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Noryang: Deadly Sea: additional commentary and trivia

Added 2024-06-28 05:00:04 +0000 UTC

I am not done yet!

There are simply too many inaccuracies in the film for me to point them out one by one, so I will only point out some of the more glaring ones, and in a "what actually happened" format. As before, they will be presented in numbered points.

Also, do note that this is an article for my Tipper-tier Patrons, so it will eventually be made public.

The actual nefarious plan

1. The Japanese did in fact planned to defeat Chen Lin and Yi Sun-sin once and for all before returning to Japan. Yes, the plan wasn't just about saving Konishi Yukinaga (小西行長) from danger. The Japanese wanted to eke out a final victory too.

Image: Japanese plan to attack Jangdo Island simultaneously from two directions.

However, the actual Japanese plan was to attack the allied naval base on Jangdo Island (장도 or 獐島), essentially boxing in the allied fleet between a hostile land fortification (i.e. Suncheon Castle) and a large Japanese war fleet, destroying it before returning to Japan triumphantly. If the plan succeed, then Konishi Yukinaga only need to fight directly from, or very close to, his castle, thus negating the need for a large war fleet or sailing into the unknown like shown in the movie.

2. Likewise, the reason why Chen Lin (陳璘) and Yi Sun-sin (이순신 or 李舜臣) decided to set up an ambush at Noryang Strait, aside from the fact that Japanese fleet would certainly pass through the strait making it a juicy target, was because Noryang Strait is sufficiently far from Jangdo Island and Suncheon Castle, allowing the allied fleet to engage the Japanese without worry of being simultaneously attacked from two directions.

Image: Allied plan was to preemptively interdict the Japanese fleet at Noryang Strait.

In fact, the moment Chen Lin and Yi Sun-sin made up their minds to set up the ambush, they already decided to lift the naval blockade (and let Konishi Yukinaga go). Ultimately, there were two targets/opportunities (i.e. Suncheon Castle and the coming Japanese fleet), but there was only one allied fleet, so they had to pick their battle wisely—which they did.

3. For this reason, Battle of Noryang cannot be seen as a Japanese victory just because Konishi Yukinaga escaped. Chen Lin and Yi Sun-sin very clearly foiled the Japanese plan, defeating the Japanese fleet before it could even reach its destination, let alone executing any kind of plan or achieving its objectives.

Konishi Yukinaga's negotiation with Chen Lin

Image: Konishi Yukinaga's envoys trying to initiate negotiation with Chen Lin in the movie.

4. When Konishi Yukinaga approached Chen Lin to negotiate for a safe passage to return to Japan, Chen Lin straight out demanded him to hand over Suncheon Castle before the negotiation can continue. Chen Lin did this primarily to mess with Ming army commander Liu Ting (劉綎) who he had a feud with. Obviously Konishi Yukinaga wouldn't agree to such outrageous demand. If he hand over the castle, and Chen Lin went back on his words, then he'd have nowhere to run.

5. However, after some back-and-forth, Chen Lin appeared to soften his stance, and only demanded Konishi Yukinaga to hand over Namhae Fortress (which was under the control of Sō Yoshitoshi, Konishi Yukinaga's in-law) instead. Konishi Yukinaga further tempted Chen Lin by offering to gift 1,000 Japanese heads to him, to which Chen Lin counter-demanded another 1,000 heads. Nevertheless, the negotiation ultimately did not go through, as it was merely Konishi Yukinaga's ploy to buy time for the relief force. In the end Konishi Yukinaga delivered neither the heads nor the fortress to Chen Lin, and Chen Lin also did not lift the blockade until the moment he went to set up an ambush at Noryang Strait.

6. As thus, the movie's depiction of Chen Lin trying to convince Yi Sun-sin to lift the blockade and attack somewhere easier (i.e. Namhae Island) is patently untrue, as Namhae was one of the prizes of negotiation. In the first place, Chen Lin was Yi Sun-sin's superior so there's not need to convince him of anything—He could've simply ordered Yi Sun-sin to back down if he so wished.

7. Likewise, Chen Lin trying to apease Yi Sun-sin by offering him the murderers of his son is complete fiction.

Frictions between Ming and Joseon, and Yi Sun-sin's confrontation with Chen Lin

8. Cooperation between Joseon Dynasty and Ming Dynasty was not all rainbows and sunshine. The Koreans loathed Chinese arrogance and love of bossing around them, and were quite fed up with their endless demands for more military supply, whereas the Chinese frequently found their Korean counterparts incompetent, cowardly and self-serving.

