Monday, June 20, 2016

The Four Great Weapons 四大名器

The four great weapons constitute the most common weapons found across almost all styles of Chinese martial arts.
The Four Great Weapons are as follows:

The Saber 刀
The Spear 槍
The Sword 劍
The Staff 棍

Each weapon has its own special standing in Chinese Kung Fu and each has a title that has been spoken so often among practitioners, they have become common expressions in Chinese.

The Saber is known as the "General of Weapons" (百兵之帥)
Made to cut with power, the Saber is a weapon to be reckoned with. Introduced to the Chinese by the Xiongnu cavalry (aka. The Mongols) during the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.-220 C.E), The Chinese army saw that it's straight, double-edged swords were clearly outmatched by the sheer cutting power of the saber.  This led to the introduction of the saber into China's weapons arsenal. Soon the saber became so popular that even the Qianlong emperor (1711-1799 C.E. 乾隆帝) had a collection of special decorative sabers made for him to wear at his side, while traveling or at home in the forbidden city.
Qianlong Imperial Sabers


The Saber's shape evolved over time. The first Chinese sabers in the Han Dynasty were mostly straight, and closely resembled the double-edged sword. The sabers made in the Tang dynasty (618-906 C.E.) perfected the straight design, and even influenced the rise of the Japanese Katana. Gradually, the Chinese saber began to adopt curves that resembled those of Persian, and Middle Eastern sabers. One of the most common types of Ming dynasty Chinese saber was the Liǔyè dāo (柳葉刀) or "Willow Leaf Saber". The saber most commonly seen in martial arts today however, is the Niúwěi dāo (牛尾刀) or "Oxtail Saber"

From the top: 1.) Heavy Persian influenced Saber, 2.) Yàn máo dāo (雁毛刀) "Goose Feather Saber",  3.) Liǔyè dāo (柳葉刀) or "Willow Leaf Saber" 4.) Niúwěi dāo (牛尾刀) or "Oxtail Saber"


The Spear holds the title, "King of Weapons" (百兵之王)
For thousands of years, the Spear was the mainstay of the Chinese army.  it was relatively light and easy to carry. It could be easily maintained. It could be used by any type of soldier, cavalry or infantry, and most importantly, it had reach. The length and materials used to make Chinese spears differed greatly by purpose, time and place. Ancient Chinese spearheads were made of bronze, while later spearheads were made from iron and then steel. The shaft was made of hard, but slightly flexible wood. Martial artists often tied a horsehair tassel just behind the spearhead.



The Sword is the "Gentleman of Weapons" (百兵之君)
Or rather it is the "Gentleman's weapon". Straight and double-edged, it is a weapon of speed and finesse, not brute strength. In Chinese history, the sword was both a symbol of nobility and martial righteousness. King's swords were of the highest renown in both fact and myth. This did not change when the sword was replaced by the saber in the Chinese army.  Instead it found a new niche in the society of Scholars, who were the epitome of "gentlemanly" Confucian virtues.  If there ever was a weapon that was romanticized within Chinese lore and legend, it was the sword. In short, there is no weapon that has drawn more attention in history, literature, or cultural significance, than the sword.



The Staff is the "Lord of Weapons" (百兵之主) sometimes mistakenly called the "grandfather of weapons" To a historian, the staff is the primeval makeshift weapon of both thieving bandits and peasant mobs. But to a martial artist the staff is the first step into the world of weapons. It is simple, rudimentary, adaptive, and relatively safe for beginners. It is the gateway to learning all other kinds of weapons. A balance between flexibility and strength, the staff epitomizes principles that all martial artists desire to achieve. Usually around head height or longer, depending on style, techniques, etc. For example, some were eyebrow height, known as Qí méi gùn 齐眉棍) and some were shorter, These shorter kinds of staves were called Bàng (棒).


The four great weapons were the foundations of armed combat training for soldier and martial artist alike, for hundreds of years. It was only in the final years of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912 C.E.) that firearms truly replaced the "cold weapons" (non-firearm weapons 冷兵器) of the past. Now they survive only in museums and collections, and in the declining tradition of Chinese martial arts.

Monday, April 25, 2016

The 18 Chinese Weapons (十八般兵器)

For the sake of those who are unfamiliar with Chinese martial culture, I feel I should explain why I chose "18 Chinese Weapons" as the title of my blog and what its historical and modern significance is to Chinese martial arts.

The 18 weapons were a list of the most common Chinese weapons used by the Chinese solider or martial artist in ancient times.  The 18 weapons are referenced several times in Chinese literature going back as far as the Song Dynasty, especially in the Chinese classic, "Outlaws of the Marsh" (水滸傳) also known as "The Water Margin".




The original list of 18 weapons changed over time and varied by region and culture, as did the styles of martial arts. So, today, there are several versions of this list of 18 weapons.
The most commonly seen version is the one from the book, "Outlaws of the Marsh."


