' in generals that a fresh enemy
force was arr iving. Deploying their reserves and hal f of the army to th is new "threat" le ft a decidedly
inferior force to face General Li ang and his army. The defeat was deci sive and complete.
200 B.C. MAODUN' S CHANCE
The northern barbarians. newly formed int o a confedera ti on of the Hsill ng'l111 tri bes by 1\1aodlln,
challenged the might of the young Han Army.
Han Kao-tzu. founde r of the Han dynasty. led a force of armored infa ntry against this light cavalry
army.
51
\1aodun utilized his favorite tacti c and Han Kao-tzu took the bait. Feigning a rout , the HSiung-nu
withdrew rapidly with the Chinese infantry in full and disorderly pursuit , led by the Chinese Emperor.
This. of course, is exact ly what Maodun wanted, as the trap was sprung, encircling the Chinese and
cutting off escape. The Chinese held out for several days but the si tuation was hopeless. Bargaining
with Maodun and his wife, the Chinese Emperor managed to buy his way out of the predicament.
This is deemed one of the turning points in Chinese history. as Han Kao-tzu was to carve out one of
the largest and dynamic empires in history - - the Han Empire.
166 B.C. THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
The Hsiungnu, again challenging the Han, were led this time by Giyu, son of Maodun.
Leading his army of 140,000 light cavalry, he broke through the Great Wall and was threatening the
Chinese inrerior lands. The fo rce sent to stop this intrusion was composed of 100,000 infantry,
100.000 cavalry, and 1,000 war chariots, but only succeeded in chasing Giyu with his army back out
through the Wall.
199 B.c. THE BATTLE OF THE SANDSTORM
The Hunnic power in the northern Gobi Desert was broken when the Chinese, under Wei Tsing,
soundly defeated the Hsiungnu at this battle.
Of an invading force of 140,000 cavalry, the Hsiung-nu returned to their lands with only 30,000.
Additionally, their leader, the ShanyO, was dead.
On this occasion, the Chinese employed a major cavalry force, augmented by their customary war
chariots. During the encounter a huge sandstorm blew up, confusing all participants.
Wei Tsing saw the 0pp0rlunity to encircle the Huns in a huge enveloping maneuver which proved so
successful that , when the storm subsided, the Huns were attacked from all sides resulting in 80- 90,000
dead.
103 B.C. CHAO P'O- NU'S DILEMMA
Among the many campaigns waged against the Hsiung-nu, a peculiar occurrence at this particular
battle resulted in quite an embarrasing situation for the commanding officer. In the midst of the furor
of battle, the commanding general. Chao P'o-nu, was thought to have fallen. In actuality, he was at a
distant part of the field, but his whereabouts were unknown to his junior officers.
Chinese military law of this period decreed that should a commanding general die on the field , all
returning subordinate generals would also lose their lives.
Therefore, when reasoning that their commander had perished and they would die if they returned,
the entire army surrendered to the incredulous Hsiung-nu ~
Understandably, Chao P'o-nu did not return to China and, like his subordinates, gently drifted into
oblivion.
90 B.C. THE BATTLE OF MONGOLIA
Another concerted attack against the Hsiung-nu found Li Ling in command of 5,000 infantry and
chariots, sent into Mongolia to pin down a larger Hunnic host. This was a diversionary action to divert
these Hsiung-nu from a larger action currently in progress. A temporary camp was constructed for his
contingent, located in a valley. All carts and chariots were used for the defensive perimeter, as the
chariots could not function efficiently in this terrain.
52
Soon, 30,000 Huns appeared and blocked Li Ling' s way. The diversion, to the foot soldier's dismay,
had evidently worked. Now, was it possible to save the expeditionary force also? Li Ling ordered his
army out of the camp, evidently abandoning his chariots, as all forces involved were on foot.
He drew up his infantry with long spears and thrusting weapons to the front , and bows and crossbows
to the rear. Of the 5,000 in his force, 1,000 of them were crossbowmen. TIle enormous firepower
enabled the Chinese lO break. out of the Hunnic encirclement.
The attrition due to harassing Hunnic raids and the final expenditure of all bolts and arrows wore hard
on the Chinese. Of the 5,000 involved in the expedition, only 400 returned - the mission was
successful , but Li Ling fell in to much disrespect as a tactician due to a revolution-fearing Emperor.
Incidently, Grousset claims that the infantry used the chariot poles as spears, instead of the real
things, for the advance. But seeing the dimensions of the Han chariot poles and comparing them to
spearmen of the Han reliefs, I can't say I'm convinced that these poles were used in such a fashion.
61 B.C. THE REVOLT OF THE WESTERN CH'IANG
A revolt among the western Ch'iang tribesmen caused the Emperor to despatch Chao Ch'ung-kuo with
the following units: The Winged Forest Orphans ; TIle Volunteer Expert Marksmen; The Liang-chia-
tzu (elite noble cavalry); The Yungkan Archers; cavalry from Chin Ch'eng, Lung-hsi, Loyalist Ch' iang,
and border Hunnic tribes. Trained conscript infantry from Ho-nan completed the array. The revolt
was quelled in a minimum of time.
38 B.C. THE BATTLE OF SOGDIANA
This battle is the culmination of a saga of one of the great losers of all time.
In about 48 B.C. , the Hsiung-nu tribal leaders Chih-chih and Hu-han Hsieh were competing for the
position of Shan-yO. , or overall leader. Hu-han Hsieh was allied with the Chinese and
gained Huhan Hsieh the top honors. The defeated Chihchih and his tribe were forced to nee west ,
and , in the process, bumped into and drove off the tribe of the Wu-sun.lncidently, the Wusunjust
happened to be hereditary Chinese allies. This area, just north of the Tarim Basin, was chosen by Chih-
chih for his tribe to settle.
Remarkably, the Chinese recognized Chih-chih's rule , and sent several envoys to open diplomatic
relations. Characteristically, Chilt-chih had these envoys beaten and kicked them out. This wasn't
terribly bright , for at this time Chih-chih's only son was at the Chinese court.
Realizing that he needed his son returned so he could do as he pleased, Chilt-chih, in 45 B.C. ,
demanded his son's release. Three years later, the Chinese sent his son back to him under the escort
of a high ranking diplomat , Ku-chi. In his own inimitable way of showing gratitude, Chih-chih had
Ku-chi killed.
Seeking richer lands, Chih-chih moved his tribe south, to the lands of Sogdiana. He was welcomed
with open arms because the Sogdian's greatest problem were the Wu-sun's raids. Desiring a "buffer
zone" against further Wu-sun raids, the tribe of Chih-chih was permitted to settle on the eastern
portion of Sogdiana.
During this move a severe cold spell struck Chihchih's tribe , and only 3,000 survived.
A more cogent sign of the alliance was necessary, and so the King of Sogdiana and Chih-chill married
each other's daughters. Chih-chih, of course, was not content with just part of Sogdiana, so he set
himself up as king, and murdered the Sogdian King's daughter.
53
Sogdiana straddl ed the Sil k Route and dominated the fertil e valuable Tarim Basin. and Chihchih now
ruled supreme. That was the last straw. Ch'en tang, the associate Protectorate to Kan Yen-shall knew
that Chih-chih the madman must be crushed. An expedit ionary force of 40,000 men in two wings,
was sent after Chih-chih.
Driving his meager army back to his capitol. Chih-chih was cornered.
The city's defenses consisted of an earthen wall. a double wooden palisade, a moat , and towers for
archers. There was a small force of Hunnic cavalry outside of the walls. and the Sogdian relief was
notified of the Chinese advance. Approximately 200 armored men were guarding the city's gates.
These armored men were Roman Legionai res. survivors of Crass us' defeat in 54 B. C., reloca tcd to
Sogdiana by the vic torious Parthians. and now were defending Chih-chih's capito) t Losers all , at th is
battle !
The Chinese mult itude of crossbows easily repulsed the initial l-l unnic cava lry charge. These bows also
out-ranged the defender's bows. so all archers were driven from the walls.
TIle Chinese drained the moat and advanced with "great shields" and long spears in front and
crossbows to the rear.
The Chinese then set fire LO the wooden palisade. During the missile exchange, Chih-chih, escorted by
his personal harem. was in one of the towers firing furiously at the Chinese. In front of his many
wives. Chih-chih was hit by a crossbow bolt in the nose .
The Sogdian cavalry relief force arrived and attempted to break the seige from withou t. This fa il ed
miserably. TIle breach and ensuing combat resulted in Chih-chih's death and 1.5 18 heads taken.
Among the prisoners were 145 Romans and 1.000 Sogdians. The Sogdians were handed over to the
Chinese auxiliaries as new recruits. and the Romans were reloca ted to Li-chien in Kansu Province.
73 A.D PAN CH'AO'S TARIM BASIN CAMPAIGN
The Chinese Generals Ten Ku and Keng Ping led a hugh army that defeated a very large I-I si ung-nu
force in a colossal baltle that would qu iet the northern front for a wh il e.
During this bailie. a subordinate cavalry commander. Pan Ch'ao, was ordered by General Ten Ku to
lIt1ack the I-Iuyen. a tribe of the Hsiung-l1u.
Pan Ch'ao easily accomplished this task and was sent with a cavalry army to advance as far as possible
[Q the west. This expedition was to expand the I-I an Empire to it's furthest western bOllnd<lries. The
main purpose of the advance was to drive the defeated I-I siung-nu into outer
Pan eh'ao's army was composed of roughly equal amounts of Chinese regulars and Khotan auxiliaries.
Along the way the Wu-sun were picked up as all ies. Pan Ch'ao also forced subdued states [Q furnish
add itional forces for his <Jrmy. This force. a very mobile one. consisted of a great number of light
caval ry and Chi nese armored cavalry with few. if any. infantry.
Turfan fell without a fight. With minor opposition here and there. Pan Ch'ao defeated all 36 kingdoms
in and around the Tar im Basin.
90 A.D. PAN CH' AO' S VICTORY OVER THE KUSHANS
Due to Pan Ch'ao's encounter with Kushan India. the problcm of dat ing this baltle arises. The vari ous
evidence and opinio ns over the dat ing of the periods of the rul ers \Vima Kadphises and Kanishka ]
cause much of this debate.
54
lllis event probably occurred in 90 A.D., dated by subsequent evenlS that foll ow this battle, and are
dated in Chavannes' T'oung Paa.
As Pan eh'ao had defeated all tribes and lands of the Tarim Basin and no one had rescinded his orders.
Pan eh'ao cont inued his westward drive. As Pan eh'ac was about to skirt the northern edge of the
Pamirs, the Kushan ruler saw that, unless an act ion was fo rced. his domain would be endangered.
A force of 70,000 cavalry was sent under Viceroy Si across the Tsung-ling mountain range lO intercept
Pan Ch'ao. Unfortunately, this crossing was made at the wrong place at the wrong time of the year.
and the result was disastrous.
Seriously damaged in strength, the Kushan Army emerged from the mountains shattered - - but
committed to fight.
Pan Ch' ao easily defeated the exhausted Kushan Army. and hereafter China received tribute from the
Indian Kingdom.
97 A.D. PAN CH'AO' S PLANNED INVASION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
By this time, Pan Ch'ao seemed to demonstrate that he was invincible.
Ansi (the Arsacid Parthi an Empire) was defeated. Now Han China stood. the greatest land-owning
empire possibly only second to Rome.
Pan Ch' ao ordered his second in command, Kan Ying, to set forth across newly conquered Ansi, to
" Ta-ts'in" , the Chinese name for the Roman Empire.
As Pan Ch'ao only allocated a portion of the army to subdue this "addit ional Kingdom" , it is obvious
that to call this a "planned invasion" is stretchi ng things a bit.
Kan Ying advanced across the middle-eastern expanses towards Antioch, thought to be the capitol of
the Roman Empire. Kan Ying was anxious to know of his enemy, so the Parthians began to tell him
of the might and expanse of the Roman Empire. Upon gaining this new intelligence information. Kan
Ying decided that his force was not sufficient for the task. so he turned around and rejoined Pan
Ch'.o.
In 11 6 A.D .. Trajan's advances into Parthia to Ctesiphon would be within one day's march of Han
Chinese border garrisons.
As a side note. 97 A.D. was the first year of the Emperor Traj an's reign. It is quite interesting 10
speculate on the consequences had Kan Ying pursued hi s objective and attacked Roman Anti och.
617 A.D. THE BA TILE OF YIN- MA SPRING
The Sui Chinese Army, fending off the Tang Chinese forces, were defea ted at Yin-ma Spring.
The Sui forces. led by General Sang Hsien-ho, were an advance-guard-in-force and attempled 10 cross
the ford at the Yin-ma Spring, which was only being defended by T ang light cavalry. The Tang light
caval ry hel d the ford. while a force of western Turk auxilia ry cavalry, the Ta-nai.made it's way around
the Sui Army and attacked it in the rear. Thus pinned, the army soon broke under the dual attack.
620 A.D THE BA TILE OF SSU SHUI
Though in the early days of Li Shih-min's illustrious career. this battle rings out as one of his great est.
At this time. the Tang forces had at least two enemies. the states of Cheng and Hsia. Wang Shih-
ch'ung of the Cheng led a force of 20.000 against Li Shih-min's 10,000, who were defending a
55
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mountain pass a la Thermopylae. The CMng lost 7,000 men in the assault and were forced to retreat ,
barricading themselves in the city of 1.0 Yang.
