In ancient times, it was not a difficult thing to build weapons, but it was not simple to create armor, especially the armor worn by generals, and the manufacturing process was more demanding. Under the technical conditions at that time, it was not difficult to manufacture common weapons in weapons, any blacksmith shop can be built, usually to create hoes, sickles and other agricultural tools, in an extraordinary period, the blacksmith shop can directly build weapons, spears, swords, knives and other local production processes are not difficult. But it is difficult to create armor, ancient armor is generally made of a combination of extremely thin iron sheets, requiring good forging skills to be able to, even if the ordinary armor to create a pair of it is also a lot of energy and time. Therefore, in the ancient army, most ordinary soldiers were not eligible to wear iron armor, only middle and high-ranking officers could have a set of their own armor, and the higher the level, the better the quality of their armor. Ordinary soldiers wearing leather armor at most is already very good. Ancient armor in the battle defense is very high, ordinary swords slashed on it has no effect, even the depth of long-range weapons such as bows and arrows can shoot into the armor is limited, if it is a full body heavy armor, there is no fear of bow and arrow damage. I'll talk about a few things:
Ancient iron armor situation
Ancient armor mainly refers to iron armor, which appeared very early, the earliest iron armor began in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Later, with the development of time, the armor of each dynasty has its own different characteristics, and most of the iron armor is made according to the material and body, and there are many forms.
The large-scale use of armor on the battlefield began in the Han Dynasty, where iron armor was called Xuan armor, which was different from gold armor and bronze armor. The Han Dynasty army was already widely equipped with iron armor. According to relevant historical records, at that time, the iron armor piece was forged from a block of iron to a nail piece, and then annealed and decharized, with toughness. The wearer's torso and crumbs are surrounded by iron armor from the elbow to the bell shape, which is like a half-sleeved short coat.
In the Tang Dynasty, the most prosperous in ancient China, the armor form system produced by it was more diverse, according to the history book "Tang Six Classics", there were thirteen main types of armor at that time: mingguang armor, embellished scale armor, mountain armor, black hammer armor, white cloth armor, soap silk armor, cloth back armor, infantry armor, leather armor, wooden armor, lock armor, and horse armor, mainly for infantry and cavalry.
After obtaining the Song Dynasty, although firearms appeared, armor was still an important protective equipment. In the Song Dynasty, several development styles such as steel lock armor, black lacquer endangered water mountain spring armor, bright light fine mesh armor, Ming ju armor, and buren armor were different from the Tang Dynasty. To the Ming Dynasty armor production process has been greatly improved, the armor at this time is mainly focused on reducing the weight of mirror armor, the armor at this time compared with the previous, each pair can be reduced to 40 kg to 25 kg, and mostly iron valve armor, lock armor.
In the Qing Dynasty, the last feudal dynasty, the armor it was equipped with in the early period inherited the Ming Dynasty craft tradition. It also absorbed the advantages of the armor-making process of various ethnic groups, and the protective ability of iron armor and external decoration have improved. After that, until the end of the Qing Dynasty, the new army was trained, changed to a Western-style military uniform, and the iron armor was abolished.
Why is it a felony to hide armor?
In ancient times, it was a felony to hide armor, because the armor was extremely defensive and the production process was complex, and craftsmen consumed a lot of manpower and material resources to make a good armor, so its price was also very expensive. A person with martial arts can really be said to be like a tiger after wearing armor, and more than a dozen people have no way to take him, and with this pair of armor, they are not afraid of the attack of cold weapons such as bows and arrows, so it is an extremely jealous thing for the government.
Because if there are people with ill intentions to build a large number of armor and form a team, then it will trigger a war, and the combat effectiveness of the armored troops is very strong, even if the government sends troops to pursue it, it is impossible to defeat this armored force without several times the strength.
For this reason, in ancient times, there were strict rules for the manufacture and use of armor, that is, hoping to snuff out any bad signs. Only the army of the government was allowed to use and wear iron armor, which ordinary people did not think about, and everything was taken to maintain the stability of the rule.
To sum up, in ancient times, it was extremely difficult to make armor, it took a lot of time and effort, and it was expensive, so its defense power was very high, so the government did not allow ordinary people to have it.