Manchu Imperial Guard's Parade Uniform
The Manchu people of Manchuria, in northeast China, conquered the Ming dynasty in the mid -16th century and founded the Qing dynasty. The Manchus ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911.
The Manchu military used the banner system, an organizational structure first developed by Nurhaci, a Manchu chieftain who conquered the northeastern province of Liaoning and laid the groundwork for the conquest of China by his descendants.
These first three Banners, named the "Higher Banners" constituted the Imperial Guard. The Guard included 1,250 "Life Guards" whose primary job was to protect the imperial family and palace officials, 15,000 sentries who were posted along the walls and 10,000 elite soldiers to man the gates and provide escorts for the emperor and imperial officials who needed to journey outside the palace complex.
The men who served in the Imperial Guard were almost exclusively Manchu although there were some Mongols as well. Each banner was further divided into companies of 150 to 300 men.
These first three Banners, named the "Higher Banners" were composed of the Imperial Guard. The Guard included 1,250 "Life Guards" whose primary job was to protect the imperial family and palace officials, 15,000 sentries posted along the walls and 10,000 elite soldiers to man the gates and provide escorts for the emperor and imperial officials who needed to journey outside the palace complex.
Each soldier wore a steel helmet topped by a lance-like crest with a red tassel. The head, ears and neck were covered with a hood made of textile with steel nails and plates. The jacket and over-trousers were made of similar fabric also studded with nails and plates. The waist-length jacket bore a steel disk on the chest. The over-trousers went down to mid-calf. Cavalrymen wore boots made of thick black textile with felt soles. Each panoply was dyed the official color of the particular banner unit.
Officers' uniforms were similar in shape but made of higher quality textiles with blue or purple embroidery. Their helmet, made of polished steel inlaid with gold designs, haf a crest higher than those of common soldiers.
Each soldier was armed with a lance, a longbow, a sword and, in later years, a rifle. Cavalrymen carried a wide-bladed saber.
"Four musical instruments were in use in the Chinese army : the LO, trumpets, drums and conch. The LO is a kind of huge gong, a 1m diameter bronze flat cup, hanged on a pole carried by two musicians. It is hit with a wooden hammer and the resulting sound is quite high-pitched. It is used to stop the march and the charge, as it can be heard from a long distance (such a gong have been used in the native band of Annamite Tirailleurs of the French Army, at least in 1913).
The drums, made of wood or bronze, are used to march and charge. Trumpets, of two kinds with a one octave difference, are made of hammered copper. Their weight is around 4 kg. As for the conch, large horn with the shape, and often made of, a shell, they are used to signal the retreat. Every military quarter has such a conch, to be used as a loud-speaker". - The Army of the Qing Dynasty before its reorganization by Lionel Gaurier.
The soldiers were paid half in silver (6 Chinese ounces or 225g for a cavalryman, 4 ounces or 150g for an infantryman) and half in rice. The horse of a cavalryman was supplied by the state and was alloted 2 measures of beans per day.
Although the Imperial Guard were housed within the Forbidden City, average Manchu soldiers lived in military cities that were kept separate from the civilian population. Soldiers were allowed to marry and each man and his family were provided with a house with a small enclosed yard and garden. Children attended schools operated by the military. Officers were provided with larger homes according to their rank.
Promotions were awarded based on tests of strength and marksmanship.
Horsemen were expected to gallop three times along a 200m field and shoot three targets with a longbow: A drum roll announced each hit. Infantry candidates for promotion were expected to shoot six targets at a range of 100 meters with a longbow. They were also expected to be able to bend a longbow that required at least 40 to 50 kg of strength, then lift huge stones and heavy hammers. Mental cultivation was required as well. Candidates were expected to study Sun Tze Bing Fa, or the Art of War, written at the end of the 6th Century B.C. by Sun Tze, and Thirty-Six Stratagems, thought to have been derived from the Dai Gong Yin Mu San Shi Liu Yong, the Thirty-Six Applications of the Strategies of Dai Gong, cited in the Annals of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).
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