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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 warfare using five types of infantry and two type of support. Qi Jiguang separated infantry into five separate categories: firearms, swordsmen, archers with fire arrows, ordinary archers, and spearmen. He split support crews into horse archers and artillery units. The ''Jixiao Xinshu'' is also one of the earliest-existing East Asian texts to address the relevance of Chinese martial arts with respect to military training and warfare. Several contemporary martial arts styles of Qi's era are mentioned in the book, including the staff method of the Shaolin temple. Background In the late 16th century the military of the Ming dynasty was in poor condition. As the Mongol forces of Altan Khan raided the northern frontier, China's coastline fell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secret Formation
Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controversial, depending on the content or nature of the secret, the group or people keeping the secret, and the motivation for secrecy. Secrecy by government entities is often decried as excessive or in promotion of poor operation; excessive revelation of information on individuals can conflict with virtues of privacy and confidentiality. It is often contrasted with social transparency. Secrecy can exist in a number of different ways: encoding or encryption (where mathematical and technical strategies are used to hide messages), true secrecy (where restrictions are put upon those who take part of the message, such as through government security classification) and obfuscation, where secrets are hidden in plain sight behind complex idiosyncra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volley Fire
Volley fire, as a military tactic, is (in its simplest form) the concept of having soldiers shoot in the same direction en masse. In practice, it often consists of having a line of soldiers all discharge their weapons simultaneously at the enemy forces on command, known as "firing a volley", followed by more lines of soldiers repeating the same maneuver in turns. This is usually to compensate for the inaccuracy, slow rate of fire (as many early ranged weapons took a long time and much effort to reload), limited effective range and stopping power of individual weapons, which often requires a massed saturation attack to be effective. The volley fire, specifically the musketry volley technique (also known as the countermarch), requires lines of soldiers to step to the front, fire on command and then march back into a column to reload, while the next row repeats the same process. The term "volley" came from Middle French ', substantivation of the verb ', which in turns came from L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wubei Zhi
The ''Wubei Zhi'' (; ''Treatise on Armament Technology'' or ''Records of Armaments and Military Provisions''), also commonly known by its Japanese translated name Bubishi, is a military book in Chinese history. It was compiled in 1621 by Mao Yuanyi (茅元儀 ''Máo Yuányí''; 1594–1640?), an officer of waterborne troops in the Ming Dynasty. The ''Wubei Zhi'' contains 240 volumes, 10,405 pages, and more than 200,000 Chinese characters. Structure ''Wubei Zhi'' consists of five sections, "Bing Jue Ping", "Zhan Lue Kao", "Zhen Lian Zhi", "Jun Zi Sheng", and "Zhan Du Zai". *"Bing Jue Ping" (Commentary on Military Formulae) Containing 18 chapters, this section includes military theories from significant figures including but not limited to Sun Tzu. Some of these theories back to the last years of Eastern Zhou Dynasty, more than 1,800 years before the editor. *"Zhan Lue Kao" (Consideration of Tactics) This section consists of 31 chapters, and describes more than 600 specific ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Huolongjing
The ''Huolongjing'' (; Wade-Giles: ''Huo Lung Ching''; rendered in English as ''Fire Drake Manual'' or ''Fire Dragon Manual''), also known as ''Huoqitu'' (“Firearm Illustrations”), is a Chinese military treatise compiled and edited by Jiao Yu and Liu Bowen of the early Ming dynasty (1368–1683) during the 14th-century. The ''Huolongjing'' is primarily based on the text known as ''Huolong Shenqi Tufa'' (''Illustrations of Divine Fire Dragon Engines''), which no longer exists. History The ''Huolongjings intended function was to serve as a guide to "fire weapons" involving gunpowder during the 1280s to 1350s. The ''Huolongjing'' provides information on various gunpowder compositions and weapons. Some formulas mentioned are given names such as "divine gunpowder", "poison gunpowder", and "blinding and burning gunpowder". The weapons described include bombs, fire arrows, rockets, land mines, naval mines, fire lances, hand cannons, and cannons mounted on wheeled carriages. Alth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compendium
A compendium (plural: compendia or compendiums) is a comprehensive collection of information and analysis pertaining to a body of knowledge. A compendium may concisely summarize a larger work. In most cases, the body of knowledge will concern a specific field of human interest or endeavour (for example: hydrogeology, logology, ichthyology, phytosociology or myrmecology), while a general encyclopedia can be referred to as a ''compendium of all human knowledge''. The word ''compendium'' arrives from the Latin word ''compendere'', meaning "to weigh together or balance". The 21st century has seen the rise of democratized, online compendia in various fields. Meaning, etymology and definitions The Latin prefix 'con-' is used in compound words to suggest, 'a being or bringing together of many objects' and also suggests striving for completeness with perfection. And ''compenso'' means balance, poise, weigh, offset. The entry on the word 'compendious' in the '' Online Etymology Dictiona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wujing Zongyao
