Originally Posted by
uanime5
I have some questions about Ming units.
I've noticed that the robe/jacket's opening is always shown as starting over the right shoulder, going across the chest, then ending under the left arm. Is there a reason for this?
While I'm no expert on Hanfu I believed the ancient Chinese thought that being left handed was what barbarians wore,ie nomads folded it the opposite way from left to right though some Tang dynasty Hanfu is adopted from foreign influences such as the Xianbei.
Originally Posted by
uanime5
Would it be a inaccurate if a unit had their robe's opening starting over the left shoulder, going across the chest, then ending under the right arm?
Yes it would be.
Originally Posted by
uanime5
Also do you know what this unit is? It seems to be a palace units but I'm not sure whether they were a palace guard or a soldier that fought on the battlefield.
From its description its the Emperors personal messenger.
The real imperial bodyguards/secret police would be the Jinyiwei
Ever since the Hongwu emperor imperial uniforms were required to have a mandarin square would be 1 chi(32 centimeters) tall ,3 cun(10 cm) wide.
Ren(benevolence 仁) was used by the Emperor,dragon and clouds
Yi(justice 義) was used by Dukes,Marquis,Earls and governors,tiger and flowers
Li(propriety 禮 ) was used by generals,panthers and flowers
Zhi(wisdom 智) was used by commanders of a thousand men,lions and flowers
Xin(trust信) was used by commanders of a hundred men,clouds
From 明代軍服述論