Changes in the Structural–Functional Characteristics of Shields in China from the Pre-Qin to the Wei–Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties Period

The shield was one of the most essential defensive implements in ancient warfare. In China, its earliest use can be inferred from shield fittings unearthed from Phase III of the Erlitou culture. At this stage, shields appear to have been used together with bronze axes and jade axes as ritual or ceremonial objects. Physical remains of shields have been identified in the late Shang period at the Yinxu site. These shields were rectangular or trapezoidal in shape and were decorated with dragon–tiger motifs and various types of shield fittings. They were also placed outside wooden coffin chambers as apotropaic objects intended to ward off evil. By the Western Zhou period, large wooden lacquered shields of elongated trapezoidal and rectangular form were in use, often fitted with hemispherical ornaments that constituted the dominant decorative type. Beyond their defensive function, shields were interred as grave goods symbolizing the tomb occupant’s authority, status, and military power, and they also served apotropaic, tomb-protecting, and ritual purposes. During the transitional phase from the Western Zhou to the Eastern Zhou, flame-shaped shields emerged. In the Eastern Zhou period, leather and wooden-lacquered flame-shaped shields were used alongside rectangular shields. While the symbolic and ceremonial associations of power and military authority were further strengthened during this time, their apotropaic and tomb-protecting functions gradually diminished, and shields were also employed as practical weapons. From the Shang through the Qin period, shields were used by both infantry and chariot forces. In the Qin period, both the longitudinal and transverse cross-sections of flame-shaped shields became increasingly curved. By the Han dynasty, flame-shaped shields had become the primary type used by infantry. Shields at this time also functioned as ceremonial objects, dance implements, and burial objects, as evidenced by examples such as single-flame shields and small-scale funerary replicas. During the Wei–Jin period, flame-shaped shields were simplified into a two-tiered form, with a further reduction in the width of the upper section. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, the form of the shield underwent a marked transformation, with elongated types—either hexagonal in outline or featuring a semicircular upper section—coming to predominate. This change emerged in the course of responding to the shock tactics of heavily armored cavalry, particularly those employing spears.