Word was sent: however, to the Emperor of the Hsia, Tau and he responded with a force of
300,000 men to help the beleaguered Cheng at Lo Yang.
U Shihmin left 6,500 men to contain Lo Yang, and took 3,500 picked men to check the advance of
the Hsia Army.
Deploying 3,000 of the army on hilly terrain guarding the only accessible ford of the 5su Shui Ri ver,
he led 500 picked cavalry on a special mission.
He set these men in an ambush site by the road , and left with only ten men to enter the enemy camp!
Brandishing his bow. he proclaimed loudly who he was and proceeded to fire arrow after arrow into
enemy officers. This episode enticed several thousand Hsia cavalry into pursuit. iaturally. he led them
right into his ambush: The result of this action was the demoralization of the Hsia, the capture of
several officers and 300 troopers.
Only attempting to delay the Hsia Army long enough to force the fall of Lo Yang, he was not entirely
prepared for his 3,000+ men to stop an enemy force of at least 10- 100 times his own number! But
the foll owing morning saw the Hsia Army deploying opposite the ri ver ford , in a valley just south of
the Tang positions. Seizing the initiative in a manner not unlike Frederick the Great, Li Shih-min
launched an attack.
The ferocity of the T'ang forces, mainly armored cavalry smashing into the confused and incredulous
troops, routed the front lines. Seized with terror, the rest of the army was "dominoed" int o total and
complete rout. The Chinese relentlessly pursued for ten miles. Thi s resulted in 3,000 killed, 50,000
prisoners of war, and the capt ure of Tou Chien-tlL
Upon hearing of this victory, the Lo Yang garrison also surrendered. Li Shih-min received the equival-
ent of a Roman Triumph for this incredible victory, which guaranteed the Tang Empire and reunited
China for the first time since the Han.
Incidentally, at the same location, in 206 B. C. Han Kaotzu had won a victory that led to the Han
Dynasty - - here the two greatest Chinese dynasties were consolidated by great victories on the very
same battlefield.
623 A.D. THE BATTLE OF KANSU
Ordered to counter an invasion by the Tu-yu Huns, the Chinese General Chai Shao led an army into
mountainous terrain in Kansu Province, only to find himself surrounded.
Noticing that a small isolated knoll was in full view of the Hunnic array, he ordered two scantily clad
girls to climb up onto the hill . There they performed curious and obscene dances and gestures, and
sang lewd songs in full view of their barbarian friends .
Believe it or not , the Huns became completely distracted, and the undisciplined warriors flocked to
the hill to get a better view of the performance.
The Chinese quickly descended down the other side of the mountain and fell on the enemy rear,
resulting in their total rout.
In true oriental philosophical thought , it is most unwise to let the mind ponder the pleasures of peace,
when one is in the midst of battle.
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644 A.D. THE BATTLE OF KUCHA
The T'ang reconquest of the Tarim Basin result ed in this battle for the citystate of Kucha. This
state's army consisted of armored cavalry and was commanded by their King, Ho-li Pu-shih-pi
(Divine Flower). .
TIle Chinese Army was commanded by a general of Turki sh descent , A-shih-na Sho-eul. The army
of Chinese regulars, T'u Chueh allies and To liich (Uighur Turk) auxiliaries. The Chinese
used a favorite Hsiung-nu tactic and feigned rout , to cause uncontrolled pursuit by the Kuchan
Army_ Once out in the open, the Kuchan forces were surrounded and subdued.
644 A.D. THE BATTLE OF AN SHIH CH'ENG
This was a mjaor batt le of the prolonged conflict s between the Chinese and the Koreans.
A Korean Army of 150,000, with very few armored cavalry, was met by Li Shihmin's Army of
30,000.
The Korean left flank and rear were hidden by mountains, and so the Chinese threw 15,000 frontally
[Q pin the Koreans. Li Shih-min had 4,000 of his picked armored cavalry as reserve. Chang-sun Wu-chi ,
a Chinese wing commander had 11 ,000 men and attempted to work around the Korean flank and
effect a rear attack. Covering this stratagem, Li Shih-min's cavalry attacked the Korean right flank.
A smoke signal announced the attack of Wu-chi's wing, and the multiple front attacks routed the
enemy. The result s were 20,000 Korean dead, and 36,000 captives.
649 A.D. THE INDIAN BORDER
The Tang forces, aided by turkic auxilIaries had nearly cleared the Tarim Basin and the Gobi Desert
of the T'o pa and other turkic tribes.
Near the border of India, the King Alanashan of Chapra on the Ganges, was asked to abide by his
treaty and deliver aid. When he refused, a force of 1200 allied Tibetan armored cavalry and 7,000
Nepalese infantry were sent on a punitive expedition and returned with the Indian King as prisoner.
747 A.D. THE CROSSING OF THE PAMIRS
Sent on a mission to attack the now enemy Tibetans, Kao Hsien-chih performed a feat comparable to
Hannibal' s crossing of the Alps.
Leading a force of 10,000 men, he crossed the Pamirs over Baroghil (elevation 12,400') and the
Glacier Darkot (elevation 15,400') into the Yasin Valley, behind the Tibetan Army. Shocked to see a
Chinese Army to their rear, the Tibetans virtually fell apart in battle.
986 A.D. THE BATTLE OF THE SHA RIVER
The Northern Sung were crushed by the Khitan forces at this battle.
Notifled of the beseiged garrisons of Tatung and Peking, the Sung Generals Ts'ao Pin and P'an Mei
marched to relieve them.
The Khitan General Yelii Hi ouko defeated these armies before Peking. The Sung Army, in full rout ,
attempted to escape by crossing the Sha River. This was to no avail. as the Khitan were there in force
to virtually annihilate them.
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1125 A. D. THE BATTLE OF THE YANGTZE RIVER
The l urchen Army defeated an army of the Liao Empire (formerly known as the Khitan) and this led
to the collapse of the entire empire.
In the ensuing rout of the Liaa Army, the defeat ed general. Wu-chu, directed his panicked fo rces
into south China which was innundated with rice paddies. This failed to stop the Jurchen, so he
proceeded to attempt a crossing of the Yangtze. The Southern Sung, no friends of the Li aa , blocked
the crossing sites. Wu-chu escaped. but his army did not.
1209 A.D. THE SEIGE OF CHUNGHING
TIle Chinese slate of Hsi-Hsia gave the still '"adolescent" Mongol Army a lesson in seige warfare.
The Mongols knew that , in orderla reduce Chunghing, t hey would have to borrow frol11 established
siege warfare techniques, so the Mongols set out to divert the Yangtze River to the city and fl ood it.
Thi s. however, is not what happened. They constructed and dug a very compe tent canal. but did not
allow for the di rection of flow of the river. When the barriers we re broken and the water rushed
through. the result was the total floodi ng of the Mongol camp.
Realizing that it wouldn't take long for the Mongols to get it right, the city garr ison surrendered
anyway.
1234 A.D. LAST RITES FOR THE SUNG
TIle Southern Sung, in vinuall y an act of insanity, ignored the hiatus granted by the Mongols to them.
Not content with the status quo, the Sung forces attacked and took the cit ies of Kaifeng and La Yang.
TIle Mongols struck swiftly and decisively, Kaifeng and La Yang were immediately retaken. Three
armies marched on the Sung. The first , commanded by Godan, took Chengtu in 1236_ Al so in that
year , the second. commanded by Kuchu and Temutai, occupied Siangyang. and Kun- buga and Chagan
took Hwangchow.
In 1239. the Southern Sung, as a direct result of their act ions, ceased to be ruled by Chinese. Total
t\'longol domination of China wou ld ensue.
1268 A.D. THE BATTLE OF CARACORAN
Caidu, a nephew of Kublai Khan, broke away from him and challenged his rule.
Kublai's son. omogan was sent with an army of 60.000 cavalry and t he aid of George, the grandson
of Presl er John.
Thi s force equalled Caidu's army, and the two armies met on the Plain of Caracoran.
Preliminary missil e fire occurred and then the two armies clashed. This was surely one of the Mongol 's
hardest fought act ions and lasted Illost of t he day.
The ball ie ended indecisively. The issue was not to be settled unt il 1286.
1272 A.D. THE BATTLE OF VOCHAN
As was usual with Kublai Khan, advance messengers were sent to Burma before t he invasion was
necessary. Only when tribute to the Khan was refused did the r ... longols attack.
The Burmese king, Narathihapate, was a bit li ke our fri end, Chih-chill. All other kingdoms surround-
ing Burma had either been ravaged by the Mongols or were paying tribute to them. So, naturally.
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when the Mongol emissaries appeared at the Burmese court , they were charged wit h not removing
their shoes quickly enough and we re beheaded.
The King assembled a massive army to stop the Khan. There were anywhere from 800 (says Pauthier)
to 2,000 (says Marco Polo who was there) war elephants. Marco Polo describes the elephants and
states that there were 12-16 armed fighting men on each. The rest of the army consisted of 50,000
infantry and 10,000 cavalry.
Facing this army on the Pl ain of Vachan, was Nescradin with only 12,000 well-trained veterans. The
Mongols were in their order of battle calmly awaiting the Burmese. Off {Q one side of the army was a
huge forest , protecting the right flank. The order was given to the Burmese elephant riders to aSSU111e
battle order and mount their beasts.
The attack was ordered by the king and the elephants advanced. Nescradin saw that the Mongol
horses were frightened by the war elephants, so all were ordered to dismount. The horses were tied to
the trees of the forest nearby.
The Mongol bows were nO\ .... utilized on foot , to the consternat ion of the elephants. The Mongols
fired not at the riders, bur rather at the beasts themselves. In a short time, the greater number of
them were either killed or wounded. When the elephants felt the st ing of the Mongol arrows, they, \ .... e
are told by Marco Polo, turned tail and fled from the fiel d.
The tumultuous uproar of the routi ng elephants shocked Marco Polo so that he described it as a
prelude to the end of the world! Int o the forest they plunged, tearing and ripping their superstructures
off, dashing unfortunate riders to the ground and crushing them to death.
Once the elephants had routed, the Mongols remounted and charged the Burmese.
Because they were fighting much greater numbers of enemy, this Mongol battle continued for several
hours. At noon: the Burmese could take no more, so they turned and fled, wit h the Mongols in hot
pursuit. The ~ l o n g o l s managed to capture 200 of the elephants, and. from this time on, Kublai kept
his own stock of them. The Great Standard of Kublai was even mounted on a platform between four
elephants.
The tribute from the Burmese was, of course, paid yearly in war elephants.
1286 A.D. THE BA TILE OF THE LEAO RIVER
Nayan of the Nayan Tartars, the cousin of Kublai Khan, and agai n, Caidu, joined other nearby
tribes and challenged Kublai's rule.
At least 400,000 Nayan Mongols were assembled by the Leao River to face Kublai.
Kubl ai's army consisted of 360,000 Mongol cavalry, and 100,000 Chinese and all ied infantry. The
Chinese were commanded by Liting, the Mongols by Yusitemur, and the Kipchak contingent s by
Tutuka.
Kublai arrived on Caidu' s flank in a surpri se move that caught Caidu unaware.
Preliminary firing by Chinese fire catapult s and rockets thoroughly confused and disorganized the
enemy, as Kublai advanced with the Mongol cavalry leading and long spear armed infantry following.
The rear was taken up by bowmen and Chinese crossbowmen.
The confusion wrought by the surprise arrival and the use of the fire weapons was complete. The
rebellion was over, and Kublai Khan retained complete rule.
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WEAPONS AND UNIFORl'l1S
CHINESE SOLDIERS
I. Light Archer of the Chou Dynasty
Thi s figure is taken from a hu (pottery vessel) rubbing dating from the Late Chou period and is in the
Jannings Collection in Peking. He would compose only a small port ion of the Chou light infantry. His
robe would be of a solid color, with probably no uniform colors within a unit. Bows were covered
with green silk, and commanders would have their bows ornamented with ivory. There is also reason
to beli eve that Chou period bows and arrows were painted red. Quivers were frequent ly covered with
tiger skin.
Alternat ively, this figure could be armed with javelins (mau) four to six feet in length, and also a small
buckler.
Recorded at the battle of Ma Ling, in 341 B.C. , the Ch'i state virtually annihilated the Wei, by the use
of many crossbows. Any of the figures numbered 1- 3 could be armed with such a weapon .
2. Light Spearman of the Chou Dynasty
The long flowing robe with its characteristi c voluminous sleeves is shown here . This may have been
padded with layers of cloth, and. by the time of the Ch' in, treated animal hide corselets wlil be worn
over this robe. He completes the light infantry component of the Chou or Ch'in Army.
He carries the "dagger axe" sometimes re ferred to as a ko. This weapo n, clearly a predecessor of the
halberd, is made of bronze. The length of this weapon was either eighteen or nine feet, and the blade
is depicted in two distinct shapes, one as shown in this figure and the other as shown in figure 9.
Infantry of the Chou period relied entirely on the bow for missile support. The javelins carried were
not hand-hurled, but rather used for close combat. Defensive armament could include a rectangular
shield of bamboo or ox or rhinoceros hide.
Thi s figure is derived from a wall relief rubbing of a guardian figure in Szechwan Province.
3. Heavy Infantryman of the Chou Dynasty
Thi s figure would not only comprise the "core" of the infantry, but he is also a prototype of the
armo red chariot warrior. In either capacity, he would be armored with lacquered leat her as shown, or
in brigandine armor as depicted in figure 13a. These warriors could also be armored with a helmet
instead of the headpiece shown. Princes would have a red silk plume adorning their he'met.
