Auxiliary armours of Qing brigandine (Patreon)

Like Japanese armour, Chinese armour has its own share of auxiliary armours, although these are generally much less known than their samurai counterparts. In this article, I will explore various auxiliary armours of Qing brigandine, as due to their relatively short history there are more information and surviving pieces available.

Auxiliary armour to cover weaknesses in main harness

The main harness of a basic Qing brigandine is actually pretty bare-bones, consisting of only a helmet, an armoured coat, an armoured skirt, a pair of pauldrons, as well as associated standard issue armour attachments. Likely designed for cost-effectiveness and ease of mass manufacturing, Qing brigandine generally protects only the barest of vitals, thus necessitating some forms of auxiliary armours for additional protection.

Armguards or pauldrons with armoured sleeves/vambraces

Perhaps the most obvious shortcoming of basic Qing brigandine is its relative deficiency in limb protection, so naturally arm protection was one of the most common auxiliary armours worn together with the main harness, falling just short of being standard issue. Qing-era arm armours came in all sort of variations depending on time period, ranging from Ming-style plated armguards, to pauldrons with plated vambraces, to pauldrons with brigandine or jazerant vambraces, to full-length brigandine sleeves and many more.

Unlike Japanese kote (籠手) that tend to be some combination of splints, plates and mail, Qing armguards generally provide more consistent protection across the entire length of the arm, as well as better (but not complete) protection to wrist and inner arm. The vambrace can also be tied to the underside of the pauldron, allowing both to be worn or detached as one item, while also preventing pauldron from flailing uncontrollably during intense arm movement.

Armoured boots

In stark contrast to the near-ubiquitous use of arm protection, information about lower leg and foot protection is scant, with the only example of Qing-era lower leg armour being a pair of armoured boots in the possession of National Museum of Mongolia (shown below). It appears that for whatever reason lower leg armour was either not very popular or being phased out early.

This particular pair of armoured boots are the only known surviving pair of their kind. Mistakenly labeled as "Mongolian" boots by the museum, in all likelihood they actually belonged to a Mongolian bannerman (an ethnic Mongol soldier of the Qing army), and were part of the standard issue military gear supplied from a Qing armoury.

Standard issue armour attachment

While I included these armour attachments for completeness sake, they are actually integral parts of the main harness, and thus not considered "auxiliary". In fact, a suit of Qing brigandine will be considered incomplete without these attachments.

Underarm protectors

Underarm protectors, known as Zhe Wo (遮窩, lit. 'Armpit cover'), are used to protect the vulnerable armholes of the armoured coat. Unlike Japanese wakibiki (脇曵), Qing underarm protectors are roughly V-shaped rather than U-shaped, in order to provide some coverage to the side seams where front and back halves of the armoured coat are joined together.

Armour attachments

A typical Qing brigandine comes with two pieces of squarish armour attachments: the larger central piece, known as Da He Bao (大荷包, lit. 'Big purse'), and the smaller left piece, known as Xiao He Bao (小荷包, lit. 'Small purse'), both meant to cover the seams of the armoured coat. Right side of the armour isn't protected by armour attachment to make mounting a horse easier.

Although not immediately obvious from outward appearance, poor-quality Qing brigandines, especially those manufactured in a rush (such as during wartime), may also have a significant gap around lower abdomen due to reduced numbers of metal plates. These armours also rely on armour attachments to provide some meager of protection to the vulnerable area.

Vulnerable gap is not an issue for standard and high-end Qing brigandines as these have significantly higher numbers of metal plates underneath. Nevertheless, as Qing brigandine is still a loose-fitting garment with fabric surface secured by buttons and straps, there is always a risk of something coming loose causing a gap to appear, especially during or after intense grappling/wrestling, so armour attachments are still necessary as additional fastening.

Aventail and throat protector

A typical Qing helmet comes with a three-piece aventail (two ear flaps and a neck guard) as well as a throat protector that wraps around the neck. This configuration provides very good coverage to the temples, back of the head, and neck, while allows full range of movement for the head.

Auxiliary armour to further enhance protection

Mitten gauntlets

Though extremely rare, some Qing brigandines do incorporate proper gauntlets in place of the more traditional vambraces to better protect the fingers. Pictured example above is of jazerant construction, and is part of an incomplete set of Qing brigandine missing both pauldrons, both armour attachments, one of the underarm protectors, and one gauntlet. It is currently displayed (along with the rest of the armour) in People's Revolution Military Museum in China.

Secondary armoured skirt

Secondary armoured skirt is longer and more slender than primary armoured skirt (although shorter knee-length version also exists), and incorporates large metal knee guards and two extra rows of exposed metal plates to protect the lower legs. Appearing almost trousers-like, It can be worn on its own or underneath the primary skirt.

Brigandine leg harness

A rare type of four-piece brigandine leg harness (consists of left thigh piece, right thigh piece, left shin piece and right shin piece) can also be worn in lieu of armoured skirt for enhanced protection to the legs. Unlike standard armoured skirt, this leg harness actually provides ample protection to the buttocks and back of the legs.

The only surviving example of this type of leg harness (that I know of) is in the possession of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Recently Cathay Armory also created a faithful reproduction of the armour.

Mirror armour

Mirror armour, or Hu Xin Jing (護心鏡, lit. 'Heart-protecting mirror'), was easily the most common auxiliary armour after arm protection. Chinese mirror armour usually comes in the form of a polished metal disc, and is usually worn in a set of two: a chest mirror worn at the front to protect the sternum (and the heart positioned directly behind it), and a back mirror worn at the back to protect the thoracic spine.

While chest and back mirrors were the most common, some also attached extra mirrors to their pauldrons, armoured skirts, and even underarm protectors.

Enlarged underarm protectors and armour attachments

Underarm protectors and armour attachments of high-end Qing brigandine are often enlarged, some even to the point of nearly covering entire flank or abdomen of its wearer.

Additional armour attachments

Though exceptionally rare, some Qing brigandines do come with right and/or back armour attachments in addition to the existing pieces.

Secondary chest and flank armour

Secondary chest and flank armour are three pieces of rectangular brigandine sheets that can be attached to the main harness independently, or buttoned together to form a second breastplate of sort.

Gorget

High-end Qing brigandine may also include a separate brigandine gorget to protect the neck. It is worn under the primary throat protector.

Qing brigandine: the complete set

A suit of high-end Qing brigandine with a complete set of auxiliary armours is extremely protective, with full coverage to entire body except the face, doubled protection to the neck, torso, and legs, and even TRIPLED protection to some locations such as sternum (mirror armour + secondary chest armour + armoured coat) and ribs (underarm protectors + secondary flank armours + armoured coat).

While underappreciated compared to other Chinese armours with more striking looks such as the iconic Qin armour or Song/Jin heavy lamellar, Qing brigandine can nevertheless claim the title of the most protective iteration of Chinese armour, and possibly the most protective armour in this part of the world during its days.