In the Qin dynasty, the rectangular nail plate of nail binding became smaller and smaller, and it was more flexible. At the same time, there are also negative threads and positive threads in knitting technology. Yin line and Yang line are not terms, but only in terms of surface features.
Male threads have always been used under the chest and sleeves of the Eastern Zhou Jia Jia, which is suitable for parts that need to be moved, such as arms and waist. Characterized in that a long longitudinal rope section is arranged between the nail plates. With the production of the chest and back of nail binding, the Yinxian line becomes more delicate. Its characteristic is that only a few extremely short rope segments are exposed on the surface of the nail plate, and the nail plate is completely fixed up and down, left and right, which is suitable for parts such as the chest and back that do not need to move.
At this point, the norms of nail pattern, negative line and positive line have basically taken shape, and then China A will develop along this road.
In the Western Han Dynasty, when the steel-making industry was developed, the real armor gradually replaced the leather armor, and at the same time, the real armor was divided into exquisite scales and ordinary armor. Scales are the result of the peak of armor binding. The whole set of armor can use more than 2200 pieces, stacked together like fish scales. Considering the level of steelmaking at that time, there is no doubt that only prominent people can wear it. In fact, the fish scales in the Western Han Dynasty are excellent even compared with the later armor, because under the premise that everyone knows how to make steel, the decisive force of the quality of armor lies only in labor. Scales have never been popularized in past dynasties, and thick or thin armor has always been the standard armor for foot soldiers to resist cold weapons.
Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is an important turning point in the development of A-body. The sleeve armor, dimethyl armor and bright armor appeared one after another, which supplemented the soothing movement between the late Han Dynasty, Sui and Tang Dynasties. The encouragement of war almost magically improved the quality of armor. It is said that Zhuge Liang's sleeve armor can resist strong crossbow shooting with a pulling force of nearly 670 kilograms. I really don't know who can start this crossbow. Since no one can open it, why set the index so high? This legend is debatable, but at least it reflects the importance attached to the quality of real armor at that time.
During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when riding was at its peak, the arrow and cavalry armor surpassed each other, and the war horse as the hostage of the arrow had to be put on heavy armor, which led to the birth of China heavy cavalry before Europe in 900. Leather armor for chariots and horses during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period may be regarded as the earliest armor, but until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the design of armor was not completed, and only with armor can it be called complete armor. If there is something flashy in the armor, it may be high parasitism on the horse's ass. It seems that it is only suitable to show the high morale of the troops when they go out or triumph.
The most famous armor in Sui and Tang Dynasties was Ming Guang Jia. Its bulletproof vest consists of four bottom plates, two on the chest and two on the back, and each bottom plate has a big round guard plate. Inferred from the name of Mingguang, the round guard should be high-quality steel, and the bottom plate is probably leather armor. Although this design is suspected of saving trouble, Ming Guangjia in Sui and Tang Dynasties changed the bad habit of cutting corners in the previous dynasty, and incorporated arm guards and leg extensions into the basic elements of A-type, which had an important impact on later generations.
In the late Tang Dynasty, the armor of Ming Dynasty declined, and the whole armor was replaced by miscellaneous armor. After five dynasties of war, a mature system was formed again in the Song Dynasty. In Song Dynasty, armor was usually divided into three parts: armor, armguard and bulletproof vest. The bulletproof vest is in the shape of a mountain, which combines bulletproof vest and leggings and is tied on the shoulders, back and waist. A is divided into iron, leather and paper according to materials.
The invention of paper armor originated in the late Tang Dynasty and became one of the standard armor styles of the army in the Song and Ming Dynasties. There was a record of customizing 30,000 sets. It is probably the earliest Kevlar armor in the world, presumably made of thick corrugated paper, and structural mechanics should be used to enhance protection. Judging from the records used in the south, paper armor seems to have certain moisture-proof ability. The best one is light and sturdy, so it is no wonder that there is a record that a local official applied to exchange 100 sets of armor for 50 sets of high-quality paper armor. History began to turn in the14th century. At this time, a big white armor weighing 30 kilograms gradually appeared in Europe. In China, the armored weight reached a record high of 28.5 kilograms in the Ming Dynasty, and it was because of the development of firearms that it was converted to portability. Armored forces should have moved in a solid direction long ago. Even the white armor made of Damascus steel can be easily penetrated by a steel arrow from a crossbow with a tension of more than 40 kg at a distance of 100 m. China's armor development is more realistic than Europe's, because of the people's war. The unconventional protection of cold weapons is often done with only a few sets of armor. This pragmatic spirit will resolutely make heavy armor withdraw from the historical stage in the firearms era. The Ming Dynasty was an era in which the status of light armor alternated, and the Qing Dynasty was an era in which light armor was carried forward. During the Three Kingdoms period, chain mail was introduced from the western regions, and was able to guard against distant arrows. Since the Ming Dynasty, it has become the main armor at this time. The Eight Banners soldiers wearing high tassels, the wide cotton armor with nails in their tops and the net armor with interlocking iron rings are all symbols of martial arts in the Qing court. The decline of armor is inevitable. Excluding the great increase in the power of firearms, when even light armor becomes a burden, the new military uniform does not look so weak.