The armored infantry of the Marquis Wen of Wei , ci rca 387 B.C. , wore lacquered hide armor rein-
forced with rhino horn plates, shields painted in vermillion and blue and carried twenty-four foo t
long pikes (mao), and twelve foot long halberds.
A buckler of lacquered leather or varnished rhino hide completes the armor, and the average infantry-
man was armed with either the sword shown or a batt le axe (yueh).
The elite guards of the Ch'u wore this type of armor (leather) , a bronze helmet , and carried a sword,
a crossbow, and a quiver of fifteen bolts for the bow.
4. Standards of the Chou Dynasty
Chariot unit commanders affixed to their chariot a spear with a yak tail attached to the top as
shown in (a).
Army standards and unit flags were quite common. As shown in (b) these were ornamented with li ttle
bells and ribbons and had birds, serpents and figures represented. The Imperial standard portrayed
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the Sacred Dragon. The left wing of the army bore the Green Dragon the right wing, a
White Tiger; the Vanguard , a Red and the rear guard, a Black Tortoise. The army
commander was located by the Great Bear standard.
5. Oriental Bow Release
The bow release adopted by the eastern peoples differed great ly from that of most western peoples.
1l1is release was used by all of the archers in this book, as well as those of Persia, India , and Turkey.
The thumb, the strongest single digit, provides the pull , with an "archer' s ring" worn on it as
protection from bowstring pressure and friction. Thi s all ows the pressure to be brought on the string
at a single point close to the nock, rather than spreading the pressure over a greater surface as occurs
with the three or four fingers of the European releases.
6. Great Drum of the Later Chou or Ch'in Dynasty
This drum would signal the advance and retreat , with bells and gongs indica ting orher signals.
Drummers pictured with this drum wear white robes and black hat s simil ar to figure 2.
TIle drum is shown in scale ta t he figures on the page.
This drum is taken from the Pei-yuan tomb fr escoes in Liaa-Yang of Southern Manchuria. The period
in which these frescoes were executed is probably the ""t ransitional " period from Late Chou, through
Ch'in, into early Han. It can be no earlier than late Chou due to the dress worn by the figures in the
painting, and not later than early Han due to the colors of Imperial regalia, her.e being vermillion,
whereas after Kao-tsu, the first Han Emperor, the color adopted for Imperial was yell ow.
7. Later Chou and Ch'in Light Cavalryman
The Chinese of Shansi Province, during the reign of Wu Ling (325 - 298 B.C.) adopted the dress
and tactics of their traditional enemies, the Hsiung-nu.
Long robes and slippers were replaced by the more sensible trousers and soft leather boots. A long
sword and possibly a small buckler, in addition to his bow, completed the equipment. This figure is
shown firing left-handed. I am convinced that to this time and perhaps for some time after. use of the
bow and firing techniques were solely a matter of individual choice.
The Ch'in Dynasty made much use of the horse archer, and with such an army were able to defeat
each of the city-states of Chou China. Previously, cavalry played little part in the army. Now, with
the Hunnic tactics, they gained an Empire.
In the eh'in era, militarism was to reach a level never attained before, and was to serve as a model for
ensuing dynasties. Ch' in infantry, similar in dress to figure 3, were often armed with a three and a
half foot long battle axe, the huang. When not in use this was carried in a tiger skin sheath.
8. Han Dynasty Light Crossbowman
The first recorded use of the crossbow was at the battle of Ma Ling in 341 B.C. , but during the Han
period the crossbow was proven to be an effective offensive weapon. The secret of this weapon, the
triple compound lever, was a closely guarded mechanism. Even when other nations captured this
weapon, the technological finesse of most of them could not duplicate the device. Figure (a) shows
this device. Pieces cast of bronze would be inset into the bow stock. Several types of crossbow were
introduced and maintained. They ranged in size from three shih (192 lb.) pull to ten shih (640 lb.). A
crossbow of six shih pull had an effective range of 255 meters. By 90 B.C. the Chinese had also
developed crossbows that shot several bolts at one time. Another shape of the crossbow can be seen
in figure 21.
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9
. "
s
' S :
The Pei-Yuan tomb frescoes give us some robe and uniform colors that we may assume were common
for the early Han. All hats are black, robe and trouser colors are mixed or matched black, white,
(kaol in), vermill ion, and light green (verdegris and kaolin). The crossbow of Li Kuangli (99 B.c.)
was pain ted yellow.
9. Han Dynasty Light Spearman
This figure is to be found on the Wu-Li ang-t z'u shrines of Shantung Province, specificall y "Battle
on the Bridge", dated 147- 168 A.D. The spea r is shown in two sizes, the Chi Ying IVo (sixteen feet),
and the Ma Hsiao (eight feet). The shield borne is seen in Figure 13 (e) and (I).
Although there is the possibility of uniform colors prior to this date , in 21 A.D. the Emperor Wang
Imperial Edict decreed that ce rtain colors would denote social class. Infantry, militia, pioneers
and commoners were to wear blues and greens. Probably these two colors would dominate, though
browns, blacks, and whites could still be present.
10. Han Dynasty Light Swordsman
This figure is also from the "Battle of the Bridge" relief. In his right hand is a rather slender sword,
the tau-kien, two to three feet long. Throughout Chinese history, the tau-kien is depicted in paintings
and reliefs, but this is not the only type of sword carried by the Chinese. Another frequently seen
weapon is approximately the same size, but had a wider blade and curved slightl y inward at the tip.
The soldier wears bands of hardened leather armor over his robe, and carries instead of a shield a
parrying weapon. This weapon. very similar to the Indian "saintie", consists of three blades affixed
to a wooden holder.
II . Han Dynasty Convict Spearman
These men, the Ch'ih-hsiung, we re convicted criminals who had opted to serve out their sentences in
the army for a reduced pe riod of time. These should not be confused with convict construction troops
or "cannon fodder".
These Ch'ih-hsiung were clothed the same as construction troops, but were equipped with javelins,
probably shields, and constituted a strong skirmishing force , even though untrained. Construction
troops were seldom even armed. The convicts were distinct ively dressed in red-ochre colored garments
with shaved heads and iron collars aboUl the neck and ankles.
12. Han Dynasty Heavy Infantryman
This figure is a bit of an enigma. Copied from a funerary relief in I-nan , Shantung Province , it is in the
Hsiao t'ang Shan style and dates to the Later Han Dynasty (25-221 A.D.)
Undeniably, this soldier is left-handed, as are several others in his retinue. As lefthanded warriors are
also present in "Bat tl e on the Bridge", and a terra cotta statue of the Han period, currently residing
in the Cernuschi in Pari s, this further demonst rates the southpaw fi ghting technique. Finally,
the "Assassination Att empt Upon Shih Huangti's Li fe" is shown on a fune rary rubbing dated 147
A.D., and this detail of the rubbing is in the Freer Gallery in the Smithsonian Institute. This also
shows left-handed heavy infantry. This proves without a doubt that at least some armored men of the
Han period fought left handed, though no literary sauce will confi rm this. The heavy infant ryman
wore a full robe of padded leather reinforced with iron rings.
The helmet he wore would probably be bronze up to the end of the Han period, and iron thereafter.
Figure (a) shows an alternate helmet shape , as seen on the terra cot ta statue mentioned above.
13. Han Dynasty Heavy Swordsman
Similar to Figure 12, this.soldier bears a two-handed weapon from Honan Province, dating to the
early Han period (circa 200 B.C.). Figure (a) shows a close up of the rings that were sewn onto the
64
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S I
L I V
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D ~ D c : L
9 1
V
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O D I J
leather robe, with small leather strips. The leather was hardened and might have been painted or
colored. (b) shows an alternate hat type ; (c) a helmet ; while (d) shows an officer's helmet. Officers
were distinguished by a red "turban" around their helmets and several black feathers or tufts of black
horsehair. (e) shows the typical Han shield frontally , and (I), the side view. This shield would begin
construction with a wooden frame curved outwa rd with strips of lacquered leather or hide stretched
over in several layers. Lacquered leather was usually black or a very dark hue. The boss was probably
iron.
14. Imperial Guardsman of the Han Dynasty
Distinct ive dress of these soldiers focused on headgear , armor "trim" and weaponry. All of the
Guardsmen we re portrayed with red "turbans" about their helmets. The officers were distinguished
with black feathers as in (a). The Guardsman bears his shield in his right hand. ca rrying his nine foot
halberd in his left. This weapon was known as the C'hi Chi. At the Imperial court a smalle r version
was carried. the Pi Chi. A small pennant adorns these weapons.
The apparent trim on hi s armor may be a loose robe underneath the armor , but allowed to protrude
from beneath. The Edict of 21 A.D. bestows the color of carmine to the Imperial Guards and
ret ainers. TIle pennant color would be red or yellow depending on the Dynast ic period. as mentioned
in Figure 6.
15. Han Dynasty General or Warrior Emperor
On rare occasions. Chinese Emperors would lead their armies into battle, though normally they
preferred to enjoy the comforts of rear areas.
Highest ranking generals of the Han wore. as would their Emperor, bright yellow robes, richly
embroidered. Han Kao-tsu, the first Han Emperor, chose vermillion as his patron color and his robes,
standards and regalia would be of this color. In addit ion, a silken sash was worn about the waist , with
color possibly indicating seniority.
The figure wears a soft cap- a kind of "fatigue cap" when not wearing the helmets (a), (b), or (c). All
of these helmets are iron skull caps covered with cloth and have leather neckpieces. (a) and (c) have
the military officer's red turban, and would also have, for highest ranking generals or princes, a red
silk plume. (b) becomes the principle form of headgear for the "top brass" after 48 B.C. This cap was
worn to cover their then fashionable stiffened hair.
Lower ranking generals would wear identical dress, with carmine substituted for yellow.
16. Rank Insignia for Han Dynasty Generals
(a) is taken from the funerary relief from I-nan showing a military official seated as heavy infantrymen
escort a party of prisoners to him. I believe this to be a kind of "scepter or nail " device denoting his
authority to preside_ (b) is a six inch long piece of bamboo, suitably inscribed and split lengthwise
into two pieces. Thi s is the rank insignia of a highest ranking general, whose authority to command
was transmitted in a unique way. In reserve or peacetime duty, a gene ral would only retain his half
of the bamboo. When called up to active du ty. a messenger would be given the other half which was
normally reta.ined by the Emperor. Therefore, when delivered to the general and j oined, the two
halves constituted authority to command from the Emperor himself.
The bamboo reed had much significance to Chinese philosophical thought. By observing a bamboo
tree in the rain and wind (the violence of nature) it can be seen that , although bending. the tree will
never break. When the violence finally ceases. the bamboo remains unbroken. That is how a general is
to conduct warfare: bend perhaps but never break.
Lower ranking generals were allocated small bronze lions (c) also spli t, with delegation of authority
transmitted similar to higher ranking generals.
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17. Han Dynasty Dignitary's Parasol
The concept of using a parasol to denote rank or station is basic to most oriental cultures. India,
China, Japan and even the Mongols use this. The Pei-yuan tomb frescoes show a procession of
dignitaries and officials, along with a military escort.
Carried directly behind an official in white robes with a vermillion hat is the parasol pictured. also in
vermillion. The number of parasols in combination with size and color, indicated rank. Two other
officials are seen in this fresco to wear all-black robes and light green with black trim on collars and
cuffs. Both wear black hats similar lO Figure 19 (a).
18. Standards of the Han Dynasty
(a) denotes the army or infantry unit standard, while (b) is a cavalry standard.
These would normally be of a single background color , red for Han Kao-tsu and prior, yellow there-
after. The border fringe might have been white, but this is not substantiated by any fresco of the
period.
Superimposed on this field would be the unit ' s name , with any awards added on.
It is also likely that small flags could have identified unit commanders on the battlefield.
19. Light Cavalryman of the Han Dynasty
Thi s figure, firing left-handed, is taken from the funerary reliefs in the Hsiao-t 'ang Shan style in
Shantung Province.
Cavalrymen and their commanders wore a dark yellow "pheasant cap" , commanders adding black
feathers.
(a), (b) and (c) are alternate hats for the light cavalry.
20. Heavy Cavalryman of the Han Dynasty
The helmet was missing from the relief from which this figure was copied. I have substituted a heavy
cavalry helmet from the Pei-yuan fresco to this figure from the I-nan relief. Incidentall y, the Pei-Yuan
fresco shows the heavy cavalry clad not in brigandine armor, but in scale armor, covering the chest ,
abdomen and arms. He is shown carrying a nine foot lance.
The halberd shown in the I-nan relief is only six or seven feet in length, and is-shown being used as a
thrusting weapon.
No shield is to be seen fo r heavy cavalry in any fresco or relief of the Han period.
The helmet is of highly polished white metal , with a streamer of vermillion.
21. Heavy Cavalry Crossbow man of the Han Dynasty
As with figure 20, this figure is from the I-nan relief. Close inspection of the relief will reveal the
crossbowman , who at first glance appears to be a composite bowman due to the bow shape.
This figure is substantiated by numerous sources. One of which, the "Tung-tien" by Tu Yu, gives the
range of foot crossbows at 300 paces and that of mounted crossbows at 200 paces. The crossbow
could not be fired on the move , and tactics dictated that once melee had begun, the crossbow was
usel ess because they could not fire over inte rvening ranks. No secondary weapon or shie ld is seen on
the relief.
