from Hacker News

Jianruiying, the Special Forces of the Qing Dynasty

by vanderburgt on 3/23/20, 11:39 AM with 28 comments

  • by hangonhn on 3/24/20, 5:16 PM

    BTW the portraits near the end were painted by a Jesuit priest in the court of Qianlong named Giuseppe Castiglione.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Castiglione_(Jesuit_p...

    His works is a blending of both European and Chinese techniques.

  • by ilamont on 3/24/20, 6:11 PM

    What was expected to become a quick and decisive victory for the otherwise highly effective Qing army, ended in a stalemate.

    This was a constant theme throughout Chinese dynastic history -- leaders at the provincial or national level underestimating the military capabilities of tribal peoples/"barbarians," rebels, and smaller tributary states. The preceding Ming dynasty is littered with similar examples involving Japanese-led pirate bands on the coast and tribal groups to the north and west. The 15th-century Zhengtong Emperor decided to take part in crushing one border flare-up with the Mongols, and was even captured. The dynasty itself was ended by Manchu invaders in the mid-1600s.

    I don't believe the Ming ever trained a distinct/elite group of special forces as described in TFA, but innovative and effective generals were sometimes given special commands and employed new modes of training and tactics but using regular conscripted forces. The aforementioned Japanese-led pirates raiding the coast were vanquished in this way.

    I recommend 1587, A Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty in Decline by Ray Huang (a historian and former military officer) for anyone who is interested in this topic.

  • by 7thaccount on 3/24/20, 4:22 PM

    I always find certain weapons like the hook sword shown at the bottom to be interesting as they don't show up in other cultures, although the straight sword is pretty much available across the globe. Did it excel in some manner for the threats in China that were less relevant elsewhere? Maybe better armor in the west would have made it less relevant?

  • by g8oz on 3/24/20, 5:18 PM

    The article says the emperor compared his soldiers to the Solon cavalry. Does anyone know who/what that refers to? A quick Google search did not turn up anything.