New Series of Posts: Dual Weapons

The Chinese martial arts have many kinds of melee weapons that are organized into several categories.

One such category is dual weapons. Unlike western traditions, most of these dual weapons are identical in size, weight, and shape.

The first thing I want to talk about is in response to Matt Easton's video Dual-wielding axes - plausible combat style?

He alludes to the possibility that Kung Fu styles use dual axes, but thinks that axe and shield is a more plausible combination. While I somewhat agree that you are more protected while using a shield, the concept of dual wielded axes is still well grounded in history, at least in the Asian tradition.

Dual axes or Shuāng Fǔ (雙斧) supposedly originated in the Song dynasty, but most claims stem from the fictional book, Outlaws of the Marsh aka The Water Margin. Most claims point to Lǐ Kuí (李逵) aka, the Black Whirlwind, who is a fictional character from that novel. He is presumed to be the original user of dual axes.

Historically, they were used by the Qing dynasty's Green Standard Army (綠營), as referenced in the Huángcháo Lǐqì Túshì (皇朝禮器圖式), which may also suggest that it could be found earlier in the Ming dynasty as well. (As a historical side note, the Green Standard Army was originally constructed from remnants of the old Ming army.)

Dual axes were typically short, with a blade about four and a half inches tall, and a handle slightly over one and a half feet long, with each axe weighing in the vicinity of two pounds.

Typically, one axe is used for attack while the other is used for defense, but these roles are not fixed to one hand, and are interchangeable. This act of switching is done for purposes of both adaptability, and the potential to confuse the enemy.

They are used today by many styles of Chinese martial arts, such as Shaolin, Emei, Cai Li Fo, Hung Ga(r), to name a few.

This series will continue next week with a post about the Double Hook Swords or Shuāng Gōu (雙鈎).

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.