China's ancient weapons

sword

The earliest type of sword in China is "Jian", which has a history of more than 2,500 years. The earliest sword, with straight body and double blades, was about 35 cm long and made of bronze. In the Tang Dynasty (6 18-906), steel replaced bronze; The most famous sword in the Northern Song Dynasty (960- 1 127) came from Longquan, Zhejiang Province, the northeast coast of China. There is iron ore here and it is close to the water, so blacksmiths can produce high-quality blades.

sword handle

The hilt includes the grip, which is made of wood, ox horn, or ray skin wrapped in wood, sometimes dyed green; The two sections of the handle each have a wide ring, also called a metal head. The handle is large and stepped for balance. Fish skin is generally rough and air-dried shark skin or ray skin, which provides a non-slip surface for the palm.

The spike is a dyed cotton thread that passes through a hole in the handle. This assembly method was popular in the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644), and in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) [3], the rapier hole was usually placed directly on the handle.

The fittings of the hilt are usually brass, bronze or silver, and some are gold. The casting of hilt is either integrated, or the armguard and hilt are cast separately and then forged together. The hilt will also use decorative metal sheets, which are stamped or engraved with traditional decorative patterns, such as dragons and staggered patterns.

Sword body

The blade is divided into three main parts, and each part has different functions. The front part is called "Jianfeng", which is sharp and used for quick stabbing; The middle part is called the "middle blade", which is used to chop sharply and block the other side's blade; The last part is close to the guard, called "sword root", which is dedicated to defending the block.

Knife-the handsome of a hundred soldiers

China people regard knives as one of the four major combat weapons, and the other three are guns, swords and clubs. Knife, known as "the commander in a hundred battles", is a wide-edged weapon with great cutting or chopping power. The Chinese character "Dao" is also used to refer to many kinds of sharp weapons and tools with single blade and wide blade.

Early history

Knife first appeared in Shang Dynasty (about BC 1700-BC 1 100) and was originally made of bronze. By the end of the Warring States Period [3], China knife manufacturers began to use steel to make more durable blades.

In the Tang Dynasty (6 18-906), swords from South China began to be exported to Korea and Japan, which greatly influenced the shape of traditional Japanese mountain cities, especially Taidao and Japanese swords.

Characteristics of cutting tools

The blade is wide, slightly curved and single-edged; The handle is inclined at a certain angle and is usually wrapped with thread, leather, wood or ray skin. In actual combat, the handle will be wrapped in silk, and the color of the silk is strictly regulated. China culture believes that using certain colors or knots will bring good luck and courage to soldiers.

Knives generally have one or several blood grooves, which can increase strength and flexibility by cutting deeper into the blade body. There are also disc-shaped cup-shaped hand guards to protect soldiers' hands with knives. When the knife is sheathed, the cup-shaped hand guard becomes a cover to prevent rainwater from infiltrating or blood dripping on the handle, making it difficult to hold the knife. The length of the blade is generally 65 cm to 75 cm.

The scabbard is usually made of wood, coated with thick paint or wrapped with fish skin, but some scabbard is made of paint, and many scabbard are covered with stamped gold-plated metal plates. The scabbard is attached with two rings and hung on the belt.

Two-handed sword

Two-handed sword was introduced to China about 2000 years ago, with a long history. The length of this big sword can reach 1.6 meters. There is also a two-handed version of the knife called broadsword. The blade is similar to a full moon machete, with a larger size. The handle is made of metal and wound around the handle. The broadsword was used until the middle of the 20th century. There are many photos showing that the army of the National Government used broadswords in War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937— 1945). China's army claimed that Japanese soldiers could be beheaded with only one knife.

Ring knife

During the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 23-AD 220), a special kind of knife appeared, that is, the ring handle single-edged ring head knife. The blade is very narrow, about 90 cm long. The handle tongue is very wide and is integrally cast with the annular handle head. Fix the handle tongue and handle together with a pin. This kind of ring head knife has been used until the end of 19. 1900 During the Boxer Rebellion, the Boxer Rebellion once surrounded the European detachment in Beijing (formerly known as Beiping), and the ring knife was popular in the Boxer Rebellion for some time.

Mongolian army knife

/kloc-In the early 3rd century, Mongolia invaded China and brought a cavalry saber with curved blade and single blade for one hand. Turks in central Eurasia have been using this cavalry saber since the 8th century. The curved knife replaced the straight knife, which influenced the shape of China's sword. In the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644), a new blade was more curved, mainly used in cavalry.

/kloc-painting in the 9th century, showing Mongols holding spears and sabres in Yuan Dynasty.

Long-handled weapons and strike weapons

The Mongolian Dynasty-Yuan Dynasty (1279- 1368) was overthrown. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, China infantry began to rely more on long-handled weapons and combat weapons. From a purely economic point of view, the production cost of these weapons is greatly reduced, and training is almost unnecessary, while it takes much longer to train a professional swordsman.

These long-handled weapons are still classified as knives, but the wooden poles are equipped with blades. The names of these weapons show that they are still closely related to the broad categories of knives, such as halberd, a long axe with a sharp tip, and one of them is called halberd knife; There are also weapons that turn long blades into halberds/tomahawks, such as crescent knives, eyebrow sharp knives, and closing knives. Like the standard weapons of the same period in Europe, China also thinks that it is more effective for infantry to use long-handled weapons.

Double sword

1644, after the Manchu captured Beijing, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty committed suicide.

However, a unique double sword, also called "Butterfly Sword/Butterfly Knife", appeared in Qing Dynasty. These two swords are designed to be put back to back in the same scabbard, and the hilts are half-shaped, so they can be combined. Double swords are short in length and double-edged. The swordsman can draw out quickly, one in each hand. The design of hilt and body is similar to that of traditional sword.