The armies of the Warring States wore heavy armor, even on horseback. The nomad armies of the north dressed light and moved fast. In 307 BC, King Wuling of Zhao decided: “I want to wear nomad dress.” His soldiers would take up nomad clothing and mounted archery, hufu qishe.
His court objected that he was abandoning their own dress for that of distant peoples, “changing the teaching of the ancients and going against the hearts of the people.” The king answered that it would benefit the people and strengthen the state. Zhao’s army grew strong, destroyed the state of Zhongshan and defeated the Linhu and Loufan.