212 



Chinese Clay Figures 



is made of armor fabricated from forged copper (tuan kin wei kia) ; that, 

 however, on close examination, the employment of the latter is still 

 much restricted." 1 



We shall not be far wrong in concluding that the metal pieces em- 

 ployed for the reinforcement of armor in the period of the Anterior 



Fig. 32. 



Sketches of Helmets (from T'u shu tsi ch'ing which reproduced them from Wu pet chi), 



representing the Tradition of the Ming Period. 



1 The expression "to forge defensive armor" {tuan kia) occurs in Shi ki, Ch. 112, 

 in the biography of Chu-fu Yen (compare P'ei win yiinfu, Ch. 106, p. 56 b). In the 

 age of the Three Kingdoms (221-277) metal armor, for which copper or iron was 

 utilized, was firmly established, as we see from the life of the famous General Chu-ko 

 Liang (San kuo chi, Wu chi, Ch. 19, p. 1 b), who lived from 181 to 234 (see Giles, 

 Biographical Dictionary, p. 180). In Tsin shu and Sung shu, metal armor is fre- 

 quently mentioned. An iron mask (Vie mien) for the protection of the face is first 

 mentioned as being employed in the period Yung-kia (307-313 a.d.) by General 

 Chu Ts'e (styled Chung-w§n) in the battle of Hia-k'ou, in Han-yang fu, Hu-pei 

 Province (Tsin shu, Ch. 81, p. 6). 