  1. the ancient spear (矛) 
  2. the hammer-mace (錘), 
  3. the bow (弓),
  4. the crossbow (弩), 
  5. the firearm (銃), 
  6. the hard whip (鞭), 
  7. the mace/iron slip (鐧), 
  8. the jian sword (劍), 
  9. the chain whip (鏈鞭), 
  10. the pole-pick (撾), 
  11. the hatchet (斧), 
  12. the yue, or great axe (鉞), 
  13. the ge, or dagger-axe (戈), 
  14. the ji, or halberd (戟), 
  15. the shield (盾牌), 
  16. the club (棒), 
  17. the spear (槍), 
  18. the trident (叉).

(Note: Most of these weapons appear on this blog, all except the dagger-axe, firearm, club, and shield, which I substituted with weapons from other lists that I felt were more important. There are dozens of other Chinese weapons that are not part of the 18. Let me know in the comments if you want to see a post about any of them.)

Another version appears in the book, "Wǔzázǔ" (五雜俎) written by Ming Dynasty author Líng Méngchū (凌濛初).

There was even a Shaw Brothers film about the 18 weapons, and was released in 1982, with the English title "Legendary Weapons of China."

Legendary Weapons of China 


Aspiring Chinese martial artists were regarded as masterful warriors if they were able to achieve a level of proficiency in the use of the 18 weapons. Mastery of the 18 weapons came to be seen as a standard of excellence a martial artist would strive to achieve.

It is both fascinating and sad to note that the Chinese Martial arts of the modern day use very few of these weapons. Some Kung Fu styles only feature one or two weapons. It is only in the most obscure and rare styles that you see the older, less common weapons.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

The Sword of King Gou Jian

King Gou Jian's Sword, Chun Jun (純鈞青銅劍)
The sword of King Gou Jian is a historical treasure of the Chinese people.

But they say a sword is only as good as the man who wields it.
Gou Jian was one of those rare people, worthy to own a legendary sword.

Gou Jian (勾踐) was the king of the state of Yue (越) near the end of the Spring and Autumn Period (~475 B.C.E.) in Chinese history.

As with most of China's history, King Gou Jian's time was one of constant conflict and turmoil. His life-long rival, King Fu Chai (夫差) of  the state of Wu (吳),  had a weapon of similar prestige, an ancient bronze spear, also referred to as a Mao (矛).


King Fuchai's Spear (夫差青銅矛)

Gou Jian fought against the State of Wu for many years. One unsuccessful attempt ended with him being captured, and forced to serve as a hostage in Wu for 3 years.

When he was allowed to go back to his kingdom, it is said that he ate bile, to remind himself of the bitter shame of his defeat, and the suffering of both himself, and his people, and secretly vowed revenge on King Fu Chai.

He quietly built up his forces, waiting for the right moment to strike again. It was at this time that he sought out the legendary swordsmith Ou Ye Zi (歐冶子) who made his legendary bronze sword, which was named, Chun Jun (純鈞). Ou Ye Zi made several other legendary swords, but that story will be told later. (note: Gou Jian's Sword, Chun Jun is the only sword made by him that has been rediscovered in the modern era)

Around 473 B.C.E. King Gou Jian defeated Wu's forces, and it was King Fu Chai's turn to taste the bitterness of defeat, but rather than surrender, he committed suicide. After King Fu Chai's death, the state of Yue annexed Wu, and the war between these two kingdoms was finally over.

After the state of Chu (楚) conquered the state of Yue in the Warring States Period, the whereabouts of the Sword of King Gou Jian remained a mystery until 1965 where it was found in a tomb near Jiangling (江陵) in Hubei province (Note: near this site is also where King Fu Chai's spear was found in 1983, and this region is part of what once was the state of Chu).

This was certainly one of the greatest archaeological finds in all of China.
Miraculously, when it was drawn from its sheath, it had no sign of corrosion or decay, and not only that, it was still razor sharp. This is astonishing for a sword that is over 2000 years old! Normally, a bronze sword would corrode and turn green within a short number of years. (5-10 years if exposed to normal weathering/oxidation, and possibly less than that in southern China's extremely humid climate!)

However the sword's preservation is the subject of some debate. Some skeptics claim the sword only looked pristine after restoration work was done on it. However, the excavation team firmly state that it had little to no corrosion when they unearthed it.

The Sword of King Gou Jian, and the Spear of King Fu Chai both reside in the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan.



References (in Chinese):


  • Info on the story of King Gou Jian:
    • Sima Qian- 史記 Shiji, or "Records of the Historian"
    • (Han) Yuankang- 越絶書 Yuejueshu, or "The Absolute Book of Yue" 
    • Zhao Ye- 吳越春秋 Wu Yue Chunqiu or "The Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue"