The rattan shield was used by the militaries of China and Korea since the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

and the

Joseon dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

, respectively. The Chinese general

Qi Jiguang Qi Jiguang (, November 12, 1528 – January 17, 1588), courtesy name Yuanjing, art names Nantang and Mengzhu, posthumous name Wuyi, was a Chinese military general and writer of the Ming dynasty. He is best known for leading the defense on the ...

described its use in his book, the ''

Jixiao Xinshu The ''Jixiao Xinshu'' () or ''New Treatise on Military Efficiency'' is a military manual written during the 1560s and 1580s by the Ming dynasty general Qi Jiguang. Its primary significance is in advocating for a combined arms approach to ...

'', which was reproduced in the Korean ''

Muyejebo The ''Muyejebo'' (''Compendium of Several Martial Arts'') is the oldest extant Korean martial arts manual, written during the reign of King Seonjo (d. 1608). The king died before the compendium was complete, and it was first published, with ...

'' that contains the first Korean account of the shield.

Use

In the classic Korean martial art manuals the use of the rattan shield, or ''deungpae'', is explained in combination with both the spear and the sword. Often a soldier would hold the deungpae and sword in the dominant hand, while holding a spear in his other hand. The spear would be thrown at the opponent, after which the soldier would attack with his sword. A soldier with a

nangseon The ''langxian'' was a branched, multi-tipped spear with blades attached to the branches. The blades could be dipped in poison. The ''langxian'' was a weapon well suited for defense, as it would be difficult for an opponent to assault the wielder ...

would back up the soldier fighting with deungpae and sword. They would be part of the so-called Mandarin duck formation (鴛鴦陣) which was invented by the Chinese general

and is described in his book, the ''

''. Shield specialists trained in how to advance and retreat but were not allowed to retreat in combat situation because their withdrawal would leave their whole squad exposed, leading to its possible collapse. The military of the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

employed Rattan Shieldmen (Teng Pai Shou - 藤牌手) on the battlefield equipped with a rattan shield,

dao Dao, Dão or DAO may refer to: * Tao (Chinese: "The Way" 道), a philosophical concept * Dao (Chinese sword) (刀), a type of Chinese sword * Dao (Naga sword), a weapon and a tool of Naga people People and language * Yao people, a minority ethni ...

, and javelin (Biao Qiang - 鏢鎗). Jixiao Xinshu, 戚繼光 The Rattan Teng Pai was a common shield type employed by the armies of the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

as it is cheap, light, flexible, and durable, greatly outperforming comparable wooden shields. As rattan has no wood grain, it does not split. However, rattan does not grow in the climate of Northern China, so troops equipped from that region bore Yuan Pai (圓牌, 'Round shield'), made of willow wicker and covered with leather or rawhide. The average size of a Ming period rattan shield was roughly the same size as a small

Viking shield Knowledge about military technology of the Viking Age (late 8th to mid-11th century Europe) is based on relatively sparse archaeological finds, pictorial representation, and to some extent on the accounts in the Norse sagas and laws recorded in t ...

and rarely featured metal bosses (although exceptions do exist), unlike similar shields in Tibet and Southeast Asia. Naval Infantry trained in the use of the Rattan shield and Swords (Tengpaiying) 藤牌营 were used by Qing forces against Russian forces in the

siege of Albazin The siege of Albazin was a military conflict between the Tsardom of Russia and Qing dynasty, Qing China from 1685 to 1686. It ultimately ended in the surrender of Albazin to Qing China and Russian abandonment of the Amur River area in return for ...

in the 1680s. These specialists did not suffer a single casualty when they defeated and cut down Russian forces traveling by raft, only using the rattan shields and swords while fighting naked.

Thereupon arquis Linordered all our marines to take off their clothes and jump into the water. Each wore a rattan shield on his head and held a huge sword in his hand. Thus they swam forward. The Russians were so frightened that they all shouted: 'Behold, the big-capped Tartars!' Since our marines were in the water, they could not use their firearms. Our sailors wore rattan shields to protect their heads so that enemy bullets and arrows could not pierce them. Our marines used long swords to cut the enemy's ankles. The Russians fell into the river, most of them either killed or wounded. The rest fled and escaped. inHsing-chu had not lost a single marine when he returned to take part in besieging the city.

The above text was written by Yang Hai-Chai who was related to Marquis Lin, a participant in the war.

Use

References

See also