The function of shield is to consume or deflect lethality and serve as an auxiliary weapon. Due to the weight problem, the shields of past dynasties were mainly made of rattan, wood or leather. Because the surfaces of wooden and leather shields need to be painted to prevent moisture and decay, exquisite shield surface patterns are produced. Before the Western Han Dynasty, the styles of shields were almost rectangular, which were divided into step shields and car shields. The step shield is long enough to prevent arrows and maintain formation, while the car shield is short and narrow enough to be used in the car. The biggest threat to protection is the thorn, which is powerful enough to gather hundreds of kilograms of pressure at the attack point, which is beyond the reach of the sword. Therefore, since the Warring States period, the double-arc square shield used in melee has become popular, and the convex shape of the longitudinal center line is beneficial to decompose the force of the thorn.
With the rise of cavalry, elliptic shields appeared in the Western Han Dynasty, and cavalry could resist attacks with one hand holding the shield. This style was abandoned in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and after being picked up by the Song Dynasty, it became a round side card, which was tied on the left forearm of the cavalry to prevent arrows. At the same time, after the development of Han and Wei dynasties, a kind of long hexagonal shield began to prevail in the Eastern Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties. This is an improved version of the double-arc square shield. The whole shield surface bends longitudinally, just like a leaf.
When fighting, you can not only hold it with your hands, but also insert the sharp corner at the bottom into the ground and support it with a stick. After removing the sharp corner at the bottom, this style became a side card for infantry in the Song Dynasty. When the shield was introduced into the Song Dynasty, it lacked downward interest, and the rest of the development was nothing more than a slight change in appearance, with no sense of progress.
Components:
Earlier bronze armor appeared in Asia. Around 2600 BC, bronze armor appeared in the two river basins, China in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties and India in the Vedic era. Assyrians in the Middle East were the first to use armor in large quantities. In the process of popularization of armor, there are also supporting armor to protect specific parts, such as neck armor, face armor, wrist armor, breastplate, gloves and so on.
[Sun visor]
The front of the helmet is used to prevent cold weapons from attacking the soldier's face. Face armor was used in ancient and medieval times. The visor is closely connected with the helmet, and some of them are movable. Made of iron or steel, in the form of whole tiles or scales. The visor of the French cylindrical helmet is an extension of the front wall of the helmet. It has two eyelets and 1-2 nostrils. The ancient Russian helmet actually had no visor, only a narrow arrow-shaped metal piece hanging in the center of the face. Ancient Russian soldiers also wore spherical helmets; Sometimes this helmet is equipped with chain mail shoulder pads, which can cover the back of the head, neck, shoulders and face when put down.
[neck nail]
Accessories for protective gear. It was used in ancient and medieval times to protect rabbits with swollen bones in soldiers' heads, necks, shoulders and the back of shoulders from cold weapons. In the collar armor, the neck armor is locked and round, and the side of the military helmet hangs over the shoulders. In the blade armor, the neck armor is composed of a whole iron plate or several metal plates connected by a ring rope. In the medieval seamless knight armor, the neck armor is the main component of protective equipment. The neck armor connects the blade armor, shoulder strap and helmet, and is made according to the body shape and warrior figure. Divided into two parts, the left side is connected by a movable hinge, and the stone surface is connected by a hidden racket.
The popularity of ancient armor in China evolved with the change of dynasties.
