Tang Chinese Boot Camp: Li Jing bingfa (Yun)

[Otagiri Tatsuzou]

I've run into the China History Forum a couple of times now. It is an excellent forum with some outstanding information.

www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showforum=21

[Otagiri Tatsuzou]

Training methods for the Tang armies, as recorded in the Li Jing Bing Fa:

Battlefield Drills

Marching from camp, assemble on the left and right of the training ground with spears and standards tied in bundles. Company by company (50 men each), unroll your standards and form up. Leave 10 paces between each company, and let each company occupy an area of 10 paces - distribute the men in each rank evenly. The support company (zhu dui) occupies the space left over, 20 paces behind the frontmost company.

Once formed up, the ten generals of the various camps will simultaneously report to the commanding general for orders. Every alternate company in the line is designated as a combat company (zhan dui), and advances forward 50 paces. When the first sounding of the trumpet ends, the various companies all stand at ease. When the second sounding ends, the various companies lower their spears and roll up their standards, draw their bows, and unsheathe their swords; at the end of the third sounding, they raise their spears in unison; at the end of the fourth sounding, they kneel down with their spears all pointing forward, and with their eyes look to the big yellow flag at the main headquarters, and with their ears listen for the beating of the drums.

When the yellow flag is waved forward, and the drums are beaten, the companies together shout "wuhu, wuhu", and advance forward to the middle line of the training ground. They engage in combat, charging together with the cry of "sha" (kill). If the enemy retreats in defeat, they can press in 30 paces. When it has been ascertained for observation that the enemy is demoralised and routed, the cavalry then pursue them.

If the sound of the bell is heard, the companies slow down and call out to each other to halt. They draw their spears up and rest them on their shoulders, then turn on one side and stand facing backwards at the direction they came from. After the first sound of the bell, they lower their spears and unroll their standards; after the second sound, they raise their spears; after the third sound, the companies cluster together. If they see two flags being crossed together at the headquarters, this means that 5 companies will form into one battalion of 250 men. Their drills will follow the same order as before. If they see five flags crossed together, this means that 10 companies will form into one battalion of 500 men. Their drills will follow the same order as before.

At the first sound of the trumpet, the battalion of 500 men will split back into two battalions of 250 men. At the second sound, these two battalions will split back into 5 companies of 50 men.

After three rounds of this drill, the training is ended, and the ten generals together receive their commendation or punishment from the commanding general for their respective performance. At the third sound of the trumpet, the companies file out one by one.

In the training of the troops, one must know how to increase and decrease the size of the centre company. On seeing the white and green flags crossed at HQ, the Tiaodang (reserve infantry), vanguard (zhanfeng), and support companies (zhu dui) will each merge 3 companies of those colours [the troops seem to have been colour-coded] into one battalion of 150 men and send it to reinforce the centre company. If there is no further need to merge companies, the battle can begin and drills are followed as before. If further merging is needed, when one sees the red and black flags crossed at the HQ, the 3 battalions will again merge into a larger battalion of 450 men to reinforce the centre. Drills will be observed as before.

After training, to march back to camp, the big battalion will split back into 3 battalions of 150 men upon seeing two flags lowered at HQ, and remain standing. Upon seeing two more flags lowered, the battalions of 150 will further split back into companies of 50, and remain standing. At the first sound of the trumpet, they lower their spears and unroll their standards;; at the second sound, they raise their spears; at the third sound, the companies cluster together for orders to return to camp. If they are to be dismissed, they will hear one more trumpet sound, and they will return to camp in sequence.

Those who do not advance when they should, do not withdraw when they should, do not sit when they should, do not stand up when they should, do not cluster when they should, do not disperse when they should, do not lower spears when they should, do not roll up their standards when they should, do not merge companies when they should, should split off but split into the wrong company, talk loudly, cannot hear the drums, hold their flags in disorderly fashion, and take up the wrong position in the line, will all be punished in accordance with their rank.

This drill system is to be recorded into a book by each of the HQs and taught to the soldiers, and also the flag signalling system.

www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=2966

[Otagiri Tatsuzou]

Flag drills

For training flag signals, select a plain or wilderness, and let the commanding general select a piece of high ground facing south, from which he can survey a great distance. On the left and right of him, each place 12 drums and 12 trumpets.

Set up five-coloured flags on either side, with the 6 big army banners in front and the other miscellaneous flags behind. The camp officers (ya guan) and support companies (zhu dui) assemble on horseback in a crescent moon formation behind the flags.

Ensure that the soldiers down on the plain can see the flags, hear the drums, and pay attention to the commands. Split the generals into left and right wings, and equip their troops on both sides with high-quality blades, armour, and standards. Let the companies mix together, and short-range weapons and long-range weapons mix together. When the troops turn around, back becomes front and front becomes back; when they advance they do not dash, and when they retreat they do not run; they assemble in orthdox fashion but win with unorthodox tactics; they listen to the signals and watch the flags, and merge and divide accordingly.

