『吊各提督統領班回思明，選練征勦。迨至，集諸將議曰：『先年護國嶺殺敗阿格商所拾衣甲，全身披掛是鐵；所以敢下馬打死仗者，恃有此耳。其如我兵精勇何？今我亦用此披掛...
2025-03-23 13:28:51 +0000 UTC View Post
This list is meant to be a companion reading for my Classical oared warships of pre-modern Chinese navies article for my supporter-tier patrons, with the hope th...
2024-12-31 08:48:28 +0000 UTC View Post
Lian Zhu Pao (連珠砲, lit. 'Rapid bead cannon') and Yu Gu Pao (漁皷砲, lit. 'Fisherman's drum cannon') were two types of lightweight cannons commonly used by ...
2024-12-02 16:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post
Hui Ping (灰瓶, lit. 'Ash bottle') and Yan Guan (煙罐, lit. 'Smoke jar') were two oft-overlooked Ming less-lethal weapons commonly used in siege defence and naval warfare. As their namesakes suggest, Hui Ping was a ceramic bottle filled with quickli...
2024-11-16 16:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Hu Wei Chong (虎尾銃, lit. 'Tiger tail gun'), also known as Hu Wei Pao (虎尾砲, lit. 'Tiger tail cannon'), was a common but very obscure Ming cannon first introduced around 1560s. So named after the long wooden handle attached to its breech, Hu We...
2024-11-12 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
When I was writing about infantry formations of the Imjin War, I got curious: did these two military formations ever meet in Korea? This leads me down to a rabbit hole to s...
2024-10-30 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post
For the most part, the appearance and designs of Chinese oared warships is still a matter of debate and conjecture, as to date no Chinese oared warship of any kind had been found. Information about Chinese oared warships had to be gleaned from studying written records, crude woodblock prints...
2024-09-30 04:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
When people think of pre-modern naval warfare in China and to a lesser extend East Asia, most think of imposing tower ships raining arrows and stones against the opposing fleet, or masses of fire ships turning the sea into a raging inferno à la 2024-09-18 01:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
It is generally accepted that the Chinese adopted brigandine armour due to Mongol influence, although curiously this seems to have only happened after the fall of Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty. To elaborate, there are scant few records that...
2024-07-30 16:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Pai Gan (拍竿, lit. 'Swatting pole') was an ancient Chinese weapon fitted to various warships to pulverise enemy ship at close range. Said to be able to outright sink a ship in one tremendous downward smash, it was in many ways an omni-directional alternative to 2024-07-29 02:17:06 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: This short article is taken from a deleted portion of my blog post about Xuan Feng Pao (旋風砲) as I find it too speculative and possibly erroneous...
2024-07-26 08:37:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Since my movie review for Noryang: Deadly Sea is public, whereas my additiona...
2024-07-17 16:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post
I am not done yet!
There are simply too many inaccuracies in the film for me to point them out one by one, so I will only point out some of the more glaring ones,...
2024-06-28 05:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
About time eh?
Since the Blu-ray only just came out recently and I'd like to strike while the iron is still hot and put the review out as fast as possible, this article will follow the format of my Battle of Jiksan article, that is, an update-as-I-write approach to this article, which will ...
2024-05-30 16:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post
In the previous months I've covered some Jia Jing Da Wo Kou (嘉靖大倭寇) topics, namely 2024-05-22 05:35:51 +0000 UTC View Post
As promised, this post contains additional contents, contexts, and trivias for my Battle of Jiksan article that are either too lengthy/jumbled to be included in the main article, or something that may be interesting to know about, presented in numbered point format and best read as a companion ar...
2024-05-06 08:44:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Note to supporters: I wrote this article with the primary aim to provide a more comprehensive recounting of Battle of Jiksan than what is currently available on the English-speaking internet (and presumably to debunk some myths). Thus unlike my other Patreon supporter conten...
2024-03-29 02:58:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: This is an outdated version of my article about rocket carts of the Ming Dynasty, kept here for archival purpose. The up-to-date version of the article can be found in my blog.
Ever since the founding of Ming Dynasty, the Chinese had been an avid user of ro...
2024-03-13 16:00:21 +0000 UTC View Post
Fei Long Hua Dao (飛龍化刀, lit. 'Flying dragon turning into knives') is a highly unusual and viciously designed—if not terribly effective—rocket. Recorded in famous Ming military treatise
Qian Dan Yi Wo Feng is a portable anti-personnel cannon that entered Ming arsenal in the early to mid-sixteenth century. For...
2024-01-31 16:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Tian Bing Jian (天兵箭, lit. 'Heavenly soldier arrow') is perhaps one of the most ingenious weapons ever devised before the modern era. It is essentially a huge 2024-01-02 04:36:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Qiang Chong (鎗銃, lit. 'Gun spear') is, as its name suggests, a combination of a spear and a gun. It consists of a two chi long gun barrel mounted on a five chi long spear shaft, with two five cun long spearheads (or possibly one spearhead forged in ...
2023-12-29 16:29:29 +0000 UTC View Post
Du Huo Fei Pao (毒火飛砲, lit. 'Poisonous fire flying cannon') is a bombard-launched explosive shell that is launched from Wan Kou Pao (碗口砲, lit. 'Bowl-muzzle cannon'), an ordinary stone-throwing bronze bombard already in widespread use since the founding of Ming D...
2023-12-29 01:59:32 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: This is an outdated version of my article about Ming period archery equipment, kept here for archival purpose. Current version of the same article can be read 2023-12-12 03:25:24 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: This is an outdated version of my article about Di Yong Qiang, kept here for archival purpose. Current version of the same article can be read here.
<... 2023-11-16 05:27:54 +0000 UTC View Post
The reluctance of various garrisons in North China to adopt matchlock gun on a large scale, criticism by general Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光) rega...
2023-11-15 00:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: This is an outdated version of my article about Wei Yuan Pao, kept here for archival purpose. Current version of the same article can be read here.
<... 2023-11-10 02:23:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Di Lei Lian Pao is a small volley gun that consists of ten small cannons brazed to a solid iron stock in a fan ...
2023-11-08 10:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Note: This is an outdated version of my article about Huo Qiang, kept here for archival purpose. Current version of the same article can be read here.
The ...
2023-11-08 09:49:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Several months ago I explored the story of Zhang Lian (張璉), self-appointed Flying Dragon Emperor, which provides us a rare and interesting case study of a Chinese-led rebellion during 2023-10-14 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post