9. In his personal (i.e. secret) report to Joseon court not long after meeting Chen Lin, Yi Sun-sin aired his grievance about Chen Lin's meddling in the affairs of Joseon navy, including forcing him to hand over Japanese heads collected by Joseon troops after combat. Not to mention Chen Lin later forbade Yi Sun-sin from conducting certain mission. For his part, Chen Lin thought nothing of it and continued to treat Yi Sun-sin as a trusted ally, as Yi Sun-sin wouldn't dare to openly complain to his face anyway.

Image: Yi Sun-sin openly confronts Chen Lin in the movie.

10. Given their power dynamics, the movie's depiction of Yi Sun-sin openly confronting Chen Lin and threatening to withdraw from the alliance is obviously nothing more than ego-fulfilling fantasy. Even the most biased historical sources only record that Chen Lin verbally threaten that he owned a regalia sword given to him by the emperor (so his will represents Ming emperor's will) without actually drawing the sword out.

11. What really happened depends on which historical source you want to believe: either Chen Lin intercepted Japanese communication one day before the battle and acted swiftly, or Yi Sun-sin realised something was amiss and went to beg Chen Lin in tears to finally convince an initially indifferent Chen Lin to take action, or Yi Sun-sin ignored Chen Lin's order and mobilised Joseon fleet on his own accord, which forced Chen Lin to launch his own fleet to follow behind.

The Battle

Image: Overall movement of Japanese fleet and Konishi Yukinaga's escape route.

12. The overall unfolding of events of Battle of Noryang can be summed up as follow: On December 16, 1558, at around 1 - 3 am, Japanese fleet heading for Suncheon Castle passed through Noryang Strait and was attacked at both flanks. Ming fleet, which laid in ambush near Jukdo Island (죽도 or 竹島, not to be confused with another island in Korea also called Jukdo) of Gonyang-myeong (곤양면 or 昆陽面), attacked Japanese fleet from its north, whereas Joseon fleet that hid in Guaneompo Bay (관음포 or 觀音浦) attacked Japanese fleet from its south. Amid the chaos Japanese fleet attempted to escape by sailing southward, but quickly found itself trapped in the dead end of Guaneompo Bay. It then attempted a breakout, but the attempt failed and the fleet was scattered. Some Japanese ships continued to flee southward, while others doubled back. Thus, the movie's retelling of the big picture of Battle of Noryang actually doesn't stray too far from what really happened.

13. However, records about many finer details of the battle are unclear, conflicting, fragmentary, or absent altogether. For example, it's well known that Yi Sun-sin died in this battle, but the circumstances surrounding his death, or even WHEN he died, are unclear. The director very much abused this ambiguity to throw in either fictitious narratives that do not resemble any of the historical record, or heavily doctored retellings that withheld critical contexts and information.

