~h6 Apmi6s anel En6mi6s of Anci6nt Ghina Chinese, Hsiung.nu, Kushan Indian, Bactrian, Ferghani",l, Sogdian, Korean , Tu Chueh, Tokharian, Kuchan, Islamic, Tibetan, Nepalese, Khitan, Qara·Khitan, Jurchen, Seljuk Turk, Mongolian , Japanese, Mountain Tribes, Vietnamese, Burmese. 102~ B.G.-1286 A.D. b~ 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 Da vid Court, who spent many hours proofreading my manuscript and who gave this work continuity. THE ARMIES AND ENEMlES OF ANClENT CHINA TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION Pages A. Pronuncialion Key 4 B. Chronological Table 4,5 C. Map of China and the Eastern World 0, 7, 8 n. BRIEf HISTORY, ORGANIZATION, TACTI CS AND TRAINING 11Ia l A. Chinese Armies 9 Lna, B. Enemies of China 24 ook land k III. MAJOR BATTLES OF THE PERIOD 51 IV. WEAPONS AND UNIFORMS A. Chinese Soldiers 61 B. Enemy Warriors 78 v. BIBLIOGRAPHY 117 VI. APPENDICES Copyright © john P. Greer and Wargames Research Group. 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 re cord of the Chinese military systems, with a view to on ly these systems, seg regated 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. Wh en dealing with the ancient world and it's military systems, the mili ta ry 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 sid e 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 reports, 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. This 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 Wa r, 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 .-\ \'ery interesting work is Rome and Chinn by F.1. TeggarL This describes the illterrelationships .;f (WO great empires, and how one's actions ultimately affected the other. The great Chinese ; to C3J11pa igns again 51 the Hsiung-nu resulted in the barbarian invasions of the west , the creation of the od Turks. Tartars. Huns, and Mongols, the destruction of the Indian Empire (via the Ku shan), and the fill of Parthia and Persia. the Truly excellent works on the Mongols and their empire are offered by, of cOlITse. lhe primary initial logical SoHJ rce. TIl e Rook of Ser Marco Polo, in Iwo volumes, translated by Colonel Yule; H, Howorth's five Didier .,Iume History of the Mongols; and nle Rise of Chinghis Khan and His Conquest of No rthern China by H . .Martin provide two additional valunblc sources. trate I should note that many of the ancient accounts of battles have not been named. I have had to >ared ;:<signate names for them to aid in reference. When possible, I have allocated the loc. tion of the Is 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 nationality of the ,. Lr.ID.S.latu r 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 lYe "'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 peo ples of the .w ~ern world. Many unique characteristics have surfaced in my research, but the study of ancient IS aslern warfare is still in it's infancy. If this work can spark any interest or research into this field , 'po ten I will consid er my efforts as fruitful. JPC th of \,breh, 1975. Los Angeles, California n Ie )rs of is my ling " sty h 3 PRONUNCIATION OF CHINESE NAMES The following is provided as a gu ide fo r the pronunciat ion of the Ch in ese names in th is book. h is basica ll y a modification of the Wade·G il es system. and I am indebted to Dr. J. Trabold for it's use in this work. Vowel Equivalents <I as in FA the r ie as in SIE sta ai as in Ai sle ieh as in YEA ao as in LOUd iu as in adIEU e as in bEt as in the Fre nch j Goie) c as in Err 0 as in Or eil as in sAY ou as in OWE ei as in fEI nt 1I as in fl Ut e en as in mEN (i as in the French 1I (une) en as in ruN ua i as in WIGht erh as in ERR uei as in WEIght as in mach ine ung as in DO ng ia as in YA rn Aspirates eh as in Jerk p asin Back eh ' as in CH irp p' as in Pack k as in Go as in Dab k' as in Ki ng t' as in Tab Other Sounds hs as in huSH hu i as in WHe y shih as in CHI va lry ssu as in aCE hU3. huo equa ls hwa or hwo IZlI as in aDZE sSLi as in Sir CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE CHINESE DYNASTIES The Chou Dynasty ( 1027 - 22 1 B. C.) Western Chou 1027 - 77 1 B.C. Eas tern Choll 771 - 22 1 B.C. " Spring and Autumn Annals" 722 - 480 B.C. "The Warri ng Sta tes" 480 - 22 1 B.C. The Ch'in Dynasty (221 - 206 B.C.) The Han Dynasty (206 B.C - 220 A.D.) Weste rn Han 20 6 B.C. - 23 A.D. Eastern Han 25 - 220 A.D. The Three Kingdoms and Six Dynasties (Northern and Southern Dynas ties) (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 co ll 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 960 - 1 117 A.D. Southern Sung 1127 - 1179 A.D. The Chin Dynasty ( 1115 - 1234 A.D .) Northern China (The l urchen) The YUan Dynasty (1260 - 1368 A.D.) Mongolian rule 5 () o , I ,, - --- ---\ I ', .