The ''Wujing Zongyao'' (), sometimes rendered in English as the ''Complete Essentials for the Military Classics'', is a Chinese military compendium written from around 1040 to 1044. The book was compiled during the Northern Song dynasty by Zeng Gongliang (曾公亮), Ding Du (丁度) and Yang Weide (楊惟德), whose writing influenced many later Chinese military writers. The compendium was published under the auspices of Emperor Renzong of Song, who also authored the book's preface. The book covers a wide range of subjects, including everything from naval warships to different types of catapults. It contains the earliest known written chemical formulas for gunpowder, made from saltpeter, sulphur and charcoal along with many added ingredients. In addition to formulas for gunpowder, the compendium also contains details on various other gunpowder weapons such as fire arrows, incendiary bombs and projectiles, and grenades and smoke bombs. It also describes an early form of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yamamoto Kansuke (general)
was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen". Also known by his formal name, Haruyuki (晴幸). He was a brilliant strategist, and is particularly known for his plan which led to success in the fourth battle of Kawanakajima against Uesugi Kenshin. However, Kansuke never lived to see his plan succeed; thinking it to have failed, he charged headlong into the enemy ranks, dying in battle. Biography Kansuke's origins are not known for certain, but he is believed to have originated from Ushikubo, a town in Mikawa Province, which was then under the suzerainty of the Imagawa clan. He came to Kai and began to serve Takeda Shingen in 1543, receiving a position as an infantry commander (''ashigaru-taishō'' 足軽大将). Legend says that Kansuke was blind in one eye and lame, but a fierce warrior and military strategist nevertheless. In various works of art, he is depicted holding a naginata as a support for h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 the addition of material from Japanese martial arts, in 1610. History As the Imjin War dragged on for years, Korea needed a way to effectively and efficiently train a large number of troops, and the Korean military adopted a training methodology based on a Ming dynasty Chinese military manual called the ''Jixiao Xinshu'' (Hangul: 기효신서, Hanja: 紀效新書), written by the famed Chinese general, Qi Jiguang (戚继光). The book was of particular interest to Koreans, as it was written by a Chinese commander who had successfully defeated a major Japanese pirate force that had landed along the Southeast coast of China mere decades before the Imjin War began. Korean officials created their own version of the military training manual, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Invasions Of Korea (1592–1598)
The Japanese invasions of Korea of 1592–1598 involved two separate yet linked invasions: an initial invasion in 1592 (), a brief truce in 1596, and a second invasion in 1597 (). The conflict ended in 1598 with the withdrawal of Japanese forcesTurnbull, Stephen. Samurai Invasions of Korea 1592–1598, p. 85 from the Korean Peninsula after a military stalemateHistory of the Ming chapter 322 Japan "前後七載 (For seven years)，喪師數十萬 (Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed)，糜餉數百萬 (Millions of cost of war was spent)，中朝與朝鮮迄無勝算 (There were no chances of victory in China and Korea)，至關白死兵禍始休。 (By Hideyoshi's death ended the war.)" in Korea's southern provinces. The invasions were launched by [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yu Dayou
Yu Dayou (1503–1579), courtesy name Zhifu, art name Xujiang, was a Chinese general and martial artist best known for countering the ''wokou'' pirates along China's southeastern coast during the reign of the Jiajing Emperor in the Ming dynasty. Life Yu Dayou was born in present-day Heshi Village, Fujian, but his ancestral home was in present-day Huoqiu County, Lu'an, Anhui. He sat for the military version of the imperial examination in 1535 and obtained the position of a ' (武進士; successful candidate). He was awarded the title of a ' (千戶; lord over 1,000 households) and appointed as a guard in the imperial palace. In 1555, Yu Dayou, along with the Zhuang noblewoman, Wa Shi, led Ming forces to attack the ''wokou'' pirates who were raiding near Jiaxing, Zhejiang and defeated about 2,000 of them. In the following year, he was promoted to garrison commander () of Zhejiang and was ordered to eliminate the ''wokou'' threat. He led Ming forces to attack the ''wokou'' base ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tao Yin
Daoyin is a series of cognitive body and mind unity exercises practiced as a form of Taoist neigong, meditation and mindfulness to cultivate '' jing'' (essence) and direct and refine '' qi'', the internal energy of the body according to Traditional Chinese medicine. These exercises are often divided into yin positions, lying and sitting, and yang positions, standing and moving. The practice of daoyin was a precursor of qigong, and was practised in Chinese Taoist monasteries for health and spiritual cultivation. Daoyin is also said to be a primary formative ingredient in the well-known " soft styles" of the Chinese martial arts Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to comm ..., of Taiji quan. and middle road styles like Wuxingheqidao. The main goal of ''daoyin'' is to create ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daoist
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Tao'' (, 'Thoroughfare'); the ''Tao'' is generally defined as the source of everything and the ultimate principle underlying reality. The ''Tao Te Ching'', a book containing teachings attributed to Laozi (), together with the later writings of Zhuangzi, are both widely considered the keystone works of Taoism. Taoism teaches about the various disciplines for achieving perfection through self-cultivation. This can be done through the use of Taoist techniques and by becoming one with the unplanned rhythms of the all, called "the way" or "Tao". Taoist ethics vary depending on the particular school, but in general tend to emphasize ''wu wei'' (action without intention), naturalness, simplicity, spontaneity and the Three Treasures: , compassion, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
