Moro shield

[Philip]

Thanks, Nick, for the illustrations from the Muye Dobo Tongji. Interesting to see the saber shown next to the shield. This set of illustrations parallels the entry in the Chinese compendium of court regalia and military equipment regulations, HUANGCHAO LIQI TUSHI of 1759. In the hilt weapons chapter there are two entries with woodcuts, one of the shield used by the Tengpai (rattan shield) Division [pages 21a,b], and one of the saber (piandao) issued to same unit [pp 23a,b]. The shield has the same conical center profile as the one in the 1790 Korean book cited in the first sentence above, the only significant difference appears to be that the Chinese one has Mr. Tiger snarling at you from the front side.

Note also the saber. In the Korean manual, it is depicted with a strongly curved blade, not the norm for the usual Korean sabers we encounter on the antiques market or in martial arts videos today. In the HCLQTS, the "piandao" is also deeply curved, more so than the liuyedao or yanmaodao that are commonly encountered. Also note the name, "piandao" means "slicing saber" , implying that it is mainly meant for the drawcut.

We see parallels in India and the Near East, with both the strongly-curved sabers in use there (talwar, shamshir, kilij, etc) and the almost universal coupling of saber AND shield in their martial arts techniques.