Armor is the general name of protective equipment for all parts of the head and trunk in the era of cold weapons. It has many names, but it is basically divided into two parts: helmet to protect the head and armor to protect the body. A can be divided into clothes, skirts, sleeves and accessories. In the early days, people used wicker with animal skin, cloth with filling materials, wood and so on. Fix them on the trunk to protect them from weapons. With the development of production technology, leather armor, rattan armor and bronze cast armor gradually appeared. Plate armor made of a whole piece of metal, chain mail woven with metal and so on. Earlier bronze armor appeared in Asia. Around 2600 BC, bronze armor appeared in the two river basins, China in the Yin and Zhou Dynasties and India in the Vedic era. Assyrians in the Middle East were the first to use armor in large quantities. In the process of popularization of armor, there are also supporting armor to protect specific parts, such as neck armor, face armor, wrist armor, breastplate, gloves and so on. Some Asian countries in feudal times and Europe in the Middle Ages paid great attention to the production of armor, which was extremely perfect, exquisite and expensive, and armor made of gold, silver and rare leather appeared. With the wide use of modern firearms, the protective effect of ancient armor stubble on the battlefield gradually decreased, and it was finally replaced by bulletproof vests and helmets made by modern technology.
Let's talk about China's armor first.
Armor appeared in China around the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. A, also known as armor, "explain the name and release the soldiers":' armor or armor. Armor, if strong, is Wei's armor. Generation after generation of armored armor, often different materials, different shapes. In the Han dynasty, armour was called xuanjia, which was different from golden armour and bronze armour. In the Han dynasty, the army generally avoided armored equipment when applying. Fish scales in the tomb of Liu Sheng, King Jing of Shenshan Mountain in Mancheng, Hebei Province. It weighs about 16 people and weighs 5 kilograms. It is decorated with 2859 pieces of armor. According to the determination, the iron plate was forged into a plate by ironmaking, and then annealed and decarburized, which had toughness. The wearer's torso and debris are surrounded by armor, which is bell-shaped like a half-sleeved shirt. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Xian's cheese-beating line was called carving light armor as a mirror. The shape of armor is similar to that of clothing, and it is named beautiful. It consists of breastplate and carapace. There are large mirror-like metal rings on the chest and back of the bright armor. There were various types of armor in the Tang Dynasty. According to the Six Classics of Tang Dynasty, there are thirteen kinds of armor: bright armor, scale armor, mountain armor, black hammer armor, white cloth armor, soap silk armor, cloth back armor, infantry armor, leather armor, wooden armor, chain armor and vest, which are mainly used by foot cavalry. After the Song Dynasty, although firearms appeared, armor was still an important protective equipment. In the Song Dynasty, several kinds of mirror armor appeared, such as steel chain mail, black lacquer Linshui Mountain Spring Armor, Bright Fine Mesh Armor, Mingju Armor and Buren Armor. Song Dynasty History Saw: A set of mirror armor in Song Dynasty weighs 45 kg to 50 kg and has 25 nail blades. Manufacturing time 120 working days, and the cost is three and a half. In the Ming Dynasty, the compliance of mirror armor was reduced to 40 kg to 25 kg, mostly iron valve armor and chain mail. The armor equipped in the early Qing Dynasty inherited the craft tradition of the Ming Dynasty. It also absorbed the advantages of nail making technology of various nationalities, and the armor protection ability and external decoration were improved. Therefore, the Fu Museum preserved the royal armor of the Qing emperor, including bronze helmets and protective equipment. It consists of eight parts: bra, shirt, breast protector, bronze mirror, skirt and boots. The armor is lined with steel sheets, and the Ming-ha sheet, the border and the robe edge are closely decorated with copper stars. It is an ordinary warrior armor and is made into waistcoats and horseshoe sleeves. This shirt is embroidered with steel stars. At the end of Qing Dynasty, we trained new troops, changed western military uniforms and abolished real armor.
Cotton nail
Nails made of textiles. Mainly used in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and ancient Persia. Made of cotton, linen, woven and other materials, it consists of nail body, nail sleeve, nail skirt, forearm, calf sheath and other accessories. The nail surface may be stained with color, and there are large copper-iron foam nails. Cotton armor is light and soft, and the clothes are wide. It can move more freely in battle than armored armor, and it can also resist the shooting of primary firearms when it is wet. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Qing Dynasty trained the' new army' and used new firearms, but cotton armor was no longer used with other armor.