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22_ Light Cavalry Lancer of the Han Dynasty
Si milar to figure 19. this figure provides the escort for the dignitaries at the Peiyuan procession fresco.
TIle method of carrying his lance is f:lther unique. as no supporting straps are to be seen. The fresco is
not clear, but the lance may have been carried underneath the saddle or blanket. or under the
cavalryman' s leg. Hi s spea r or lance is about seven feet long. but othe rs in the procession appear
longer - - perhaps nine [Q ten feet.
The hsiao. or shua. was a lance borne by Han cavalrymen. It was eighteen feet long. lacquered red.
and adorned with a tuft of black horsehair.
23. Light Cavalry Tunic of the Han Dynasty
Pan Ku. a major historian of the Han. describes the cav31ry as wearing. in addition to the yellow
pheasant cap, "tiger striped. unlined clothes". Unlined may mean J light we ight material or lack of
armor. Tiger striped may mean just that - - orange color with black stripes.
During my stint in Vietnam, I learned that "tiger st ri ped" clothes are still uliliLCd by the Asia n soldier
and is as shown in thi s figure. Any color Illay serve as rhe base color. with simply black bands
irregul arly striped in an intermitl ant pattern.
TIlis is what I believe Pan Ku is describ ing. but there are no frescoes cxtalll with anything but plain .
solid colored tunics for the light cavalry. .
24. The Han Dynasty Tu-wei-fu. Chi.i-yen"
This is the call igraphic denotat ion that would appear on the Tuwei-fll Headquarters standard.
Loewe' s work all the Han Dynasty's administration proved invaluable for these unit
there are mistakes in his transliterations. :;s confirmed by Chinese dict ionaries.
(.) Hou-kuan '-Chii -yen"
(b) Hou-ku.n --T'ien-pei"
(c) Hou-kuan --Chia-ch'u"
(d) Hou-kuan
(e) Hou-kuan
"San sh ih -eh ing"
"Che-ill"
25. The Han Dynasty Tu-wei-fu. "Chien Simi"
Thi s is the calligraphic denota tion that. would adorn the I lead quarters standard of this TlI-wei fu .
(.) lIou-kuan 'To-t-o'-
(b) Hou-kuan
(c) Hou-kuan
(d)
(0)
Hou-kuan
Hou-kuan
' KuHngti"
"Chien Shui"
Ts'angshih"
"Yu"
26. Han Dynasty Unit award
This would accompany the honored unit's name on the standard. It is Pohu. meaning "smash foe".
27. Command Standards of the Han Dynasty
(3) Tll-wei. commander of a Tuwei-fll.
(b) eh'eng. second in command of a TlI -wei-fu.
(c) Ssu-ma . cavalry commander of a Tu-wei fu.
(d) Hou. commander of 3 Il ou-kuan.
(e) Houchang, commander of a Hall.
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28. Hou subordinate to the Han Dynasty Tuweifu, " Chii.yen"
(a) Hou-Kuan "Chii-yen", Hou Tso-che-Iu
(b) Hou-kuan "Chii-yen", Hou Chii-yen
(c) Hou-kuan "r'ien-pei", Hall T'ien-pei
(d) Hou-kuan "Chia-ch'u", Hou Pu-ch'in
(e) Hou-kuan "Chiach'u", Hou Ch' eng-pei
(I) Hou-kuan "Chia-ch'u" , Hou Chia-ch'u
(g) Hou-kuan "Chia-ch'u", Hou I-Iu
(h) Hou-kuan "Chia-ch'u", Hou T'un-yuan
(;) Hou-kuan "Chia-ch'u", Hou Ping-t'ing
G) Hou-kuan "Chia-ch'u", Hou Wan sui
(k) Hou-kuan "Chia-ch'u", Hou Wu-shang
(I) Hou-kuan "Chia-ch'u", Hou Lin-mu
(m) Hou-kuan "Chiach'u", Hou Mi-ku
(n) Hou-kuan "Chia-ch'u", Hall T'ui-mu
(0) Hou-kuan "Chia-ch'u", Hou Shou-Iu
(P) Hou-kuan "Chiach' u" , Hou An-chu
(q) Hou-kuan "Chia-ch'u", Hou Pu-ssu
(r) Hou-kuan "San-shih-ching", Hou Che-yao
(s) Hou-kuan "San-shill-ching", Hou Lei-Iu
(t) Hou-kuan "San-shih-ching", Hou San-shill-ching
29. Hou subordinate to the Han Dynasty Tu-wei-fu, "Chien Shui"
(a) Hou-kuan "T'o-t'o", Hall To-t'o
(b) Hou-kuan "Kuang-ti" . Hou Pei-pu
(c) Hou-kuan "Kuang-ti" , Hou Nan-pu
(d) Hou-kuan "Kuang-ti" . Hall Kuang-ti
(e) Hou-kuan "Chien-shui", Hall Yu-eh'ien
(I) Hou-kuan "Chien-shui" , Hall Yu-holl
(g) Hou-kuan "Chien-shui". Hall Iso-eh'ien
(h) Hou-kuan "Chien-shui", Hall Iso-holl
(;) Hou-kuan "Chien-shui", Hou An-Io
(j) Hou-kuan "Chien-shui", Hall Ts'ang-shih
(k) Hou-kuan "Chien-shui". Hell Ch'eng-pei
(I) Hou-kuan "Chien-shui", Hall T5O-h5i30
30. Heavy Infantryman of the Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties Period
Specifically, the Northern Wei , or Liang Dynasty.
This figure is taken from a statue dated 525 A.D., and is in the Royal Ontario Museum.
The large round shield is similar to one seen in the Tun-huang frescoes. Alternatively, a shield similar
to that carried by Figure 34. may have been used.
He wears a cuirass and greaves, shoulder pieces and helmet, all of which are uniquely different from
preceding armor types.
This difference, and the fact that he is bearded, may indicate that he is a "northern barbarian" or of
the T'o-pa tribe of the T'u Chueh, the establishers of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
Figures (a) and (b) are from a clay figurine dated 385-535 A.D. , and are at the Kyoto University.
This shows a native Chinese infantryman of the period. The Parallels can readily be seen in the
pectoral armor decorations and the greaves, which are identical in the two models.
71
31. Cataphract of the Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties Period
Specifically, the lorthern Wei. or Li ang Dynasty.
Dated 538-539 A. D .. this figure appears on a cave painting in Cave #285 at Tun-huang, in western
Kansu province.
According to the painting. the lance carried was about twelve feet long.
Details of the cataphract armor of this period are confirmed by their comparison to clay figu ri nes of
cataphraCls of this period. one of which is in the British Museum. another in the M u s ~ e Cernuschi in
Paris.
In fresco and figurine alike. most detai ls are similar. All are Oil fully armored horses. and. except for
the Briti sh model. they have the banded armor as shown. The Briti sh Museum model (dated 385-53
A.D.) is fully dressed in scale armor. including his horse. Also. in this particular model. a cape is worn.
The thigh and upper arm protections appear to be almost "plates" of this banded or scale armor. and
do not appea r to be strapped to the wearer's appendages.
TIle neckguard shown on the figure at his nape is also evident on the examples.
The fresco shows the armor to be a grey color. obviously iron.
32. Armored Cavalryman of the rang Dynasty
Bas-reliefs from Li Shih-min's tomb in Chao Ling, Shensi Province provided the source for this
illustration.
The uniform amlOr, which consisted of a helmet wit h leather cowl. iron cui rass and skirt (appearing a
bit like lamellar) , was highly polished.
A. small buckler with iron boss completed the defensive armor.
Offensive armament consi sted of a heavy bow, long sword and a ten to twelve foot lance. The quiver
carried is identical to that shown on Figure 35.
33. Unarmored Cavalryman of the T'ang Dynasty
He lacks the armor and weaponry of Figure 32, reta ining only the helmet. sword and bow.
Alternatively, he might have the small buckler and several light javelins.
34. Armored Infantryman of the T'ang Dynasty
This figu re is taken from ~ clay figurine. dated 500 A.D., and is not precisely T'ang. but a little before.
It shows enough change to differentiate from the Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties period , therefore
it has been included here. This model is in the British Museum.
TIle spear carried is approximately ten feet long, but it is the shield that is notable. It forms a "V"
shape with the angle projecting away froIll the bearer. with maximum body coverage provided. Two
grips are provided on the shield, so that it may be held either vert ically as shown, or horizontally.
The personal armor worn appears to be padded or reinforced c10lh. The " leggings" are not trousers.
but rather leather greaves.
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35. Light Archer of the Tang Dynasty
The dress is derived from drawings by Yen Li-pen, inspired by the reliefs in the Li Shih-min tomb in
Shensi Province.
The helmet, quiver, and baggy trousers are all characterist ic of this period.
Solid colors, with tunic color matching trousers, would dominate these soldiers' dress.
The top part of the helmet was colored and may have been uniform within a unit.
36. General of the Tang Dynasty
TIle original statue, from which this figure is taken, resides in the Royal Ontario Museum.
The shoulder plates, cuirass, greaves, and helmet are ornamented and probably gilt.
The arms are protected by bands of leather rather than metal , and he wears a leather skirt and baggy
trousers.
Normally he would be equipped as the heavy cavalry (Figure 32).
37. The Tang Emperor, Tang Tai Tsung
Tang Tai Tsung is the Imperial name chosen by the Tang General Li Shih-min.
A 7th century relief in Li Ch'uan, Shensi Province , provided the model for the fourteenth century
copy, preserved in the National Palace of Taipei , from which this illustration is derived.
He wears a light yellow robe, (thus indicating that yellow was also adopted for the Imperial under the
T'ang) red undergarments, green belt , and black hat , streamers and shoes.
The Sacred Dragon motif, as seen in figure 37. (a), is repeated on chest , below abdomen, back, and
both shoulders.
The Dragon is bluegrey bordered with red, and is amid a profusion of clouds colored white , light
blue, light green and red.
38. Heavy Infantryman of the Later T'ang Dynasty
This figure is taken from a fresco found in Cave #217, at Tun-huang, dated 660 A.D. , and portrays
military exercises.
As idiotic as it appeared, the arms were bare as were the feel. As the colors may have faded , I think
it may be safe to assume that the colors shown simulate a light leather color and not the precise flesh
color as is there. Therefore, I have shown them with the leather coverings.
The headgear may be a helmet or leather cowl.
The robe showing undernea th the polished iron scales is black.
Trouser colors are all of very light hues.
In addition to the sword, they were armed with a six to seven foot long thrusting spear (a). These
spears are all adorned with the three-pronged banner of the Tang. This banner has a light blue
half-moon next to the staff, the remainder was black. Figure (b) is a frontal drawing of the unique
shield b o ~ n e by these men. After 885 A.D., the Imperial Guard wore white uniforms.
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39. Heavy Cavalryman of the Later T'ang Dynasry
Again, at Tun-huang and its multitude of caves, we find a military procession. This time it is Cave #156
where we find the procession of Chang kh'ao, dated 850 A.D.
The strange banded armor, highly polished, again is to be seen. Thi s t ime the entire helmet is also
banded. It is su rmounted with what appears to be either a vermillion plume or feathe r. The lance
carried appears to be between twelve and fift een feet in length.
40. Standards of the Later T'ang Dynasty
These are from Chang I-ch'ao's procession from Tun-huang. Bo th may have been made of leather
rather t han customary cloth . Both of these are carri ed by groups of cavalry and may therefore be either
Army Standards or caval ry unit commands.
Colors from outside in are:
Ca) Bl ack. buff, black, white
Cb) either dark green or black
41. Heavy Cavalryman of the Sung Dynasty
The Sung Chinese developed a system where Imperial edicts virtually decreed life styles. Ritu alistic
apparel dominated bot h civil and milit ary life. Officers could easily be dist ingu ished, as could magistrates
or offi cials, by t he color of their uniforms, furs worn, number of buttons. color of parasol, and so on.
Sable, fox , and lynx fur would adorn men of high rank. Wit hin the third degree Cthe highest degree or
rank) the color purple would be worn. Within the sixth degree , vermill ion; within the seventh, green;
within the ninth. turquoise. Black and white were for the use of the " commone rs". The rankers would
wear these colors. Yellow, as traditional, would be reserved for Imperial use. Round parasols of
turquoise hue were used by princes of the Imperi al family . and shades of blue and yellow were used by
other ranks of magistrates. No shield is noted for this cavalryman, and the spear carried does not appear
to be a lance , but rather a seven foot long thrust ing weapon.
Prot ecting the chest is a metal cuirass, with a scale armor girdle. It is possible that , as for the Tang, the
top part of the helmet was colored and may have been uniform with a unit.
42. Heavy Infantryman of the Sung Dynasty
As is visually evident , this figure is quite similar to figure 41 , except for the distinct ive helmet types
(a) and (b). In addition to hi s rather long sword, a short thrusting weapon was also carr ied, similar to
his cavalry counterpart. He wears a metal cuirass and carri es a small oblong shield.
43. Light Cavalryman of the Sung Dynasty
TIle Sung Dynasty, or more property, the Southern Sung Dynasty, was confi ned to that part of China
dominated by fe rtile rice paddies with minimal dry plains area. Huge fortresses were virtually impregnable,
and therefore, a large standing army for expeditionary purposes was not maint ained. The army
eventually disintegrated into garrison forces.
ll1ese light cavalry were few in number, as were their heavier coun terpart s.
10 shiel d was noted on the original, but a small bucker could have been used. The weapon carried was
used for both thrusting and throwing.
The uniform colors were of a light hueperhaps unbleached fabric with a darker trim.