14. Some of the more notable historical discrepancies in the movie include:

Ming navy joined the battle as soon as it got into position (although Ming fleet probably got into position a little later than Joseon fleet), not during Chen Lin's sudden out-of-character moment.
Chen Lin did not try to stop Yi Sun-sin from finishing off the Japanese fleet trapped inside Guaneompo Bay. Yi Sun-sin also did not convince Chen Lin to "change guard" with him.
Ming commander Deng Zilong (鄧子龍) did not attempt to kill Shimazu Yoshihiro only to be offed by him. He was killed because his ship caught fire from a friendly fire incident, causing it to be boarded by Japanese troops. In fact the true identity of his killer remains a mystery, although one late 19th century Japanese source attributes it to Tachibana Muneshige.
Likewise, Shimazu Yoshihiro did not personally board Chen Lin's ship, nor did he throw Deng Zilong's head at Chen Lin to taunt him. Quite the opposite, historically Shimazu Yoshihiro's flagship was nearly boarded and even his personal Uma-jirushi (馬印) banner was seized at one point, although he eventually fought off the boarders and took the banner back .
Yi Sun-sin also did not simply swoop in and rescue Chen Lin from danger. Historically, Chen Lin doggedly resisted Japanese troops even while surrounded, killing hundreds if not thousands of boarders in the process. Also, it is possible that he was aboard/transferred himself to a turtle ship at the time, since there are some descriptions of Japanese troops impaling themselves on his ship before being chopped to pieces.
In the first place, it was Yi Sun-sin's ship that was surrounded first. Chen Lin got his own ship surrounded because he attempted to save Yi Sun-sin from danger. Yi Sun-sin repaid the favour by breaking into the encirclement to help Chen Lin, and they fought side by side.
Chen Chan (陳蠶) and Shen Li (沈理) weren't Chen Lin's sidekicks that never leave his side. They didn't even fight on the same ship as Chen Lin! Also, both of them survived the war and returned to China.
Japanese defector Junsa (준사 or 俊沙) was a real historical person, although his story in Hansan: Rising Dragon and his death in this movie are fictional.
There are many conflicting accounts of Yi Sun-sin's death. The one shown in the movie (sniped by a Japanese gunner while hitting the war drum) is only one of them, but a valid one nonetheless.
The claim that Yi Sun-sin inflicted more than 20,000 casualties on the Japanese fleet was exaggerated. A more realistic estimate will put the casualties suffered by Shimazu Yoshihiro, Tachibana Muneshige, Takahashi Munemasu and Terazawa Hirotaka in the range of 4,000 (most conservative estimate) to 9,000 (more liberal estimate). The other three daimyo almost certainly suffered heavy casualties as well, but they didn't leave behind enough records to allow for estimation.

Other historical trivia

Ming and Joseon participation in Battle of Noryang

15. Battle of Noryang can be seen as a continuation of Siege of Suncheon. The allied fleet that fought in Battle of Noryang was the same one that besieged Suncheon Castle, plus any reinforcement received by Ming navy in the meantime .

16. Ming navy brought approximately 3,500 troops and 128 ships to Siege of Suncheon, but lost approximately 591 troops and 39 ships during the siege. It was later intermittently reinforced and slowly grew in size, and by the time of Battle of Noryang Chen Lin was in command of a fleet of roughly 7,800 troops (although approximately 20% of them were non-combatants) as well as 269 ships. Nevertheless, we don't know if he committed the full strength of his fleet to the battle or not.

17. Only a year passed between the event of The Admiral: Roaring Currents and Noryang: Deadly Sea, which means Joseon navy was VERY hastily rebuilt from thirteen ships to its current size in the span of thirteen months. It is a testament of Yi Sun-sin's brilliant generalship that he still managed to create a coherent fighting force out of the utter mess he inherited. Still, Joseon navy that fought in Battle of Noryang was but a pale shadow of what it used to be.

18. Yi Sun-sin rebuilt the navy of Joseon Kingdom to a size of approximately 8,000 troops and 80~85 ships before Battle of Noryang. However, it is known that Gyeongsang Left Navy did not participate in the battle, so the actual strength of Joseon navy during the battle should be lower, possibly around 7,000+ troops and (at most) 70 ships.

19. It should be noted that Panokseon (판옥선 or 板屋船) warship was typically crewed by 50~60 oarsmen and up to 125 marines, so Joseon navy clearly did not have enough manpower to crew all 80+ Joseon warships. Either Yi Sun-sin reduced the number of active warships, or some Ming troops were transferred to help staff Joseon ships.

Japanese participation in Battle of Noryang

20. While Shimazu Yoshihiro (島津義弘) hogged all the spotlight in the movie as the main antagonist, Battle of Noryang was actually a far larger undertaking with at least seven daimyo joining: Shimazu Yoshihiro, Tachibana Muneshige (立花宗茂), Takahashi Munemasu (高橋統増), Kobayakawa Hidekane (小早川秀包), Sō Yoshitoshi (宗義智), Wakisaka Yasuharu (脇坂安治) and Terazawa Hirotaka (寺沢広高). Shimazu Yoshihiro became the focus simply because he left behind most of the written records about the battle from Japanese perspective.

Image: Tachibana Muneshige's cameo appearance in the movie.

21. While Shimazu Yoshihiro is portrayed as a competent villain in the movie, in reality he had little naval experience and spent most of the battle getting his teeth kicked in. It was actually Tachibana Muneshige, who only had a cameo appearance in the movie, that fought the hardest.

22. The precise strength of the Japanese fleet was unknown, although it should be in the range of several hundred warships and ten to thirteen thousand troops.