helmet
China helmet. Zhou, after the Warring States period, was called helmet after the Song Dynasty. The earliest legend of China was created by Zao You. People make helmets out of horns and rattan skins. At present, the earliest bronze week unearthed is the Shang Dynasty bronze week, all of which are made of bronze and decorated with animal patterns. Bronze helmet, also known as helmet, was used in ancient times to prevent the head from being protected. It is shaped like a hat, which can protect the top of the head, face and neck at the same time. It was popular in Shang and Zhou Dynasties. The bronze Zhou Dynasty was also cast as a whole model, with the left and two sides extending downward to form ear protectors, and some peripheral broadband protruded a round foam nail of lamb chops. The unearthed Zhou Zhou is simple in shape. During the Warring States period, there appeared a pocket mirror with iron mouth, which was made of layers of armor plates. From then on to the Song Dynasty, helmets were generally cast with a whole model, or a piece of armor, or a combination of the two. In the Ming dynasty, the husband's helmet generally inherited the Song system and improved it. In the Ming dynasty, the imperial army used helmets with locks. The iron bowl is like a hat, and the lower edge is equipped with a lock net. The helmet is eight inches high and the mesh is about a foot long. The mesh ring is very thin. Soldiers' iron helmets are simple in shape, with little decoration, high iron bowls and wide shoulders. The whole helmet is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, and looks like a minaret. Iron helmets used by officers are engraved with dragon and tiger patterns, and some are inlaid with gold and silver. There are rewards on the helmets and tassels can be inserted. After firearms are widely used, the shape of iron helmets tends to be light. After the mid-Qing dynasty, armor became an ornament for etiquette and proofreading, and was rarely used in actual combat. In the late Qing Dynasty, western helmets were introduced into China and became the general protective equipment for infantry. A pimp made it. Armor is painted, and the leather is mainly rhinoceros skin, charm skin, turtle skin and buffalo hide. Almost every soldier is equipped with armor, and some horses also have armor. At the turn of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, after the appearance of iron weapons, leather armor could not resist the attack of sharp weapons and gradually gave way to iron armor, but for thousands of years, leather armor was still used as personal protective gear.
Mirror armor
Protective armor to protect a breach. Shaped like a shirt, the secret is to sew some belts or thin metal sheets on the leather coat. Sometimes the armor is covered with velvet and decorated with pressed patterns and carved patterns.
Chain Vest
Ancient protective equipment to protect the body. Generally, iron is forged into small pieces, and then the small pieces of iron are connected by chains. They are interlocked to form a garment, which is soft and light to wear. Prevalent in the Tang Dynasty in China.
Leaf nail
A protective device against cold weapons and firearms. At first, use a strong linen or leather coat. With the development of metal, copper sheet, back copper sheet, iron sheet and steel sheet were installed. In ancient times, various ethnic groups in the East had blade armour, which was made of gold and metal, and was later widely used by the Romans. Leaf beetles are divided into leaf beetles and scale insects. After firearms were widely used (since14th century), blade armor became a heavy metal partial armor to protect the trunk and limbs respectively.
Jia Lian
The front of the helmet is used to prevent cold weapons from attacking the soldier's face. Face armor was used in ancient and medieval times. The visor is closely connected with the helmet, and some of them are movable. Made of iron or steel, in the form of whole tiles or scales. The visor of the French cylindrical helmet is an extension of the front wall of the helmet. It has two eyelets and 1-2 nostrils. The ancient Russian helmet actually had no visor, only a narrow arrow-shaped metal piece hanging in the center of the face. Ancient Russian soldiers also wore spherical helmets; Sometimes this helmet is equipped with chain mail shoulder pads, which can cover the back of the head, neck, shoulders and face when put down. .
Neck nail
Accessories for protective gear. It was used in ancient and medieval times to protect rabbits with swollen bones in soldiers' heads, necks, shoulders and the back of shoulders from cold weapons. In the collar armor, the neck armor is locked and round, and the side of the military helmet hangs over the shoulders. In the blade armor, the neck armor is composed of a whole iron plate or several metal plates connected by a ring rope. In the medieval seamless knight armor, the neck armor is the main component of protective equipment. The neck armor connects the blade armor, shoulder strap and helmet, and is made according to the body shape and warrior figure. Divided into two parts, the left side is connected by a movable hinge, and the stone surface is connected by a hidden racket.
cuirass
Shanghai furniture used to protect soldiers' chests and backs from cold weapons and firearms. It consists of two solid curved plates-chest plate and back plate. Ancient breastplates were made of dense felt covered with leather. Later, the iron breastplate appeared. The first half and the second half were connected with a ring racket and a hinge or an iron belt, and the lower half was fastened with a belt. The chest is decorated with embossed patterns or inlaid ornaments, gold-plated or electroplated. It weighs 6- 10 kg and is 1-3.5 mm thick. In the Russian army, the breastplate was equipped with heavy cavalry at 173 1 and stopped for a short time.