44. Charioteer of t he Sung Dynasty
By this time , the chariot as a war weapon was outmoded. They still tagged along as the general's vehicle ,
and a drawing showing the Sung chari ot was available, so this figure is included here. The charioteer
wears the metal cuirass and standard garments of the army.
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TIle weapons (a), (b), and (c) were carried in the chariot, along with the standard side arms of bow and
spear.
45. General of the Sung Dynasty
He would undeniably be a general of the third degree rank. Therefore. a purple uniform fitted with
gilded armor and scale would be his apparel.
By this time , the army was of such low repute that splendor, appearance , and personal contact would
count more than ability on the field.
46.,47.,48. Light Infantrymen of the Sung Dynasty
These figures form the bulk of the Sung Army.
Rankers would have white and black colors dominating, with perhaps the hat color or plume color
indicating unit uniforms. The trim would contrast the uniform color.
They were hardly reliable troops.
ENEMY WARRIORS
49. Early Northern Barbarian Infantryman
This figure typifies the Ti or Rung tribes of the Hsiung-nu that were basically infantry.
Skins and felts comprised the clothing materials, and colors would be drab rather than bright.
The trousers were gathered tightly around the ankles and leather boots were worn.
The tunic fell to the knees and was gathered at the waist by the belt that carried the sword scabbard.
A short cape was worn and, in the Scythic tradition, may have been made of enemy scal ps sewn
together. A gold or bronze ornament gathered this cape and secured it at the shoulder. A single earring
was worn on the left ear, also in Scythic tradition.
A fur cap completed the dress, and his hair was kep1iong, with braids on either side.
Armament would be either sword (a rather long, weak one) and hide shield, or ajavelin/ short spear and
shield.
50. Early Hsiung-nu Light Cavalryman
Complete with Scythi c headgear, this figure appears in a stone relief as part of a mural depicting Chinese
fighting the HSiung-nu', The left-hand firing stance for both nationalities is also verified. The tunic was
slit to the waist on either side for ease in riding. Located by the front of the left thigh was the bow sheath.
the quiver was hung across the small of the back, with barbs to the right.
Figure (a) is a description of the Hsiung-nu by he is described as having a bushy moustache ,
a tuft of hair on the chin, an earring on the left ear, and a shaven head with a tuft of hair left on top,
The Wu-sun tribe traditionally are said to have red hair and blue eyes.
51. Early Hsiungnu Standard
This is of bronze, roughly in scale to the figures. and dates to the Late Chou era (ca. 200 B.c.).
It was unearthed in the Pazyrk tombs in the Altai
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52. Kushan Light lnfantryman
It should be remembe red that the Kushans were not of In dian stock but rather BactrianScythi c. They
would, however , incorporate many indigenous warriors into their army.
After the sculpture found:lt Mathufil. this figure represents the typical Kushan dress.
TIle helmet worn by this figure is a direct link to the heritage in the Scythi c lands.
In addi tion to his shorl swo rd, a slllall spear and buckler coul d be added .
53, Kushan Indian Auxiliary light lnfantryman
This figure specifically is dated to the early second century A. D .. at Gandhar<l. but woul d typify the
indigenous India n forces drawn into the Ku shan Empire after their defeat in approximately 50 A.D.
In contrast to figure 52. the sword scabbard was suspended to the right of hi s center. instead of to
the left.
The " dhoti" was the uniform garmenl. with no armor other than hi s shield. It is pure co njecture
whether the shiel d device was painted on or raised.
The sword blade is the typical Indian one. a nistrimSa , (lnd is about four inches wide.
The Scythic cap la) denotes the definite ties o f the Kushan wit h their homelands and could have ".1Iso
been worn by figure 52.
54. Kushan Heavy Cavalryman
The spear is about five or six feel in length. and appears to have been lIsed in a non -missile role.
The heavy infantry component of the Kushan Army bears (I rollnd shield (two and a half feet in
diameter). His cavalry counterpart could have been similarly equipped,
Dismounting this figure. and substituting helmet (a) the boots (b). and equipping with a shield. gives
the heavy infantry of the Kushan army.
55. Kushan Warrior King
This is a porlrClyal of the Kushan King Kan iska from a statue extant today. As the head is missing from
the original. I have substituted a typical Kushan countenance, ""borrowed" from apother statue.
In his right hand is a highly decorat ive mace, which is probably a symbol of his rank rather than a
weapon of war.
By his le ft side is an eighteen inch long sword.
The harness on his boots may have supported spu rs, but this is mere conjecture, as the rear portions
have been broken off. An upper chest and shoulde r scale armor piece is shown in (a) and was probably
worn in a combat situation,
Little is known of Kushan fabr ic colors, but , as fo r symbols, the lion occupied a high place in Kushan
life.
56. Bactrian Unarmored Cavalryman
A Bactrian tributebearer sent to Persepolis has been immortalized at the Audience Hall of Darius.
The fi gure in this procession is wearing a long coat identical to Figure 58, boots identical to Figure 55,
and appears to have only a "headband" or fil let as head covering.
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The Bactrian is a direct descendant of the Scyths. with a lillie Hellenistic innuencc from Alexander' s
times. Li ttle has changed in hi s dress frol11 Scythic times. as Ihe cap and firing pose in th is ill ustrat ion
show.
The bow was the primary weapon. with a high ly decorated sword ser ving as close range protection.
57 & 58 Ferghanian and Sogdian Unarmored Cavalrymen
These figures are taken from the funerary relief in ' nan. Shantung province. in the Ii siao-I 'ang shan
style. dat ing to the Later Han Dynasty.
Figure 58 is portrayed directly from the relief in the pri soner pose depicted.
Colors are unknown . so any solid earth colors may have been lIsed. with the reminder that on ly
office rs may have worn ri ch col ors as the trooper was rather poor. and of a hardy. Central Asian Steppe
stock.
59. Later Hsiung-nu Unarmored Cavalryman
This figure typifies the Hsiung-nu from the Han period. but he changes very little straight through to
the time he will be called a "lI un. '
Skins and felt were the materials used in his attire. Trousers were worn loose, and tied around the
ankles. leather boots were worn lInderneath the trousers. freque ntl y of ox-hide.
The robe o r tunic was worn to the knee. and slit to the wai st where it was gathered by a belt.
A sho rt cape of skins (field mouse or dog skins we re favored) fell from the shoulders where it was
gathered by a metallic. o rnamental brooch.
The fur cap was worn over long hair tied into bra ids and worn behind the ears.
The compositie bow. javelins. and sword provided the offensive armament. while a small hide buckler
provided the defensive.
Natural ski n colors. un bleached wool. and a few shades of blue. grey. and brown cloth would
dominate.
60. Later Hsiung-nu Standard
Made of bronze. this standard dates to the Later Han Dynasty (ca. 200 A.D.) and is from the Pazyrk
tombs in the Altai Mount(lins.
61. Korean Unarmored Cavalryman
TIlis figu re dates from t he 4th- 6th centuries A.D .. and is derived from a fresco in
Manchuria. of the Koguryo Dynasty.
The sleeves are rolled up, the uniform is off-white with a black trim. The cap is black as are the
feathers. By 894 A. D_, the feathers. as issued, were white and crimson.
The bow sheath is carried on the right side, and no sword or shield is shown on the pa inti ng.
62. Korean Armored Cavalry Officer
This figure is derived from a grey stoneware vessel from the Golden Bell Tomb. in Kyongju, of the
Old Silla Period (ca. 5 t h ~ 6 t h cent. A.D.).
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Note the high pommels on the saddle. PrOlect ing the chest is a mewl cuirass. while the trouser-like
na t ure of the sca le leg-armor is characteristic of the Koreans.
63. Korean Unarmored Infantryman
This figure formed the bulk of the Ko rean Army. Lack of shield and sword led to a very vulnerable
infantry force .
The r ung-kon frescoes show uniform colors as tan with black trim. or red -brown with tan trilll.
64. Korean Cataphract
Battle narrativcs of Chinese historians always allribu te the Korean defeats of this era (roughly 4th-
7th centuries) to the Korean lack of armored cavalry.
Yet here we have. from a fresco in the Twin Pillar Tomb in South P' yongan Province. of the Koguryo
Per iod. a fully armored cataphrilct upon a fully armored horsc.
Dressed in highly polished armor and ornamentcd with a rcd fabric trim. armed with a len to twelve
foot long lanL:c. appears a warrior type that even r ang Chinil appears to lack!
It C<ln only be surmised that either these formed a Guard unit of dimunitive proportion. or they were
unavailable fo r combat. as no mention is ever made of these fellows in any battle narrative.
65. Tu Chueh Armored Cavalryman
This figure is after a description of the Turkic I'll Chueh dmed 581 A.D.
Hair was worn loose. weapons carried were a bow . lance. and either a scilllitj)r or long sword. A
cuirass provided Ihe major defensive armo r. along wilh a buckler abolll one 1'001 in diameter. A
description of (he Kirghiz tribe. dated 841 A.D .. allow these cavalrymen 10 have wooden leg foot
armor. Il also Slates that the standards carried by th is tribe \vere red.
A hieran.:hal dress L:ode prevailed . as was true with most cultures of Ihe S(eppes. The commander. or
Aye. WOre a heavy sable hat in the winter and a pointed meta l helmet in the summer. Lower ranks
wore white felt hats. and the lowesl were neither allowed to wear hats nor furs or skins of :lny kind.
A two hundred man bodyguard of a western T u ChueII chieftain wore highly brocaded coals under
thei r armor. and also wore Iheir hair braided.
66. Ttl Chueh Unarmored Cavalryman
Substituting javelins for lance and omitt ing the cuirass. (his figure is similar to Figu re 65.
Colours would tend to be a bit brighter than Ihose of their Ii siung-nu bretheren. as they chose to
trade mo re wit h the western world.
67 . T'u Chueh Standard
From at least 540 A.D .. the standard of the T' ll Chueh had been the lVolf.
In 581 A.D . . a gold she-wolrs head was the standard of bot h the eastern and western branches of the
T'll CllUeh.
68. Western T'll Chueh Chiefta in
This figu re portrays the chieftain of t he T ung Shih-hu . a tribe of the western T u Chueh.
He wears a green satin coat buttoned to his left. and a ten fOOl red silk nllet around his braided ha ir.
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~ 67.
f
86
Grousset states that the western I'u Chueh were armed with lances and straight (self) bows. Furs and
fine woolen clothes were also worn by the tribal aristocracy.
69. Tokharian (Chieh-Ku) Infantryman
The Tokharians were Scandanavian types who migrated to Siberia and then south into the Tarim
Basin region. They are of the same stock as perhaps the Wu-sun, the Scythians, Sogdians, and could
even be related to the Aryans who dominated the Indus Valley region in northern India. The
Byzantines will , in later times, draft soldiers from these men to form the Varangian Guard.
They had red hair, were tall , and had blue/ green eyes. Again, rather dull shades of earth colors would
dominate, possibly including painted shield designs of individual preference. ..
70. Early Tibetan Armored Cavalryman
The Tang Annals provide the data on these warriors (Figures 70 and 71).
They dressed in relt and leather and painted themselves with red ochre. In 665 A.D. , the Khotan
called the Tibetans "fed faces" .
Bow, sword, and ten foot lance provided offensive armament. The unique armor, called "willow !eaf,
is the earliest known Tibetan armor. Long narrow scales were laced together to form this armor. The
helmet was made of eight plates that overlapped and were similarly laced together.
A leather face guard is added to this figure to complete his armor.
In the Annals is also noted a helmet type that covered the entire face and neck leaving eye holes, but
no physical evidence is extant.
71. Early TIbetan Armored Cavalryman
This figure is wearing lighter armor than Figure 70, but could in no stretch of the imagination be
deemed "ligh t cavalry".
He still wears the "willow leaf' armor and distinctive helmet , but omits the thigh plates in favor of
forearm protection.
He may carry a small buckler and a few javelins that could be used for thrusting as well as throwing.
Bows were not carried by these "skirmishers".
The Golden Arrow was used to denote authority to command. similar to the Huns, perhaps hinting
at some cross influence.
A conch shell in land-locked Tibet definitely shows influence or trade with their southern neighbors.
Each division had it's own flag. In 773 A.D., the upper division of the left horn (the Yarlung division)
had as its flag the current national flag of Tibet.
72. Kuchan Armored Cavalryman
The city of Kucha, lying just north of the Tarim Basin, opposed Tang China in 644 A.D. This figure
is derived from the Kizil frescoes dated to the 7th century A.D.
Carried by the Kuchan cavalry were long swords that appear to be over three feet in length. Twelve
foot long lances were also provided to this, the main element of the Kuchan Army.
They wore what has been erroneously described as "mail armor", but appears to be either scale or
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"Lamellar" armor.
The conical helmet with leather neck-gua rd and slight moustache were also characterist ic of this city-
state.
73. Early Islamic Horse Archer
The Arab ic people started. in the 7th and 8th centuries. to make themselves known to the eastern
world.
Thi s figure of Ahplad Kurumli is dated to the early 8th century and typifies the Arabic light horse
archer.
74. Vietnamese Infantryman
h is extremely difficult to locate any visual representations of the Vietnamese fighting man. Thi s
figure. from the Tra Kieu Pedastal. is dated to the 7t h or 81h ce nturies A.D.
When armor was used, and this was seldom. it would consist of woven bamboo or extremely tough
buffalo hides.