23. Katō Kiyomasa (加藤清正) actually promised to join the operation as well, although he reneged on his promise and no-showed. Shimazu Yoshihiro and co. were understandably furious at him.

Other military geekery

Image: Chaotic swordfight.

24. The movie's depiction of naval combat is for the most part sensible, if a little unimaginative and clichéd (the director's decision to downplay Ming contribution also prevented scores of interesting Ming weapons from being shown). My only complaint, aside from naval ramming (which I already covered in my review of Hansan: Rising Dragon), is the depiction of boarding action as chaotic swordfights. Historically, boarding and counter-boarding of Battle of Noryang were overwhelmingly done with spears and other thrusting polearms.

Image: The Imjin War's equivalent of Banzai Charge.

25. Not gonna lie though, the spirited chanting of Japanese troops to the rhyme of Mad Max-esque war drums, and the movie's depiction of Japanese fleet doing matchlock countermarch volley fire on their warships, and then doing COUNTERMARCH ROTATION WITH THEIR WARSHIPS, are cool as all heck, ahistorical as they are.

Image: The infamous "bazooka mortar" scene. No Hu Dun Pao isn't supposed to be used like that.

26. Based on various sources, the following weapons are known to be deployed during Battle of Noryang: bows and arrows, spears, hooked spears, Tang Pa (鎲鈀), grappling hooks, thrown, sling, and catapulted stones, Huo Qiu (火毬), Pen Tong (噴筒), Huo Tong (火桶), fire pots, rockets, matchlock guns, breech-loading guns, and Hu Dun Pao (虎蹲砲).

Image: Chen Lin rallies Ming troops for a final push in the movie.

Image: Blink-and-you-miss-it rattan shields in action.

27. The movie's depiction of Ming troops is a mix of heavily armoured northern border troops armed with San Yan Chong (三眼銃), and some generic Ming infantry in brigandine waistcoats, which is honestly not too bad. Also props to the director to at least show some rattan shields in action. Historically, Ming troops that fought in Battle of Noryang primarily came from Guangdong and Zhejiang.

Image: Movie depiction of Chinese warships.

Image: A Ming warship depicted in a Korean folding screen painting.

28. The movie's depiction of Ming warships is completely fantastical, and they simply behave like reskinned Joseon warships. Historically, Ming navy mostly sent Cang Chuan (蒼船), Sha Chuan (沙船) and Hu Chuan (唬船) to Korea. Not only they were smaller than Joseon warships, Cang Chuan and Sha Chuan were also true sailing ships (albeit with supplemental oars) unlike their oar-powered Joseon and Japanese counterparts.

Miscellaneous

29. Minor but notable Ming commanders that were active participants of Battle of Noryang were Wang Yuan Zhou (王元周) and Fu Ri Sheng (福日升), who escorted Chen Lin's flagship, as well as Chen Jiu Jing (陳九經), Chen Lin's son who at one point bodily shielded his father from harm. All three of them are absent in the movie.

30. According to one Chinese source Liang Chao Ping Rang Lu (《兩朝平攘錄》), Shen Li commanded one of the three ships that spearheaded the assault (the other two ships were commanded by Yi Sun-sin and Deng Zilong). After Deng Zilong was killed and Yi Sun-sin also died trying to save him, he alone led the allied navy to victory. Chen Chan and Ji Jin (季金) later joined the battle to support him.

However, Liang Chao Ping Rang Lu's record of Battle of Noryang seems unreliable as it contradicts other sources in quite a few places. Namely, Deng Zilong didn't spearhead the assault, and Chen Chan might not even be present at Battle of Noryang at all since he actually served in Ming army under Liu Ting (劉鋌). The book also misreport Tao Ming Zai (陶明宰) as an officer under Chen Chan who died during Battle of Noryang, even though he actually served under Lan Fang Wei (藍芳戚) and died during Siege of Sacheon.

31. Several sources describe Yi Sun-sin's ship being surrounded by the Japanese, as well as Chen Lin's attempt to rescue him. However they differ in smaller details. In Chinese source Dong Zheng Ji (《東征記》), Chen Lin rallied Ming ships to rescue Yi Sun-sin, but got himself surrounded, and it was Deng Zilong that saved him from danger.

