Pick of The Week! July 13th!

This week's Pick of the Week is actually a two-fer,  involving two proposals, my own and "nycjadie's" related proposal for Ming Chinese Armoured Cavalry (me) and Ming Chinese Infantry ("nycjadie"):

Armoured Cavalry:  http://wargamesfactory.lefora.com/2009/01/02/ming-chinese-armoured-cavalry/page1/

Ming Chinese Infantry:   http://wargamesfactory.lefora.com/2008/12/15/ming-chinese/page1/

Both of these proposals have been stuck at a measly 12% apiece since they were made public.  As a Military Historian, I find this state of affairs appalling to say the least!  But then again, what we know here in the West about the Ming Chinese of the 16th Century is desperately limited until very recently due to the language barrier, and a lack of available materials in English. 

Only within the past decade has any serious amount of material on Chinese armies in general begun to trickle into the English language, mostly published by Osprey, with a few extras turning up here and there, and on the internet thanks to such wonderful and handy fora as ChinaHistoryForum.com.

So why the Ming Dynasty Chinese of the 16th Century for the 28mm wargaming enthusiast?  

There are several reasons, very compelling IMHO, for this neglected army to take the field in miniature, and those reasons break down as follows:

1) Besides fighting various rebellious Chinese populations, the Ming Chinese clashed with the Jurchens, the Manchus, Japanese "wako" pirates, and Mongols along China's Northern frontier, and most significantly for wargamers IMHO, the Ming Chinese fought against the ever-popular *Samurai* of the armies of Toyotomi Hideyoshi during the Imjin War of 1592-98, and as often as not, *won* the battle!

Ming troops were often recklessly brave according to contemporary accounts, relying on superior numbers and massed frontal charges led by generals surrounded by elite bodyguards often sworn to die with their commander rather than fail to battle through to victory. Despite sometimes appalling losses, even the Japanese chroniclers of the Imjin War confirm that the Ming troops would upon being repulsed with heavy losses from volleys of arquebus fire, fall back and reform, and try again and again to carry the Japanese defenses, even climbing over mounds of their own dead to storm the walls of a Japanese fortress, or force their way through a storm of arquebus fire to get to grips with their Japanese opponents in vicious hand-to-hand combat.

They were also colourful, nearly as colourful in uniform and equipment as their Japanese opponents:

The pudao, Kwando, and Tiger Fork along with single and double-edged swords would be common weapons used by Ming footsoldiers. Tasseled spears were more commonly available melee weapons for most footsoldiers and cavalry alike, while the kwando was apparently favored by officers and cavalry. All were quite lethal in trained hands, as the deeds of the real Luo Shangzhi from Zhejiang Province during the storming of the Japanese defenses at P'yongyang, wielding his apparently substantial Kwando like an enraged ancient Chinese wargod, slashing down his Japanese opponents without mercy.

2) Like their Korean allies during the Imjin War, while the Ming Chinese lacked the more sophisticated arquebus of their Japanese opponents, they had a whole arsenal of handguns and exotic artillery they brought to the party:

The performance of the Korean "hwacha" was akin to the various Ming multiple rocket launchers depicted above:

3) Given the sheer size of Ming armies, rendering them in 28mm plastic would be a natural solution; a sprue of two cavalry or four infantry with multiple weapon options would enable gamers to field impressive Ming Dynasty hordes to crush the enemies of the Son of Heaven!  Artillery would be a natural follow-on for these proposals, as the Ming were masters of siegecraft in their day, and deployed several hundred cannon during the Imjin War, including in set-piece battles as well as sieges. 

4) 28mm scale Ming Chinese troops would make for an exotic stand-in for fantasy human armies.  That the Ming had such a colorful and diverse arsenal would only enhance their adaptability to fantasy subjects, whether as palace guards for a renegade wizard, or a full army to battle the barbaric hordes of orcs and goblins swarming across the frontier of furthest Cathay.

It is for these reasons that IMHO the two proposals for 28mm Ming Chinese should not be allowed to die, but should be supported by our community to full production.

The Ming Chinese of the 16th Century are IMHO an excellent and colorful subject to say the least, and would make a superb addition to the collections of historical and fantasy gamers alike.

Leland R. Erickson