In fact, Mingguang armor was not only the best armor in the world in the 6th and 8th centuries.

It is also the pinnacle of Zhuxia armor making.

Before the advent of modern European plate armor, it had always been the most protective armor in the world.

Of course, the appearance of Mingguang Armor did not happen overnight.

The earliest record of it comes from the Book of Zhou, so it is generally believed that Mingguangjia first appeared in the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

However, it was the Tang Dynasty that carried forward the Mingguang armor.

The armor of the Tang Dynasty abandoned the armor of the Wei and Jin dynasties, and improved on the basis of the Ming armor of the Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties.

It evolved into the thirteen armor of the Tang Dynasty represented by Tang Mingguangjia.

Tang Mingguang armor is a shiny plate armor with chest guards, which is very gorgeous and lighter, but its defense power has been greatly improved.

Its main feature is the large round or oval deck on the chest and back, which is polished and reflects dazzlingly in the sun, like a mirror.

In the Han Dynasty, there was often a cliché on the mirror of "seeing the light of the sun, the world is bright", so Mingguangjia got its name.

Mingguang Jia's earlier record of participation in the war is the following words in "Zhou Shu Cai You's Biography": "You are wearing Mingguang iron armor and are unstoppable. The enemy said, 'This iron beast is also', and they all avoided it. ”

Mingguang armor uses a hood to protect the head, and there are ear guards on both sides of the hood that roll upward, and some of the pockets are also decorated with a neck neck that hangs down to the back of the shoulder.

The cuirass is generally divided into two pieces, the left and right longitudinal bundles, and the left and right sides have a round guard, or make a convex arc-shaped pattern, and the shoulders are covered with shawls, and the arms are covered with arm guards.

Waist tie, under the belt there are two knee skirts to protect the thighs, and the calves are wrapped with "hanging legs". The structure of this armor is very complete.

Modern research suggests that there are five types of Mingguang nails.

Type 1: Represented by the Mingguang armor worn by the statue of the king of Qianxi Temple in Longmen Grottoes.

The statue is recorded to have been completed before 650 AD.

The armor worn by the statue is in the shape of a belt with a cross knot on the chest, and a large round deck on the left and right, with a cape.

There is a knee-length skirt on the left and right under the belt to protect the thighs, and there is also a protective layer on the calves, which is called "hanging legs" in ancient terms.

Type 2: Represented by the gold-glazed terracotta figurines unearthed from the tomb of Zheng Rentai in the first year of the scale, that is, built in 664 AD.

This terracotta figurine is also very famous in the archaeological world.

The terracotta figurines wear helmets on their heads, with neck and ear guards.

There is also a neck guard on the body armor, and the front of the body armor is divided into two pieces, left and right, with a small round armor piece in the center of each piece, and a large deck on the back.

The cuirass and dorsal armor were fastened on both shoulders, and the armor was tied vertically from the lower neck to the chest, then to the left and right to the back, and then to the abdomen.

A knee-length skirt on the left and right under the belt. The shawl on both shoulders has two layers, the upper layer is in the shape of a tiger's head, and the green cloak with the lower gold rim is revealed in the tiger's head.

Modern scholars believe that the second type of Mingguang armor and the third type should exist at the same time. There is a certain complementarity between them.

The third type: it is represented by the terracotta figurines unearthed from the tomb of Li Shuang, which was built in the first year of Zongzhang, that is, in 668 AD.

In Li Shuang's tomb, a gilded painted figurine was unearthed.

The helmet worn on the head of the figurine rolls upwards on the outer edges of the left and right ear guards, and the armor extends upwards from the neck guards.

The cloak is in the shape of a dragon's head. The cuirass was divided into two parts, left and right, with raised circular floral ornaments, which were fastened backwards with the dorsal armor with a strap on the upper edge.

From the submandibular longitudinal girdle to the breastplate, it is intersected by a ring and the transverse belt, and the round belly guard is half exposed on the belt, and the abdominal armor is painted in the shape of a mountain.

Another terracotta figurine unearthed with it is different.

The belly armor of the armor is painted in the shape of fish scales. A knee-length skirt hangs from the left and right under the belt, and the calf is tied to the hanging leg.

In addition to the tomb of Li Shuang, the terracotta figurines unearthed from the tomb of Ren, which was built in the third year of Shenlong, also belong to the third type.

However, in the same period, two terracotta figurines were unearthed in the tomb of Sujun in Xianyang, and they were wearing the second type of Mingguang armor.

Type 4: It is represented by the glazed terracotta figurines unearthed from the tomb of Yuan, the wife of Dugujun, who was built in the third year of Chang'an (703).

This type of bright light armor, its helmet ears are turned up, and the top is erected with long tassels.

The longitudinal armor belt below the neck guard is tied horizontally to the chest to the back, and the cuirass is divided into two parts, the left and right, and a circular deck on each top.

The belt droops down the knee skirt, the falcon's tail, and the lower leg binds. Cloaked in the shape of a dragon's head.

This form of armor appeared a lot in the Tang Dynasty.

This type of armor is also common in the Tang Caves of Mogao Grottoes.

However, many scholars believe that this type of Mingguang armor was mainly used for ceremonial purposes. The actual combat effect is not as good as the first three.

Type 5: The statue of the god king in Cave 194 of Dunhuang is a typical specimen.

The Dunhuang Institute of Cultural Relics designated it as a work of the Middle and Tang dynasties.

The ear protectors of its helmet are turned upside down, and the armor body is joined into a whole, and the straps of the back and cuirass are buckled in front of the shoulders, and the chest and waist are tied together, and the round abdominal armor is exposed above the belt.

The drape is made in the shape of a tiger's head, and the legs are tied to the hanging legs. The same specimen has the statue of the Southern Heavenly King frescoed in Cave 25 of Yulin Cave.

Type 5 armor is the last form of Mingguang armor.

Its helmet with ear protectors rolled upwards is already similar to the helmet shape of the five generations.

Modern scholars believe that the fifth type of Mingguang armor is actually a symbol of the decline of the Tang Empire's national power.

Because the production cost and process level of this type of Mingguang armor are obviously lower.

Through careful comparison, Lu Yuan found that the armor on the guard in front of him should be the first type of Mingguang armor.

However, if you think about it, Lu Yuan will understand that the first type of Mingguang armor is from the 7th century, and the records of Fusang in ancient classics also ended in this period.

Later, it was not until the Yuan and Ming dynasties that the record of Fusang reappeared, but by this time Fusang had become another name for the Japanese slave country.

And according to research, Teotihuacan was abandoned in the 8th century.

Harry's research suggests that Teotihuacan had undergone a dramatic change in the mid-seventh century.

The changes in the sacrificial pits and idols seen earlier also began during this period.

Lu Yuan looked at the Mingguang armor on the statue again, how much he hoped to get a physical object of the Mingguang armor.

However, he didn't have much hope, because not to mention here, even in Zhuxia, there are no physical objects of Mingguang Armor and Tang Dao handed down now.

Lu Yuan quickly turned his gaze to the last statue.

In the end, the armor on this statue was very strange to Lu Yuan.

He had never seen such armor before.

And after seeing it for the first time, Lu Yuan felt that this armor did not have much actual combat value.

There are also a lot of problems with its design.

"Is this armor the traditional armor of the Teotihuacan people themselves?"

Lu Yuan had doubts in his heart.

But Lu Yuan quickly shook his head, the people of Teotihuacan had already come into contact with the fine armor of Zhuxia and Rome, and it stands to reason that there should not be such a strange design.

"Is this the armor of another civilization?"