IWTB a chinese warrior of the han dynasty 206BC–220AD

[Zhang Yin]

I want to be a chinese warrior from the han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD).
I want an idea of the types and looks of armor, weapons, and clothing.

[Clinker]

Get an Osprey book. It will set you on the right path. http://www.amazon.com/Imperial-Chinese- ... 89&sr=1-2h.

[Norman]

Osprey books are dangerous.
Especialy on the Chinese. I remember looking at a late period one with a Chinese friend.
He noticed that the "officers" in the reconstruction art would have been sumarily executed for wearing presumptious colors and images (specific sorts of dragons)
He also noticed that the coats were overlapped backwards ("barbarian" style)

Basicaly, unless you can back up the reconstruction painting in some other manner, ignore them. Look at the "more boring" photos of actual artifacts.

Its a little early for me to give much input -
Is this the period of the Terracotta warriors??

[David Blackmane]

The terracotta warriors are circa 210 BC, so I'd think that anything depicted on one of them would still be around, and pretty prevelent in the early Han dynasty.

[Token Bastard]

So thanks to rekindled interest in Romance of the Three Kingdoms (fall of the Han Dynasty, 184-280 AD, and pretty much the time period that got me into history in the first place), I've decided to make a sort of "secret" side-project of a later Han Dynasty officer. Just utilizing simple Google-fu, I've found a few odds and ends that are helpful. However, I'm still lacking in a number of areas, specifically clothing. The traditional clothing of choice was the hanfu, and I have found a few places online that sell traditional hanfu, but I'm more interested in seeing if there are any patterns available anywhere. Also, Han Chinese hats are a bit... challenging. I can't seem to find a source anywhere for anything remotely close to Han Dynasty wear. Does anyone have any clothing sources for Later Han Dynasty clothing, either sources I can pick up at Amazon or any online sources?

-Ed

[FrankManic]

Han Chinese hats are the best part! Nothing says "I'm important' like gluing en entire peacock to your head and enamelling it. I'm considering the merits of light weight veggie leather, wax, and some good paint in making bases for complicated hats.

[foglia12]

come !!! be Tan dynasty warrior is best !!!!!! u can check their armor !!!

[foglia12]

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this is golden one

[foglia12]

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and this is wat i order,(model is not me, still consider and change the helm & shoulder style )

[nkante]

That armor is awesome! I have been wanting to see a Chinese warrior in the SCA for a long time.

[David Blackmane]

I cut out a bunch of what was termed a Han period lamellar plate, although I never got around to punching holes in them. I mocked up a cardstock portion of about twenty and it looked real spiff. I'd really like to finish it of in the next few years....



I got the image from Duke Cariadocs site years ago.

[Yagyu Tametomo]

That armor is awesome! I have been wanting to see a Chinese warrior in the SCA for a long time.

Sir Li Guang Ming in Outlands has a great light weight kit that is inspired by that style of armor. I'll see if I can dig up some pictures of him...

[foglia12]

Li Guang Ming? .......e ..who?!

[Dan Howard]

Most Han lamellar was probably still being made from hide rather than metal, just like previously. The style is still pretty similar to that depicted on the Terra Cotta warriors but develops into more familiar types of lamellar during that period. The Han period is also when they start using iron lamellae rather than bronze.

[Andeerz]

Mmmmm... I would love to see if someone still makes the kind of bronze they made back then for such purposes. It was pretty awesome stuff if I recall, also pretty darned corrosion resistant depending on the composition!

[liguangming]

The golden suit is much more dramatic bordering on farcical when it comes to historic armor for "Chinese". The second suit is also very dramatic but has several historical elements carried over from Tang style armor. The collar and chest plate are quite nice.

Armor for the "Chinese" varies greatly depending on region and nationality. Lamellar and quilted silks are documented extremely early on and the majority of changes are just a riff on the same theme. The decor and coloring changed almost on the whims of those in charge. Historical digs and documentation unfortunately must pass through Chinese government criteria and we get some outlandish bullshit because of it.

Li Guang Ming

[Liu Kuaici]

For weapons, the Pudao and Darndao would be fairly common for swordsmen. Spear, of course, or the Ge (Dagger axe) which would most likely be the pike/halberd carried by Lu Bu.
Unfortunately, there's no verified record of the Guandao as we know it existing until much later.
As a Zhang, spear would suit your family very well. ;>

All my searching has led to records of shields being made of woven reed in that period, a sort of shallow conical round with a large face, torso sized or larger that were fitted with both straps, and a centergrip.

Lamellar would be common, even for helms... for SCA folk, that latter point does us little good. Something of a spangen construction with a high conical crown is often shown in more recent depictions of Han armour, but I've seen nothing concrete, myself. For the body, either bronze or iron would be appropriate.

I'd like to site and share what decent resources I have, but all that is on another computer right now. Temporarily inaccessible.

There are some noted problems with researching anything Chinese, namely, modern China. As Li-Xiannan pointed out. Much of their history, if not lost for good, will be locked away, obscured, or altered for public consumption until the political system of China is changed.

It's a challenge, to be sure, but in the end we can only work with what we have.