Then, pass down the orders: when the white flag is raised and the drums are beaten, then left and right will merge together. When the vermillion (bright red) flag is raised and the trumpets are sounded, the left and right split apart. But whether merging or splitting, they do not leave the centre of the plain. The left wing turns in the northward (yang) direction and the right wing turns in the southward (yin) direction, both returning to their original positions. When the white flag is lowered, and the drums beaten, the left and right wings both disperse into the rivers and wilderness like evaporating clouds or startled birds, and yet do not lose their cohesion as units. When the vermillion flag is lowered and the trumpets are sounded, the left and right return to their original positions. Front or rear, left or right, there should be no variation in the distance between individual soldiers.

When dispersing, be vast like the heavens; when assembling, be solid like the earth. In this manner, merge and divide, assemble and disperse three times. For those who do not follow these instructions, their officers and sergeants are to be blamed and must be punished according to regulations.

After that, the commanding general sets up 12 five-coloured flags in front of both the left wing and the right wing. For each flag, 50 strong soldiers are assigned to guard it and 50 strong soldiers are selected to try and capture it. The left wing tries to capture the right wing's flags, and vice versa. When the drums are beaten, the capturing begins, and when the trumpets are sounded, it stops. Those who capture more flags are victors and those who lose more flags are defeated; the victors are rewarded and the defeated are punished.

In this way, the strategy of merging and dividing, the format of assembling and dispersing, the principles of victory and defeat, and the fairness of rewards and punishments, are all taught to the troops.

[Otagiri Tatsuzou]

Formation Drills

For teaching formations, first count the number of the troops, and set up three 'rivers' of soil (tuhe) in the training ground, with the left and right wings facing each other across these three rivers.

Between every 4 companies set up a basin of earth, and behind it place a vanguard company (zhanfeng dui). The first of the 4 companies is the combat company (zhan dui), and the next is chosen as the support company (zhu dui), and so on. According to the number of companies, let there be 2 rows of companies on either wing.

When entering the training ground to take up formations, the first to enter are the 6 big army banners, then the 5 flags for the compass directions (including centre), then the trumpets, then the drums, then the bells, then the signal flags, then the staff officers (bingma shi) for the left and right wings; they will take up position one by one.

One company will be the combat company and the next will be the support company, and they will all take their assignments through signals from the flags for the 5 compass directions.

At one sounding of the trumpet and the raising of the dark green flag, the staff officers and scout commanders (duyu hou) gather; at the raising of the red flag, the commanding general and assistant general gather; at the raising of the black flag, all troops will gather. When instructions have been given to all, they will return to their units. After additional briefings and pep talks by the company officers, the first company on the southern end of both the left and right wings will both send out a flag-bearer to signal to the general that the training can commence. Having announced this, the flag-bearers return to their companies.

When the signal flags (at the general's HQ) come together and one drum beat is sounded, the companies cluster together. When the signal flags come apart and one drum beat is sounded, the companies separate but remain in their original positions. When the signal flags are raised, and the drum is beaten once again, the companies raise their spears and flags together, and shout "ya" in unison. When the signal flags are waved forward, and the drum is beaten once, the companies thrust their spears and flags forward and shout "yu" together, and the crossbowmen in each company move up to the river of soil furthest from them (i.e. just in front of their enemy wing) and take up the posture of drawing their crossbows. At another drumbeat, they load their bolts. At yet another drumbeat, they shout "sha" (kill), and then move back to their company positions.

At another drumbeat, the companies shout "yu", and the bowmen move out to the furthest river of soil and assume the posture of drawing their bows. At another sound of the drum, they shout "sha", and then slash their modao forward together, but they are not to slash their modao out from behind their backs (to avoid injuring those beside them?). Then they return to their company positions.

The signal flags are then raised again three times, with a cry of "jiao" at each raising. After this, the drum is beaten three times, and then drum rolls are beaten for a prolonged length of time, while the drummers shout "he, he". The left and right wings advance towards each other at the same time, and take up position in the middle river of soil. They make loud cries of "jiao, jiao" and mix together (as if fighting).

Then the right wing withdraws (simulating defeat), and the left wing returns to the river of soil just in front of its original position. The right wing raises its signal flags to call for its support companies, who move in to reinforce the line crying "jiao, jiao" loudly. Having reached the combat companies, the support companies stand their ground. The left wing then withdraws, and the right wing pursues it and occupies the river of soil just in front of the left wing's original position. The left wing raises its signal flags and calls for its support companies, who advance crying "jiao, jiao" until they reach the combat companies and stand firm. This time it is the right wing that withdraws, and the left wing pursues it to the central river of soil, where the left wing stops.

After some time, the drum rolls stop and so do the "he, he" cries of the drummers. The drums are beaten once, and the troops all cry "yu", and raise up their spears to the height of their shoulders. Another drumbeat, and they all shout "sha" and thrust their spears and flags forward. After three "yu" and three "sha", the bells are sounded, and the left and right wings both withdraw to their own rivers of soil. They are not to turn back and raise their spears at any point in the withdrawal.

After this, at another drumbeat they all shout "yu" and point their spears and flags upright. The signal flags come together and a drumbeat is sounded, and the companies all shout "yulin" (forest of feathers, a name for an imperial guards unit). The trumpets are then sounded, and the "yulin" cry stops. The combat training ends. The signal flags are lowered to touch the ground, and the two wings both cry "nuo". The flags for the 5 compass directions and the trumpeters exit the training ground first, and each wing sends out a company to the central river of soil to exit following the flags and trumpeters. The other companies exit after them in sequence, returning to camp.