Examination of the armour of the red helmeted generals of the three-thousand battalion of the capital training divisions in the Ming dynasty
The red helmet generals were one of the Ming imperial bodyguards,belonging to the three-thousand battalion of the capital training divisions.This paper examined the form,crafts-manship,matching method and production cost of the armor worn by the generals on the basis of historical documents,together with real objects and images.The findings show that the red hel-met general wears red helmet and blue brigandine.Red helmets are made of iron or leather,the surface are red lacquer,and the front of the forehead is a gold"brave".Blue brigandine is made of cotton and iron,and the rectangular plate of armor were fastened to the inside of the cotton cloth with rivets.Cotton cloth made from blue-dyed fine and coarse fabrics.Furthermore,the steel rectangular plates of blue brigandine is made from cold forging.Rivets coated with tin pow-der are soldered to the steel rectangular plates using sealing wax or tin as solder paste.The paper examines the armor of the red helmet generals from the perspective of dress,with reference to the military equipment system and visual aesthetic style of the Ming dynasty.
red helmeted generalred helmetblue brigandineMing dynastymilitary apparelcorslet
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