On the other hand, in Korean source Jaejobeonbangji (《再造藩邦志》), Chen Lin instead transferred to a Joseon ship before rushing to help Yi Sun-sin. He also got surrounded, although a freed Yi Sun-sin quickly returned to fight side by side with him. Later during the battle Yi Sun-sin went to attack a Japanese flagship, which caused Japanese ships around Chen Lin to disengage and rush back to defend it, allowing Chen Lin to break free.

32. The most reliable first-hand witness account of Deng Zilong's death can be found in a letter sent to Deng Zilong's family to report the news of his death, written by Wang Ba (旺八), who served Deng Zilong as his Jia Ding (家丁), was a witness of his final moments, and even fought to retrieve his dead body. He confirmed that Deng Zilong's fleet began to engage the Japanese at around 3 - 5 am, and the time of his death was 7 - 9 am.

33. Deng Zilong was 67 years old when he went to Korea. He already lost his hearing, had reduced mobility, and no longer able to write—an elderly in every sense of the word. Wang Ba complained that Zhejiang troops supposedly under Deng Zilong refused to heed his command, and Chen Lin even lamented that battlefield was no place for such an old senior after he learnt of his death.

34. Deng Zilong suffered spear wound once in his left leg, twice in his right leg, once in his abdomen, once in his left arm, and on top of that, was shot in the chest. He was beheaded after death and his head was never recovered, so his subordinates had to bury him with a substitute head made of agarwood.

35. While quite a few historical sources report that all 200 troops on board Deng Zilong's ship died with him, this is actually untrue. Wang Ba's letter confirms that Deng Zilong was on a Hu Chuan—which can only accommodate 20~30 crews—when he died. Also, Wang Ba himself was rescued from Deng Zilong's ship, not to mention Yi Deok-hyeong (이덕형 or 李德馨) separately testified that a few Koreans on his ship also escaped, so certainly not all on board the ship perished.

36. Deng Zilong's officer rank was reinstated posthumously as a remembrance/reward for his valour during Battle of Noryang. That's why historical sources written after the war still call him vice admiral, and he was often mistaken as Chen Lin's second-in-command. In reality, Deng Zilong was sent to Korea to atone for a past crime that got him demoted. He held no rank whatsoever, yet still had to fulfill his former duty and obligations as a commander.

37. There are also many different accounts of how Yi Sun-sin's died, including but not limited to: died trying to rescue Deng Zilong, died trying to rescue Chen Lin, shot during pursuit, and shot while hitting the war drum. Moreover, some sources describe him being shot in the chest, while other sources describe him being shot in the left armpit, not to mention sources disagree on whether he was killed outright or lived long enough to mutter his famous last words.

38. While Battle of Noryang was indisputably an allied victory, Joseon navy actually suffered significant casualties in the process, losing its supreme commander Yi Sun-sin and nearly SIXTY commanders and officers, including high-ranking or notable ones like Yi Yeong-nam (이영남 or 李英男).

Of course, that was nothing compared to the damage suffered by Japanese. Several Japanese sources admit that Tachibana Muneshige, Takahashi Munemasu, and Terazawa Hirotaka lost as much as one-half of all their troops (an extremely rare occurrence as Japanese records frequently downplay or outright hide all details of Japanese losses), yet Shimazu Yoshihiro's losses exceeded them. In fact, Shimazu Yoshihiro alone lost more than ONE HUNDRED retainers, commanders and officers, including several high-ranking retainers, next-in-lines to Shimazu clan's branch families, and notable Jitō (地頭) or their representatives, and he himself lamented that many young men in his army died.

39. Battle of Noryang was the first (and only) Imjin War battle fought by Tachibana Muneshige after his force suffered severe damage during Battle of Byeokjegwan.

40. During the battle inside Guaneompo Bay, about 500 Japanese troops drifted to Namhae Island and became stranded. In an ironic case of rescuer become the rescued, it was Konishi Yukinaga, who passed by the island during his retreat from Suncheon Castle, that rescued (some of) them.

Image: A Korean folding screen painting depicting Chen Lin's mopping-up operation on Namhae Island.

41. Two days after Battle of Noryang, Chen Lin launched a half-month long mopping-up operation on Namhae Island and killed hundreds of Japanese stranglers. So, whether it was the botched negotiation with Konishi Yukinaga in history or his suggestion to Yi Sun-sin in the movie, in the end Chen Lin got what he wanted.