China Armor Daily account number China's original armor was leather armor found in the south tomb of Houjiazhuang 1004 in Anyang, Henan. These leathers only have the texture left in the soil after rotting. Its outer diameter is about 40 cm at most. I can see it's an integrated leather nail. It has black, red, white and yellow patterns. These leathers are relics of Shang Dynasty. Except for them, the leather armor obtained from archaeological excavations in the Shang Dynasty to the Warring States Period was cut into pieces first and then made into pieces. A large number of bronze helmets were found in the north entrance of the south entrance of the same tomb. This is also the earliest known helmet in China. They are similar in shape and are all made in Zhu Fan. Its weight is between 2000 and 3000 grams, and its height is generally more than 20 cm. He Fan's seam is just the center line of the helmet. The decorative pattern on the helmet is symmetrically spread around this line. The helmet extends downward except the front to protect the ears and neck. Many of these helmets are decorated with animal faces; Some simply throw out two big eyes; Others only have a round sunflower pattern. All helmets have hollow copper tubes that stand upright to accommodate tassels. The outside of the helmet is polished smoothly, but the inside is still rough. Therefore, soldiers must wear headscarves or padded helmets.
The original armor was like this. Since then, leather armor, as the absolute main force of armor, has protected China soldiers for about 1200 years. General leather armor can take the well-preserved leather armor of Ceng Houyi No.3 Tomb as an example. This armor can be traced back to the early Warring States period. Full armor consists of bulletproof vest, armor skirt and armor sleeve. The bulletproof vest consists of 20 breastplates, back plates, shoulder plates and ribs. The size of the clothes used is relatively large, the largest reaching 26.5 cm, and fixed knitting is adopted. The upper opening of the bulletproof vest is connected with the high collar, the lower edge is connected with the skirt, and the shoulder is connected with the sleeve. The nail skirt consists of four rows of upper and lower nail pieces, and fourteen nail pieces in each row are stacked from left to right in turn, with fixed knitting and vertical knitting. The upper edge of the nail plate used is narrower than the lower edge, and it is roughly trapezoidal with little difference between the upper and lower bottoms. The whole nail skirt is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, which is conducive to activities. The bulletproof vest and skirt are open at one side, and the soldiers wear them and then tie them with ribbons. The two nail sleeves are symmetrical left and right, each of which is woven by thirteen rows of fifty-two nail pieces, and each row is horizontally connected with four nail pieces. Because the nail plate has a certain radian, it forms an open ring after weaving. The width of the good piece decreases from shoulder to shoulder, and the movable braids below are stacked in turn, forming a telescopic sleeve with a big top and a small bottom. Helmets are also made of nail pieces. There is a backbone in the middle, and the downstream vertical edge protects the neck. A total of 18 nail boards were woven. The rest of the armor unearthed in the tomb of Zeng Houyi is roughly the same as this pair of armor, but the local structure is slightly different. For example, some armor skirts have five rows instead of four. These armor, officially called "Chu Jia" and "Wu Jia", may have been obtained from the State of Chu. In addition, there are names such as Tong Jia, Huajia, Qijia and Sujia. All armor surfaces are painted, and most of them are black. Generally speaking, the intact leather armor of the Warring States period is quite beautiful. It can also be seen that these armor are only suitable for soldiers on chariots, because it is inconvenient for people wearing armor skirts to move on the ground. In addition, it is worth mentioning that the leather armor for protecting the horses was actually unearthed in the tomb of Zeng Houyi. The vest itself has been rotten beyond recognition, and only two layers of horse face armor (technically called "horse face curtain") can be peeled off.
The above is the structure of typical leather armor. Since the leather armor is almost the same, I won't say anything else. In short, until the Qin Dynasty, almost all China soldiers were leather helmets.
The bronze helmets that existed as early as the Shang Dynasty still existed in the Western Zhou Dynasty, and then they were drastically reduced to extinction (the bronze helmets unearthed in the northeast during the Western Zhou Dynasty were considered as relics of the East Lake, and later there were also bronze helmets unearthed in Yunnan).