The Viernamese were often a thorn in the side of their Chinese overseers. as rebellions seemed to pop
up every time China's power was threatened.
The weapons employed by the Vietnamese were bamboo javelins. short spears. self-bows, metal
machete-like swords. and a type of primitive cros.s.bow similar to that of the Burmese seen in figure
114(a). Incident ally, it is interesting to note that the Vietnamese are still using a crossbow almost
identical to those shown in these illustrations as booby-traps.
Their bamboo shield was about three or four feet high, and looked like that carr ied by Figure 99.
75. Uighur Prince
The Uighurs seem to pop up here and there as allies 10 the Chinese and to her enemies.
1l1is prince is from a wall-painting in Te mple #19 at Bazaklik dated to the 8th or 9th century A. D.
He wears a red robe , with yellow circles bordered with light green. His hat has a black crown over red,
with blaek streamers.
From Qoeo, dated to the same period. is anot her Uighur prince. He wears the hat shown in (a) in red
and black. His robe is orange with the device shown in (b) "peppered" over i t. or. as is referred 10 in
heraldry. or semy.
Coloring of this device from top to bottom is: purple. red and green.
76. Khitan ( Liao) Armored Cavalryman
As is visually evident, this warr ior was equipped for any emergency! Wi 1 1 foge l and Sheng's publication
on the Liao describes in detail the Khi tan (Liao) equipment which includes. pe r warrior: three ho rses:
nine pieces of armor; saddlecloth and bridle; leather or iron frontal horse armor (chanfron and frontal)
two composite and two self bows; 400 arrows in four o ne long spear and one short spear: one
club; one axe; and one bannered hal berd! I think it 's rather safe to assume that, in actuality. if they
had hal f of their assigned gear they were doing well.
77. KJ,itan ( Liao) Cavalryman
Although equipped with lacquered leather band armor: these cavalrymen operated as skirmishe rs.
Armed with bows. iaveli ns and swords. they lacked the horse armor, most of the personal armor. and
the hal berd of their heavier count erparts.
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Nobles had a dress code that distinguished peerage. Only the highest nobles wore sable. with a
purplishblack sheen being preferred over a plain black one. Ermine followed, with sheep. and mole
furs being utilized by the lower classes. Khitan (Liao) officials wore a tunic (kalat) of dark green,
fastened by buttons to their left.
78. Khitan (Liao) Conscript Infantryman
The levy spearmen tagged along as skirmishers and "cannon-fodder" for the cavalry. Termed the
"Po-hai", they we re composed of not only Khitan and subject tribal levies, bu t also skilled Chinese
artillerists.
Their spear was about nine feet long and they were equipped with a small shield and helmet. As an
alternative to the spear and shield shown, the militia could be armed with crossbows and swords.
Drab colors in the extreme would dominate, perhaps with the Chinese artillerists as an exception.
79_ lurchen Armored Cavalryman
This figure is taken from a 14th century drawing of a lurchen \'.:arrioT, the "I-yi.i-t'u-chih". and can
be seen in the Cambridge University Library.
Dark colors would dominate, with lighter fur trim. It should be noted that virtually all of the "northern
peoples" were related in some way and, as Steppe people, had much common ancestry. TIlerefore.
colors used would be quite similar among the Hsiung-nu. ru Chueh , Mongols, lurchen and Uighurs.
80. Seljuk Turk Armored Cavalryman
The Visier for the Mongol Gazan Khan, Rashid-al-Din, wrote and illustrated The World Chronicles
Illustrated to document his Khan' s exploits. In this work, the lami-etTawarikh , dated 1200 A.D ..
are found many drawings of the Seljuks and the Mongols.
This figure is taken from these drawings, and depicts the armored caval ry of the Seljuk Army. The
composite bow, of a unique design, and the distinct quiver are characteristic of the Seljuks. A long
sword of just over three feet in length, a twelve foot lance, and a shield complete the armament. The
armor itself appears to be "lamellar" over which a surcoat of a very light hue was worn.
The helmet shown in (a) is also shown in these drawings.
8 I. Seljuk Turk Unarmored Cavalryman
A ceramic bowl , dated to the early 13th ce ntury A.D. and currentl y in the Freer Gallery in Washington,
D.C. , shows a truly magnificent battle scene of the Seljuks in action.
Immediately to be seen are the horse archers carrying bow sheaths on their right , arrow quivers on
their left , firing tlleir weapons left-handed.
The trim on the tunics around the neck, upper sleeves, and chest was consistently contrasted to the
tunic color.
Tunics colors were dark blue, light green, grey. dark brown, and madder red. Trim colors would be,
for example, light brown on a dark blue tuni c, light red on a dark brown, dark brown on a light green
tunic and madder red on light grey.
82. Seljuk Turk Infantryman
Also from the ceramic bowl are pictured infantry. An intriguing little note is the laced leggings of
these soldiers. One is instantly reminded of the Tokharians and the Scandanavians.
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84.
b.
c.
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No swords were noted. and tunic colors were as for Figure 81. The shield pattern colors are, from the
outside in: dark brown, light blue, and black.
83. Seljuk Turk Kettledrummer
Daled 1237 A.D .. a copy of Ihe "Hariris Makamal" ( Ihe Pilgrim' s Caravan) is in Ihe Bibliolheque
Nationale in Paris.
In this painting are depicted Seljuk musicians, unarmored cavalry. army and unit standards.
TIlis ket tledrumme r is mounted upon a dromedary camel, and is seen dressed in the standard Seljuk
tunic as was depicted on the ce ramic bowl. Differences noted are the turban and lower leg "puttee".
Also shown is a turbaned Seljuk musician blowing the large trumpet drawn to scale in (a).
Tunics in this painting are blue, green, and purple. Turban colors are red and blue.
84. Seljuk Turk King
The frontispiece from a volume of the "Kitab-al-Aghani" . dated 1217 A.D .. shows a Seljuk King
along with several infantrymen.
The King is clad in a purple tunic. hat and trousers. The tunic was adorned with a wealth of gold
embroidery - the pattern shown in (a). This was applied to every part of the tunic and hat.
Infantry tunic colors provided by this source were: black. red, purple and a light pink.
85. Seljuk Turk Standards
" Hari ri's Makamat" provides the standard seen in (a). This is the Army standard. and colors for the
lassels are, from lefl to righl: black, gold, black wilh gold fringe.
The ceramic bowl provides figure (b), which is a unit standard. The globe color is while, which may
represent polished metal , the horse-hair is black. and the feather is red.
Rashid-al-Din's "'World History" shows figure (c) with a bear-like creature on the field of the standard.
This appears to be a personal standard, much in the form of a western blazon-of-arms. The field is
white with a black bear "'rampant".
86. later Tibetan Armored Cavalryman
This figure is derived from an early 14th century type. still used in ritual fetes in Tibet today to
commemorate past glories.
Heavil y padded cloth trousers and sleeves are armored with a chain mail shirt. inferior in strength to
western or Persian mail. An iron disk is located over the sternum and suspended by leather straps.
A scimitar-like sword is worn on his left side. How bow is slung over his back when not in use.
The helmet is adorned with black horse-hair radiating about a light colored leather oval. A lance.
between ten and twelve feet long, is decorated with a long pennant , while the horse's harness has a
multitude of feathe rs attached.
The symbol shown in (a) was embroidered or painted in black on the rider's trousers, just above the
knee.
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87 _ Later Tibetan Lama
Reli gion was so important to the Tibet ans, not only in civil matters but also in those of the military,
that I deemed it appropriate to include one such priest. In fact , when the Mongols wanted to subjugate
Tibet. they did it not by warfare bOt by diplomacy_ They ousted the ruling king, and substituted the
Hi gh Lama, who just happened to be as ruler.
This Lama. dressed in a bright scarlet robe, is a High Priest of one of the fuling monastic orders.
88_ Later Tibetan Mystical Letter
Thi s is the letter OM. As thi s was their sign for the omnipotent. it was not that unusual to find it
appea ring almost everywhe re that divine intervention was needed, including army banners.
89. Later Tibetan Unit Standards
These are taken from a wall painting in Tibet , the "mgon-khang" dated to the early 14th cenlUry A.
D. They are almost surely small unit " regimental" standards, as the flag-division system was sti ll in
existence. (See figure 71).
90. Nepalese Archer
Providing Tibet with infantry support was her southern neighbor. and ally, Nepal. This bowman
constituted the bulk of t he infantry of this allied army.
He does not wear armor - the "bands" are colored bands of contrast ing colors. such as black and
yellow.
Note the use of a self-bow and the peculiar hat he wears.
91. Mongol Armored Cavalryman
Such a Illuitiwde of descriptions of armor prevail that there is no other cou rse but lO use a
composite of the more reasonable types.
An iron scale (perhaps lamellar) shirt seems to be the most viable of alternatives. Other possibilities
are chainmail shirts. oxhide cuirass. cuir bouilli. leather reinforced with iron plates. and black.
lacque red bands of leather. Quite conceivably. all of these types were employed by individual
preference. as no other explanation seems valid when so many differing descriptions abound.
A wicker-backed shield with a lOugh hide cover ing is generally accepted as the Mongol shield.
The lance. about twelve feet long. had a small hook below the spearblade and was adorned with a
!Uft of black horse-hair.
Two composite bows with two quivers totalling 60 arrO\vs; a mace: an axe ; a lariat; a sword; and
leather bags_ clearly show the relationship to 'heir mentors, the Khitan ( Liao) (see Figure 76) _
As many sources claim the ho rses were armored as not. Either lacquered leather or iron scales are
described as provid ing the horse armor (chanfron and frontal).
Howorth's epic five volume work on the Mongols provide an exce ll ent description of these people.
The fi rst and paramount "mark" of the Mongol was the presence of two red ribbon streamers. each
45 cent imeters long. that were attached to the helmet or hat and hung down the back.
Trouser colors were grey or bright blue. In winter. sheepskin or wool lined trousers were substituted.
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The long wide tunic, the kalat, was usually blue or brown. Wealthy nobles wore these kalats decorated
with plush trim on collars, borders, hems and cuffs. Soiled silk robes, captured in plunder, could also
have been worn.
The leather boots were heel-less with many laces.
The conical cap was made of quilted material , with a turned up brim, and was decorated with fox or
wolf fur.
A heirachy of furs existed with these Steppe people; the wealthy and upper social classes used wolf,
fox, badger, and monkey (in that order) while the lower classes had dog and goat.
92. Mongol Armored Cavalryman
He substitutes black lacquered leather bands for the scale armor. He also utilizes javelins in lieu of the
lance. As a skirmisher, or member of the "mangudai", his horse would be unarmored.
Figures (a) - (e) denote tribal differences in headgear. The Derbet and Urian-khai allies wore hats
with a thick rim and round, flat top (a).
The Tanguts employed a cylindrical cap as shown in (b).
In the late 1200's, Ustad Mehmed Siyah Qalem painted some Mongols. Figures (c) - (e) are tribal
headgears within the Mongol nation,but their names are not recorded.
Colors for these are, from top to boltom: (c) Black, with light blue trim; (d), gold, black, with red
trim; (e), gold, black.
Kalats with collars and borders faced with different colors are also depicted. Blue kalats are faced red;
brown kalats are faced light blue; and black kalats are faced red.
93. Mongol Khan
This figure is styled after a description of the Jenghis Khan at 56 years of age.
Mounted on a white horse, he wore a white felt hat adorned with eagle feathers. Of course, the
Mongol red streamers were worn. A long black sable coat , trimmed with plush, and closed with a
girdle of golden plates, was his attire.
Madder colored boots completed his dress.
An interesting note that should be reiterated - the J_enghis Khan was not dark in coloring as the
Chinese and Hollywood depict him. As did his father, Yesugai , Temujin had reddish hair and blue
eyes.
In fact . great note was made of Kublai's birth, as Kublai was dark in complexion. The cross-breedings
that occurred with conquest produced the familiar dark Mongolian types that have come to represent
the "legions of Jenghis Khan".
Tablets of Authority were issued to commanding officers in the Mongolian Army.
(a) represents the tablet issued to a commander of 100. It was silver and weighed 120 saggi. One
saggio was equivalent to 1/ 6 ounce, or 74 grains troy.
(b) was given to a commander of 1,000, was gold and weighed 120 saggi.
96
(c) was issued to a commander of 10,000, was gold, weighed 220 saggi, and had a lion's head stamped
into it.
(d) issued to a commander of 100,000, weighed 300 saggi , was gold, and carried the symbols of the
sun, moon, and lion.
(e) was issued to the prince of the realm, weighed 300 saggi, was gold, with the stamp of the gerfalcon
onil.
A golden parasol (miniature) was also issued to a commander of more than 100,000, and these
commanders were authorized to sit on a silver chair in the presence of the Khan.
94. Mongol Standards
The tuk, representing the Khan, consisted of nine yak tails, usually all white. The composition or
arrangement of these tails has been shown in many forms. Figure (a) is the description noted to be
that of the lenghis Khan. Figure (c) is the standard for an un designated Khan.
In 1256 A.D. , Nayan, a Mongol chieftain and cousin of Kublai (son of Agul, of the line of Uchegin,
Temujin's brother - a very low ranking family lineage) rebelled against Kublai. He was a Christian,
and his standard bore the Christian cross. This is shown in figure (b). It is interesting to note that
the KJlans have traditionally allowed any and all religions to prosper within the Mongolian Army. It
was said that had the Christian missionaries been able to prove their God more powerful than any
other, Kublai would have converted. As it was, Kublai respected all Gods, and never was a religious
edifice destroyed nor priests mistreated at his command.
