It my pleasure to review another from the house of Linjo , this time its a Chinese subject namely a Qing Dynasty Guard.
As usual lets have a bit of a background to set the scene :
Qing Dynasty was from 1655 to 1911 .
The Manchu people of Manchuria, in northeast China, conquered the Ming dynasty in the mid -16th century and founded the Qing dynasty. The Manchus ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911.
The Manchu military used the banner system, an organizational structure first developed by Nurhaci, a Manchu chieftain who conquered the northeastern province of Liaoning and laid the groundwork for the conquest of China by his descendants.
These first three Banners, named the "Higher Banners" constituted the Imperial Guard. The Guard included 1,250 "Life Guards" whose primary job was to protect the imperial family and palace officials, 15,000 sentries who were posted along the walls and 10,000 elite soldiers to man the gates and provide escorts for the emperor and imperial officials who needed to journey outside the palace complex.
The men who served in the Imperial Guard were almost exclusively Manchu although there were some Mongols as well. Each banner was further divided into companies of 150 to 300 men.
These first three Banners, named the "Higher Banners" were composed of the Imperial Guard. The Guard included 1,250 "Life Guards" whose primary job was to protect the imperial family and palace officials, 15,000 sentries posted along the walls and 10,000 elite soldiers to man the gates and provide escorts for the emperor and imperial officials who needed to journey outside the palace complex.
Each soldier wore a steel helmet topped by a lance-like crest sometimes with a red tassel. The head, ears and neck were covered with a hood made of textile with steel nails and plates. The jacket and over-trousers were made of similar fabric also studded with nails and plates. The waist-length jacket bore a steel disk on the chest. The over-trousers went down to mid-calf. Cavalrymen wore boots made of thick black textile with felt soles. Each panoply was dyed the official color of the particular banner unit.
Officers' uniforms were similar in shape but made of higher quality textiles with blue or purple embroidery. Their helmet, made of polished steel inlaid with gold designs, and a crest higher than those of common soldiers.
Each soldier was armed with a lance, a longbow, a sword and, in later years, a rifle. Cavalrymen carried a wide-bladed sabre.
Four musical instruments were in use in the Chinese army these being the LO, trumpets, drums and conch. The LO is a kind of huge gong, a 1m diameter bronze flat cup, hanged on a pole carried by two musicians. It is hit with a wooden hammer and the resulting sound is quite high-pitched. It is used to stop the march and the charge, as it can be heard from a long distance (such a gong have been used in the native band of Tirailleurs of the French Army, at least in 1913).
The drums, made of wood or bronze, are used to march and charge. Trumpets, of two kinds with a one octave difference, are made of hammered copper. Their weight is around 4 kg.
As for the conch, large horn with the shape, and often made of, a shell, they are used to signal the retreat. Every military quarter has such a conch, to be used as a loud-speaker".
The soldiers were paid half in silver (6 Chinese ounces or 225g for a cavalryman, 4 ounces or 150g for an infantryman) and half in rice. The horse of a cavalryman was supplied by the state and was alloted 2 measures of beans per day.
For your interest heere we have some pictures of Qing armour and weapons.
Quite a warrior I am sure you will agree.
Continued in next post:
Nap
As usual lets have a bit of a background to set the scene :
Qing Dynasty was from 1655 to 1911 .
The Manchu people of Manchuria, in northeast China, conquered the Ming dynasty in the mid -16th century and founded the Qing dynasty. The Manchus ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911.
The Manchu military used the banner system, an organizational structure first developed by Nurhaci, a Manchu chieftain who conquered the northeastern province of Liaoning and laid the groundwork for the conquest of China by his descendants.
These first three Banners, named the "Higher Banners" constituted the Imperial Guard. The Guard included 1,250 "Life Guards" whose primary job was to protect the imperial family and palace officials, 15,000 sentries who were posted along the walls and 10,000 elite soldiers to man the gates and provide escorts for the emperor and imperial officials who needed to journey outside the palace complex.
The men who served in the Imperial Guard were almost exclusively Manchu although there were some Mongols as well. Each banner was further divided into companies of 150 to 300 men.
These first three Banners, named the "Higher Banners" were composed of the Imperial Guard. The Guard included 1,250 "Life Guards" whose primary job was to protect the imperial family and palace officials, 15,000 sentries posted along the walls and 10,000 elite soldiers to man the gates and provide escorts for the emperor and imperial officials who needed to journey outside the palace complex.
Each soldier wore a steel helmet topped by a lance-like crest sometimes with a red tassel. The head, ears and neck were covered with a hood made of textile with steel nails and plates. The jacket and over-trousers were made of similar fabric also studded with nails and plates. The waist-length jacket bore a steel disk on the chest. The over-trousers went down to mid-calf. Cavalrymen wore boots made of thick black textile with felt soles. Each panoply was dyed the official color of the particular banner unit.
Officers' uniforms were similar in shape but made of higher quality textiles with blue or purple embroidery. Their helmet, made of polished steel inlaid with gold designs, and a crest higher than those of common soldiers.
Each soldier was armed with a lance, a longbow, a sword and, in later years, a rifle. Cavalrymen carried a wide-bladed sabre.
Four musical instruments were in use in the Chinese army these being the LO, trumpets, drums and conch. The LO is a kind of huge gong, a 1m diameter bronze flat cup, hanged on a pole carried by two musicians. It is hit with a wooden hammer and the resulting sound is quite high-pitched. It is used to stop the march and the charge, as it can be heard from a long distance (such a gong have been used in the native band of Tirailleurs of the French Army, at least in 1913).
The drums, made of wood or bronze, are used to march and charge. Trumpets, of two kinds with a one octave difference, are made of hammered copper. Their weight is around 4 kg.
As for the conch, large horn with the shape, and often made of, a shell, they are used to signal the retreat. Every military quarter has such a conch, to be used as a loud-speaker".
The soldiers were paid half in silver (6 Chinese ounces or 225g for a cavalryman, 4 ounces or 150g for an infantryman) and half in rice. The horse of a cavalryman was supplied by the state and was alloted 2 measures of beans per day.
For your interest heere we have some pictures of Qing armour and weapons.
Quite a warrior I am sure you will agree.
Continued in next post:
Nap