From the14th century to the 3rd century, the world's major civilizations actively improved soldiers' protective equipment. Each has made outstanding contributions. The Egyptians created fish scale armor; The Greeks designed a large area of bronze armor; The iron helmet was invented in western Asia. In contrast, we have to say that China is backward. China is far from the achilles heel of other great civilizations, which has caused this backward situation many times.
Real armor appears.
The real armor is mentioned in Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals. At present, the earliest iron helmet in China, and the only iron protective equipment in the Warring States Period, was unearthed in No.44 Tomb of Yanxiadu, Yixian County, Hebei Province on 1965. Iron swords, halberds and spears were unearthed in the same tomb. They are relics of the late Warring States period. This iron helmet consists of 89 pieces of armor, but now only three pieces are missing, and the whole helmet has been restored. The overall height is 26 cm. The upper part is composed of two semicircular nail pieces to form a circular flat top, and the lower part is mainly composed of circular rectangular nail pieces from top to bottom, with a total of seven layers. The knitting method of nail plate is that the upper layer and the lower layer are overlapped, and the front piece and the back piece are overlapped. Five nails used only for chin protection and forehead protection have special shapes. A deck protrudes downward from the middle of the forehead, which can be understood as the predecessor of the nose guard. The size of each nail varies from place to place, generally about 5 cm high and 4 cm wide. The shape of this helmet is similar to that worn by warriors on bronze mirrors unearthed in Jincun, Luoyang, and similar iron pieces have been unearthed in Yanxiadu 13, 2 1 and 22 sites. It means that this helmet may have more equipment.
The earliest real armor in China belonged to the Western Han Dynasty. "Historical Records Biography of General Wei's title of generals in ancient times" contains: "The title of generals in ancient times was four years, Yuan took office for six years and died for three years. The son of heaven mourned it and belonged to the Xuanjia Army. Chen from Chang 'an to Maoling is like Qilian Mountain. " Ban Gu's Yan Feng Ran Ming: "Xuanjia Lighting, Zhu Qijiang. "In the Han Dynasty," Xuanjia "was often used to refer to real armor-probably because iron was black when it rusted slightly in the air. 1965, more than 2,500 painted warrior figures were unearthed in 10 pit near Zhoubo Tomb. 40% of these soldiers are wearing armor. Although the styles of armor are different, they are all painted black, which symbolizes that the army is wearing armored armor. In addition, the pottery figurines unearthed in Yangjiawan, Xianyang, Shaanxi Province are all covered with black armor, which is considered to be simulated armor, including the shoulder armor of infantry and the shoulder armor of cavalry, and there are scales with fine workmanship. The earliest true nail in China is the ichthyosaur unearthed from Liu Sheng's tomb in Mancheng, Hebei Province. The whole armor consists of 2859 pieces of small armor, with a body, sleeves and vertical edges. Total weight 16.85 kg. Its age is close to that of 1958, when 328 pieces of iron were unearthed in the tomb of the last Western Han Dynasty at No.3023 in the western suburb of Luoyang. 1959, ironclad pieces and armor were excavated at the Erjiazi site in the suburb of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia (in the late period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty); 1959 1 1 month, 36 ironclad pieces were unearthed at the southwest site of Seoul, Chongancheng Village, Fujian Province. 1963, dozens of pieces of armor were unearthed in the ruins of Seoul in the northern part of Wulanbuhe desert in Inner Mongolia, and a large number of armor were also unearthed in Baohaote Tucheng, with more than ten kinds of shape constraints, which were roughly similar to those unearthed in Erzijia. 1977, a large number of iron sheets were found in the first construction site of Chang' an arsenal site; In addition, it is worth noting that in 1977, a set of armor was unearthed from the No.1 tomb of Shuanggudui in Fuyang, Anhui Province. The owner of this tomb may be Ruyin Hou Xiahou Zao in the early Western Han Dynasty. If so, then this is the earliest physical object in China. In a word, there are quite a few kinds of armor unearthed in the Western Han Dynasty.
The shape of armor
The terminology of armor in Han Dynasty is as follows: the neck guard is called "collar" or "forging pin", the arm guard is called "brazing" and the helmet is called "pocket pin". The pin was a kind of cooker at that time. But we just need to know that it looks like a helmet. The armor unearthed in the Western Han Dynasty is equivalent to bulletproof vests, so the analysis of them is limited to bulletproof vests. These armor can be divided into two types and six types:
The first category: nail binding, mainly using a type I and II nail plate, but also using a type II nail plate.