95. Mongol Auxiliary Archer
This auxiliary archer is Chinese, taken from the Mongol Invasion Scroll , the "moko Shurai e-kotobe"
dated I 293 A.D. , attributed to Tosa Nagataka and Tosa Nagaaki.
The quiver is of leopard skin trimmed with black. He wears a buff-colored coat, white trousers, black
boots and yellow metal helmets. The "hair" shape near the ears is actually a part of the helmet, and
not the warrior's hair. It can be seen again on figure 105.
Chinese auxiliary spearmen are shown with the same helmet , but with a green coat, and carrying a
shield and sixfoot long javelins.
96. Mongol Kettledrum, the Great Naccara of the Khan
Two kettledrums were carried by a Bactrian camel since the time of the lenghis Khan. The drum roll
of the Great Naccara was only used to signal the charge of the army.
97. Uighur Savant Unarmored Cavalryman
Early in the lenghis Khan's career, he subdued the Uighurs and they joined his forces. These were used
almost exclusively as light , skirmishing cavalry, and for this purpose carried short thrusting spears and
a small buckler.
They are distinguished by their yellow cloaks, worn over the left shoulder, and their characteristic
black velvet hats.
98. Kalmuk Chieftain
Howorth describes two such chieftains. One was attired in a horseskin cloak with a broad red scarf
about his head. The other wore a dark blue kalat , buttoned across the chest with white metal buttons,
and a leather belt worn and secured by a silver buckle. His helmet shaped hat was of black silk
trimmed in black velvet. Two broad red ribbons feU from the hat down his back.
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95.
96.
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Madder boots completed his dress.
The Kalmuk were also employed as skirmishing auxiliaries of the Mongol Army.
99. Korean Auxiliary Infantryman
Figures 99- 109 all appear on the Mongol Invasion Scrolls. The Figures 99- 102 are identified as
Koreans by the standard seen in Figure 103. We are told that auxiliaries were equipped in the Mongol
fashion, therefore, we might assume that native Mongolian infantry appeared as these figures do.
The spear carried by this soldier is long - perhaps ten to twelve feet in length. He is additionally
armed with a bow and probably also has a sword. The huge wicker shield is shown on the scroll
studded with arrows, and none have pierced the shield, flimsy as it might appear.
Uniform colors are not to be seen , though the following colors are all used : light blue (almost
turquoise) ; emerald green; white; reddish brown; grey; buff; and black.
100. Korean Armored Cavalryman
This armor type has been seen before, and is frequently seen in the Scrolls. H. Russen Robinson refers
to it as "Lamellar". and there doesn't seem to be another name for it.
The armor is colored white in the Scroll , and therefore represents polished metal.
In addition to the bow shown, Similarly armored cavalrymen on the Scroll are also equipped with a
twelve foot long lance, but no shields are to be seen.
Colors noted for the armored cavalry. though not uniform, are: emerald buff; and brown.
101. Korean Auxiliary Armored Infantryman
The armored counterpart of Figure 99, this warrior wears a coat of lamellar armor instead of long
robe.
His shield was a small buckler. perhaps also of wicker composition.
A composite bow, sixfoot long spear, and probably a sword completed his offensive armament.
Colors were not uniform, but whites, greens, browns, and buffs dominated.
102. Korean Auxiliary Musician
This figure carries a gong, an instrument quite common in Eastern armies. It is of brass, about two
and a half feet in diameter. The musicians in the army would also have drums that were carried and
look rather like bass drums.
103. Korean Standard
The field of the standard is orange, the upper part of the "Yin-Yang" is buff, the lower part white.
104. Chinese Standard
This standard flies from a ship transporting Chinese auxiliaries to shore. Therefore, it is safe to assume
that this is a Chinese standard, as it is also true that the Chinese supplied the ships and crews for their
Mongol masters.
From right to left , the colors are: maroon; black; a red-orange field with a white circle.
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105. Japanese Imperial Bodyguard
This figure is from the "Mounted Imperial Bodyguards Scroll", the "zuishin teiki emaki", dated 1247
A.D. , attributed to Fujiwara Nobuzane.
The Guardsman is armed only with bow and arrows and definitely has no other weapon.
He is dressed entirely in white, with a black hat and shoes, a red belt and redshafted arrows. On
either side of his hat is a fan shaped metallic ornament similar to that worn by Figure 95.
106. Japanese Armored Cavalryman
From the Invasion Scrolls, this figure is representative of the mounted Samurai , the legendary heroes
of the Invasion repulse.
Literally, there are volumes written on the cxtemely ornate and intricate designs incorporated in the
decoration of their armor. but simplified designs and patterns are seen on the Scrolls.
The armor is uniformly black lacquered, with alternating bands of either yellow, light blue, green, or
red.
Shields are not carried. Weapons included two swords, one long (Dai) and one short (Sho); and a bow
six to seven feet in length.
For further accuracy and in-depth studies of Japanese armor, I would direct the reader to the
volumes li sted in the Bibliography - especially the book by Hakuseki.
107. Japanese Armored Infantryman
Thi s warrior carries a very unusual weapon for which I can find no prototype. It was probably used
to dismount a mounted opponent by use of rope and hook.
The hat was dark brown with a white trim. The "'epaulets" were white with a red trim. The lamellar
cuirass and abdomen plates were brown , the stockings black, and the sleeves and trousers grey.
I 08. Japanese Armored Infantry Officer
Though identical in basic costume lO the figure above , there were certain distinct ions awarded to
offi cers.
He wears black trousers and sleeves. and has a distinctive "V" device on his armor. The device itself
is green while the inside of the "triangle" thus formed is white.
He is armed with the formidable "Naginata" - a murderous weapon in the hands of a trained warrior.
109. Japanese Standards
Standards (a) and (b) are definitely armored cavalry regimental standards. (d) is an infantry standard,
and (c) is possibly the standard for figures 107 and 108.
Standard (a) is white wi th black devices.
Standard (b) is also white, with a light blue circle with brown shapes. This is the standard of a regiment
commanded by Shiraishi Rokuro.
Standard (c) has a whit e upper half with blue and white banded fea thers. The lower half is black.
Standard (d) from top to bottom is: white; green ; light blue ; and black.
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110. Koloman Cavalryman
These horsemen were the best fighters among the uncivilized border tribes, according to Marco Polo.
Figures 110-113 are taken from Colonel Yule's work on Marco Polo, and, as they are the only
drawings so far found, and do accurately portray the descriptions, there is no reason to assume that
they are grossly inaccurate.
The Koloman wore beards but no moustaches. Their hair was gathered into a tuft, about which blue
cloth was wrapped - a bit like a turban.
Fine blue cloth was a favored material for tunics and trousers alike.
Weapons carried were long lances at least twelve feet in length, large bows and razor-sharp swords.
Ill. Sangmiau Armored CavaUyman
The Sangmiau tribe of Kweichau (Carajan) were subjects of Kublai Khan.
These cavalryment " rode long" in the saddle, the saddle having a high cantle in the rear. They wore
armor of boiled leather (cuir bouilli) and were armed with sword, shield, and short thrusting spear. A
crossbow could be carried in lieu of the spear.
The quarrels of the Sangmiau tribe were all poisoned.
112. Miautse Armored Infantryman
This tribe is also from Kweichau,and may have been subject to Kublai Khan.
Their armor was buffalo leather overlaid with an iron plate and disks. The shield is rather interesting-
almost a direct copy of the Tang Dynasty infantry shield (see Figure 34). The spear carried is six to
seven feet long.
113. Sangmiau Crossbowman
This figure is shown with llJl extremely oversized crossbow. He is shown in the original drawing with
three attendants assjsting in drawing the bow. It is obvious that a crew of four was needed to operate
this weapon, but further information on it is not available. Of course, being from the Sangmiau tribe,
we may expect that the bolts fired were pOisoned.
114. Burmese Archer
As with the Vietnamese, examples of Burmese warriors are also notoriously hard to come by. Just
after the Mongol incident, a purge of art objects occurred that destroyed most of the then extant
artifacts.
The descriptions of the Burmese warriors concur with a fresco dated to the early 13th century at Wet-
Kyi-in Ky-byank-Kyi. This figure's dress is derived from that fresco.
In 800 A.D. , Kingfisher feathers were quite popular for use as rank distinctions, so it is possible that
this tradition continued.
The Mon people's device was hamsa, or the wild goose, and as such, this device would probably appear
in the form of a standard or shie1d device - possibly used by the crossbow unit of the Mon Guard.
Figure (a) shows a typical crossbow of this general area, and could be an alternative to the self-bow
shown.
104
115. Burmese Armored Infantryman
Quilted pads of cotton constituted the annor for these soldiers. Swords and shields were carried,
possibly in addition to short spears, as were carried by all infantry at the Battle of Pyedawthagyun in
1084 A.D.
The Mon Guard were said to carry gilded swords, shields and helmets.
116. Burmese Armored Cavalryman
Armored in exactly the same fashion as figure liS, the short spear carried may have been supple
mented by a small buckler.
Elite units often had gilded helmets.
117. Steppe Nomad's Horse
A sturdy, stocky mount served the purposes of most of the Steppe peoples from the Hsiungnu to the
Mongols.
Thi s typical mount was small, only 12 - 13 hands tall , with the most favored steeds coming from the
Gobi Desert area.
The Hsiung-nu preferred whites, greys, blacks, and chestnut colors.
The Tu Chueh tribe, "po-rna" or "ghora" (which isTurkic for "spotted horses" or Piebald), favored
horses with that coloring.
The Mongols preferred greys, chestnu ts, bays, and sorrells.
The Mongol saddle had the stirrups up very high, and had a broad, high pommel and cantle.
118. Han Dynasty Horse
This horse is a copy of the first section of the "Five Horses Scroll" by the famous Chinese painter,
Li Lung-mien. It is quite similar to horses seen on Han Dynastic reliefs and frescoes. The Pei-yuan
fresco shows horses in white, buff (palomino?), burnt sienna (bays) , grey, and black-legged duns.
The saddle blankets are always white, and the trappings are vermillion or white.
119. Ferghanan Horse
This is a copy of an ink drawing of the famous horse, by the T ang Dynasty master, Han Kan.
In the early second century B.C. , the Han Chinese waged an entire campaign just to subdue Ferghana
and Sogdiana, in order to acquire enough of these animals.
A bit taller than the typical Steppe pony, this animal was quite sui ted to the rigors of Steppe life, and
soon was sought after by all.
11tis is the legendary "bloodsweating" horse of eastern tales, and this "legend" is truth, not myth.
Due to a parasite infecting these animals, the capillaries on the skin surface are actually forced to
bleed when the body is under stress.
This beast and it' s subbreeds were utili zed by virtually every nation covered in this book, when they
could get their hands on them.
They were predominantly of a yellowbrown color, with black or darker hair on the legs up to the
knee (hock) or midforearm (gaskin). Greys followed as the next most common color.
106
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121.
122.
123.
124.
108
120. Tang Dynasty Horse
This figure is copied from a drawing by Yen Li-pen, from a bas-relief in Li Shih-min's tomb in Chao
Ling, Shensi Province. I t is of " r e-lei-p'iao". the great general's favorite steed. Figure (a) shows a
chanfron also shown on t he original relief.
From the frescoes at Tun-huang, the following horse colorings are depicted: duns. greys, whites.
blacks, chestnuts, and sorrell s.
121. Kushan India Horse
From reliefs in the British Museum come the configuration of trappings as shown on this figure. It is
a little later than the Kushan era , the Gandharan (about 50 - 100 years later). No sti rrups are shown'
on the relief, but we may assume that the Kushan did have them, as their kinsmen. the Indo-Scythians.
made use of them.
122. Mongol Half-Armored Horse
The arguments pro and con whether the Mongols used iron or lacquered leather armor for their horses
are as numerous as those whether the rider wore these or not. Battle descriptions of the Mongol
armored cavalry in action either tell of shiny metal frontal armor. or blackened lacquered leather.
The Khan's personal 1,000 man Guard were all mounted upon black horses.
The Jenghis Khan's shock divisions (Tumens?) had all the armor and trappings paiIlled either red or
black.
123. Japanese Imperial Guard Horse
These horses. the mounts of Figure 105. were all white. with red trappings.
Note the unusual st irrup. it is the "'abumi" or "batto" . and quite unique to the Japanese.
124. Japanese Armored Cavalryman' s Horse
This is the mount of the Samurai. as depicted in the Mongol Invasion Scroll s.
Most of the trappings are red. but this is not the rule as other colors are shown. these being brown and
black.
Browns and blacks seem 10 be the most popular horse COlOf, with a few duns noted.
125. Kushan Indian War Elephant
Thi s figure is taken from a silver dish in the State Hefmitage Museum in Leningrad. Visible armament
for the two-man crew was a sha n spear (five to six feet) and a bow.
126. Seljuk Turk War Elephant
This illustration was der ived from RashidalDi n's "Universal History". As evident , there was no
howdah , and the crew held on to the elephant by means of ropes tied over the beast's blanket. The
warrior crew seem to be wearing lamellar armor, along with the light-hued su rcoat. The long lance or
pike carried by one of the crew is at least IS' long. The other crewman has the standard Seljuk
composite bow.
127. Burmese War Elephant
As eni gmatic as many of the Oriental modes of fighting or weaponry so far revealed. we have the
oddist now - the Burmese war elephant.
109
126.