Type I: It only protects the armor on the chest and back. The breastplate and the carapace are connected by a belt at the shoulder, and the belt is only waist long. The appearance is similar to that of women in Ming and Qing Dynasties. The armor worn by Yangjiawan pottery figurines can be seen, among which cavalry figurines belong to this category.
Type II: Besides breastplate and carapace, there are shoulder straps, and the nail plate is smaller than the first type. Most of them belong to type II nail plate. For the specimen, see Yangjiawan pottery infantry figurines. The nail plate at the bottom of the bulletproof vest is located below the waist and is woven by activities.
Type ⅲ: found in the unearthed specimens of Erjiazi. Besides breastplate and carapace, it also has a collar, which is open on the chest and tied with iron buttons. Wear it under your arm without sealing. The lower edge of the bulletproof vest is also hung below the waist.
The making method of real armor is basically based on the traditional leather armor in China, so the shape of this armor is similar to leather armor. Coupled with the anti-rust paint, it is almost difficult to distinguish it from leather armor when it is displayed on pottery figurines. Especially at this time, China leather armor began to imitate real armor and painted black paint. Unless unearthed, it will be difficult to identify. The protective power of this armor is obviously insufficient, but fortunately, the scales of West Asia finally spread to China at this time, so the scales of China appeared. In addition to the Tang Dynasty, there was a short-term trend towards plate armor, and foreign armor was introduced from the west. Until the Ming Dynasty, China's armor was almost all scales.
There are also three scales in the Western Han Dynasty, mainly using the second and third nails, and generally not using the first nail. Their common appearance is that the deck is fine and fish-scale-shaped, hence the name.
Type I: The residual nail unearthed from Erjiazi consists of two types and one type.
Type II: It consists of three types and one type of small nails, and the specimens unearthed from Mancheng No.1 Tomb belong to this type. Also found in Yangjiawan pottery figurines. One of the larger specimens, wearing armor above the belt is a fish scale, but below the belt is a nail.
Type III: It consists of three types of type II nail pieces, as shown in the specimen unearthed from No.3023 tomb in Luoyang.
From the development of armor in the Western Han Dynasty, we can clearly see the historical process of fish scales replacing miscellaneous armor. In the early Western Han Dynasty, the armor was dominated by large armor pieces, and the scale of small and medium armor pieces was very small, represented by Yangjiawan pottery figurines. The only pottery figurine wearing fish scales is taller than other pottery figurines and wears gorgeous boots. Should be an officer, so the protection is better than soldiers wearing Ma Xie. When we arrived in Liang Wudi, the situation changed. Among the 20 nail pieces, only one type of large nail piece was seen. Of the 303 A films, 52 were A films, accounting for17.1%; The third kind of nails 1 1 piece, accounting for about 3.6%; The rest belong to the second type of nail plate. The morphology of heteronychia is mainly one of three types, showing a transition trend from heteronychia to ichthyosis. After the Western Han Dynasty, the sage disappeared completely. Persian technology crowded out the tradition of China.
Metallographic identification results of western Han iron armor plate are as follows: the surface of the plate is ferritic annealed structure, and the carbon in the central part is slightly higher (0. 1-0. 12%), containing layered Fe0-2E0. Silicon dioxide eutectic inclusions. It shows that the material used is block ironmaking. After forging into nail plate, the surface is decarburized after annealing to improve ductility. The nail pieces unearthed in Mancheng, Hebei Province and 20 Jiazi, Inner Mongolia, have similar organizational structures, which shows that the nail-making technology at that time was suitable for mass production. The decision of Liu Che Salt and Iron Company played a great role in the popularization of iron weapons, including armored weapons. From the bronze weapons before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to the iron weapons after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, this change can be described as "sudden change".
The proportion of armored troops in the Western Han Dynasty was about 8% for cavalry and 43% for infantry (according to Yangjiawan pottery figurines). It may be increased after Emperor Wu, but the armor is not necessarily the real armor. In fact, leather armor, as an auxiliary type of armor, remained until the Ming Dynasty. In contrast, in the first 479 years of Platia War, 1 1 10,000 Greek allied forces had 38,700 heavy infantry.