110
Recorded by Marco Polo at the Battle of Vochan in 1272 A.D. , this figure is an illustration of that
description. The elephant has purposely been represented as an average sized beast to show that such
an arrangement of warriors was possible. It should be noted that the warriors only mounted their
beasts prior to joining combat - therefore, the animal did not have to put up with the burden for any
long period of time.
This elephant is mounted with 12 warriors plus the mahout. Marco Polo describes the elephants as
each having 12-16 warriors. As the Occidental world is used to hearing of perhaps a four man crew
at best , this detail of the Burmese war elephant merits further discussion as even the translator of
Marco Polo, Colonel Yule, is a bit "bothered" by the large number of crew. He has uncovered a few
descriptions of the Oriental war elephants that unnerve a western military tradition.
TI,e Third Book of Maccabees alleges that an Indian elephant can carry 32 warriors besides the
mahout. Philoslralus, in his Life of Apollonius, II c.ii, tells us that 10-15 were carried on the
elephant. An elephant sent by Timur Khan to the Sultan of Egypt is said to have carried 20 drummers.
Nicolo di Conti, visiting Burma in 1435 A.D., states that 8- 10 was the number. Caesar Frederick, in
1568, states four , and ChristOpher Barri , in Cochin China (London, 1633) says that ordinarily the
Cochin Chinese (Burmese) elephant carried 13- 14 warriors, six on each side (mounted on two tiers
of three each) with two guarding the rear.
Therefore, we have evidence of anywhere from four to 32. As Marco Polo was indeed at the Battle of
Vochan, I see no reason to dispute his observed 12-16 crew.
The crewmen wore no armor, but the elephant wore a kind of quilted cotton armor on occasion.
Slung to the sides of the elephant were quivers of bamboo javelins and arrows for the upper-tiered
archers.
128. Chinese Light Chariot
This chariot is a prototype of the vehicle that was used by the Chinese Army from the times of the
Chou throughout the Han and perhaps beyond.
The vehicle usually carried a two-man crew, the warrior usually armed with a bow.
This particular chassis is from a reconstruction of such a vehicle, from the "Khao Kung Chi" and
appears in Needham's Science and Ci,ilization In China, volume 4. The scale of the fighting compart-
ment, asjudged from reliefs and frescoes, appears to be roughly a 3:2 ratio, that is, side to side:
front to back.
The charioteer is grasping with his left hand a u-shaped bar that traverses the vehicle from side to side.
It is also possible that the charioteer occupied the area in front of the bar, and sat as he drove the
two-horse chariot team. This left more room for the warrior to wield his bow in combat.
129. Chinese War Chariot
This particular vehicle, from the Wu Family Shrines, is the Han dynasty prototype of the war chariot.
The Chou version would be quite similar, yet without canopy. Unlike figure 128, this vehicle's
fighting compartment was approximately square.
Beginning in the Chou period and thereafter, the crew of this vehicle consisted of a spearman on the
right side, an archer on the left, and a driver in the middle. The nobleman in command of the vehicle
could be any of the warrior rypes, induding the,driver.
Size of weapons varied; the Chou used spears of two sizes, the rnau of 4 cubits, and the ko of 16
cubits, in addition to the composite bow. During the Han, crossbows (nu) could be carried, as were
112
1 1
" 6 Z I
I
long lances (more than 12' long) , in addition to bows and javelins. According to Wittfogel and Sheng's
work, these long lances were also carried in the lighter chariot depicted in figure 128.
The canopies of the chariots were circular, with a square painted or embroidered in its center, a
representation of the earth (square) surrounded by the universe (circle). The color of the canopy may
correspond to the colors set out by edict in 21 A.D. (see figures 9, 14 and 15).
The Chou chariot , without canopy, had its sides covered with wooden boards or bucklers as a defence
against arrows. Inside of the chariot would be mats of bamboo or embroidered carpets. Commanders
had many embellishments to distinguish their vehicles on the field. In addition to green silk covered
axle trees, the quadriga had golden bits with little bells on each side, and richly embroidered reins. At
times, the horses were covered with hrigandine or protected by bucklers.
Chariot unit commanders had an oxtail affixed to a pole signifying their command (see figure 4a).
Fi Fei , in his "Ts'ai Yung" (i 92-133 B.C.) describes the Han Emperor's chariot. The canopy was of
yellow silk, and had a bunch of yellow feathers or a yak tail attached to the left end of the yoke, at
the end of the chariot pole tongue, or attached to the left outer horse of the quadriga.
Along with the effectiveness of the crossbow, the introduction of caJtrops into Oriental warfare
during Han Wen-ti's reign (i 79- 156 B.C.) served to reduce significantly the effectivenss of the chariot
as a shock weapon.
130. Sung Dynasty Commander's Chariot
As mentioned earlier. the chariots during the Sung Dynasty were probably used only as a command
vehicle.
Dimensions of the vehicle were quite large - approximately twice the size from side to side as front
to back.
Along with the general, a charioteer and aide were depicted in the original drawing.
Affixed to the chariot was the commander's personal standard, along with the weapons illustrated in
figure 44.
The horses of the quadriga were all garbed in cloth "surcoats", decorated with horizontal stripes of
bright colors.
131. Light Catapult
This figure represents the P'i-li Ch'. catapult of the-Han Dynastic period, but could also represent the
smaller catapults used by any dynasty covered by this book.
A typical P'ao (small engine) would have 40 men pulling at the ropes to provide the necessary tension
to catapult the rock when it was fired. This 40 man crew was used to propel a 2 lb. rock a distance of
100 yards. One hundred men provided the tension for a machine that launched a 251b. rock 165
yards. The rope length of this machine was 34 feet.
132. Multiple Crossbow
E.T.C. Werner's Chinese Weapons gave the information needed to represent the multiple crossbow
pictured. Although this particular weapon is contemporary to the T'ang, we are informed by ancient
authors that such weapons were used by the Han Dynasty.
Pan Ku states explicitly that crossbows capable of discharging several bolts at a time were used. These
bows were augmented by repeating crossbows which in appearance looked like ordinary weapons, but
114



,
i
S I I
o ' j " - - - - - - - - I
0
with a boxlike magazine placed over the stock of the weapon. By means of a lever. the bowstring was
st ret ched into firing position and a bolt dropped into the breach. There. the trigger was pulled to fire
the bolt. TIle magazine held from 2-10 baits, depending on the size of the bow. This weapon was not
uncommon, except that it doesn't 'seem that the cavalry were issued the bow (as strange as that may
sound).
These weapons were probably used from the Han period and on. Even the Mongols utilized such
weapons, operated by Chinese artillerists.
133. Rockel and Fire Arrow
The rocket pictured is a Mongo!era prototype, and probably earlier missiles lacked the stabilizing
fins. It has been described and pictured as a bamboo tube, reinforced leather. or even thick paper. The
" Invincible Bamboo Commander" of the Sung era (quite a colorful name for such a weapon) had a
1S00 yard range (7-800 pu) and it's explosion was described as terrifi c and destructive. More than
likel y. it was used to disrupt an enemy rather than to kill.
It could be fired from a sma ll ramplike platform, but occasionally (as was used against and by the
Mongols) several rockets were encased in a box1ike structure and fired en masse like a "nebelwerfer".
The fire arrow had a sack of gunpowder attached to the shaft , and had a fuse inserted into it. The
missile was fired from a conventional bow, with the fuse lit. Upon burning of the fuse. the sack
exploded. TllUS, an arrow could be fired to a location, and then explode, if the timing of the fuse was
correct.
These were used at least as early as the Tang, and perhaps earlier.
134. and 135. Trebuchels of the Later Dynasties
Large engines such as these, are of course, not "field weapons" but rathe r those used fo r seige warfare.
As early as 712 A.D .. even the Islamic armies had such weapons - as Muhammad-binQasim' s Army
had five large engines called "Uroos" (the bride) each manned by a crew of SOD!
The pictured engines are both of the Liao Dynasty (ca. 1000 A.D.) and are described in Wittfogel and
Sheng's work on the Liao. These weapons ut ilized either ISO or 240 man crews. Ranges and weight-
of shot fired are not recorded.
These weapons were not limited to anything as mundane as just firing rocks- as their "arsenal" of
missiles was virtually unlimited. The I' Huo p'ao" hurled gunpowder balls wit h fuses that exploded on
impact. The "Mongol Invasion Scrolls" of Japan record the Mongol's use of such weapons, and the
Mongols used them against the Nayan Tartars in 1286.
The "Chin Chih p' ao" threw pot s of molten metal , and the "Fen p'ao" launched pots of manure!
Literary evidence points to the Khitan (Liao) use of said missiles, but this has not been
substant iated by any ancient accounts.
These weapons were not the ultimate in Oriental artillery- but the scope of thi s book limits the
inclusion of the cannon. The oldest known bronze cannon in the world is a Mongol weapon- dated
1332 A. D.
Thus we see many innovations and inventions- discovered by the Chinese and honed to a sci ence by
her enemies. The fury and military expe rti se of the Mongols would not remain in Asia, nor would it
end- Europe was next.
11 6
I
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30. Reischauer, E. Ennin's Travels in rang China. New York: Ronald Press, 1955.
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120
,
APPENDICES
A. SOURCES FOR THE BATTLE OF SOGDlANA AND PAN CH'AO'S CAMPAIGN.
The saga of Chihchih and the Sino-Roman encounter can be found in The History ofthe Former Han
Dynasty by Pan Ku, as translated by Homer Dubs. in Volume II , pages 282-283.
This is the primary source for the information, but in Everyday Life in Early Imperial China by
Michael Loewe (New York: Harper & Row, 1968), pages 80- 81, the same encounter is described with-
out reference to the Romans involved.
Pan Ch'ao's campaign can be found described in many sourceS. Rene Grousset. renowned sinologist ,
details the campaign in both The Empire of the Steppes, pages 37-47, and The Rise and Splendour
of the Chinese Empire, pages 7 I -76, There is one minor problem, however. In the Steppes book. the
march on Rome is definitely a military mission of conquest . The other account describes it as a
diplomatic mission , one to open diplomatic relations and possibly establish alliances between Han
China and Rome! To this account , the Parthians, fearing such a grand alliance, set out to convince
Kan Ying that such an alliance was impossible. Kan Ying bought this, and returned to Pan eh'ao.
The Chinese encounter with Kushan India can be found in Puri's India Under the Kushanas on pages
26- 27.
B. THE EXISTENCE OF STIRRUPS IN HAN CHINA.
A controversial issue among equestrian circles is exactly when or where the first stirrups were used. 1
have neither the qualifications nor the intent to answer this question. I have been trained , however. to
observe. My illustrations of the Han Chinese and Hsiung-nu cavalry equipped with stirrups are based
mainly on visual evidence and partially on literary reference.
It is generally accepted that stirrups were introduced to the Western world by the nomads of the
Steppes. Exact ly when is debatable but , as is evident from this book, these same nomads had harassed
and influenced the Oriental world approximately a millenium before directly involving the west.
From at least the 4th century B.C. , the Chinese had adopted the Hsiungnu tactics and mode of
warfare. The presence of stirrups, visible on Han Dynastic funerary reliefs and frescoes surely indi cate
that the Hsiung-nu had these prior to the Chinese use of them. Of course it has not been proven that
the Hsiung-nu or the Chinese did indeed Invent the stirrup, but my money rides on the Steppe
nomads. In any event , close examinativn of the following art objects will show conclusively. that.
stirrups can be dated to the Later Han Dynasty , if not before.
The clearest relief showing stirrups utilized D} Ha'l Chinese cavalry can be seen from the Wu liang-
t'zu shrines, specifically, Battle on the Bridge. This is dated 147-168 A.D. , and can be seen quite
clearly in Half the World, Arnold Toynbee. editor, on pages 272- 273. The cavalrymen on the
extreme right and left will be seen to be using stirrups.
A funerary rubbing from I-nan, ShanttJOg Provlnte, In the Hsiao-t'ang Shan style can be seen in
Sickman and Soper' s Art and Architecture of Chma, on page 78 (plate 46). This is dated to the Later
Han (25- 221 A.D.) but is not as clear as Battle un the Bridge. A transparency of thIS plate when
enlarged indeed does show stirrups worn by the fi rst or upper register cavalrymen.
A fresco from the Pei-yuan tomb from liao-yang in southern Manchuria, again dated to the Later
Han can be found in Wilma Fai rbanks' Adventures In Retrieval on page 96. Stirrups are again evident
on this fresco.
While researching this topic, I came upon a gold plaque classified as Sarmatian, from the State
Hermitage Museum in leningrad. Thi s can be seen in Phillips' The Royal Hordes on page 95, plate 106.
This is dated to the 4th or 3rd century B.C. , and certainly the horse's trappings seem to include short
stirrups. If these are sti rrups. then the hypothesis that the Chinese inherited the sti rrup from their
nomadic neighbors circa the 4th-3rd centuries B.C. is not invalid. In any case, the Han Chinese did
use the st irrup from at least the Later Han period.
As stated in the introducti on, the intention of this work is to foster further research into the ancient
Oriental art of warfare. If any readers are genuinely interested in such research, I will be more than
happy to provide de ri vations fo r statements appearing in this work and any assistance I can offer. I
would ask, in these days of economic inflation. that such correspondence be accompanied by a self.
addressed envelope with two international reply coupons.
Correspondence should be addressed to:
John P. Greer
5233 Til den Avenue Apt. 14
Van Nuys, Cal ifornia 91401
U.S.A.