Ancient Chinese Warfare (47 page)

The socketed dagger-axe first appeared in the Erh-li-kang period,
²⁰
but the tubular socket is generally believed to have originated somewhere in the Northern complex.
²¹
Increasingly found at Anyang beginning with a small number dating to Wu Ting’s reign,
²²
despite claims to the contrary they seem to have proliferated quite rapidly and displaced the straight-tabbed
ko
, eventually accounting for the majority of dagger-axes found in the tombs of some high-ranking martial officials in Yin-hsü’s third and fourth periods.
²³
Nevertheless, the development of the crescent blade catapulted the
yu-hu-ko
style into prominence, presumably because of its lethality in both infantry combat and chariot encounters, resulting in the virtual disappearance of the socketed
ko
in the Western Chou, though not before more pronounced rhomboidal blade shapes and a variant incorporating a similar downward extension that increased the solidity of the mounting appeared late in the Shang.
²⁴

A second early development during the third period at Erh-li-t’ou was the enlargement and elongation of the tab (
t’ang
) in a downward curve. However, the curved tab style did not proliferate until Yin-hsü and then rapidly disappeared after the Chou conquest.
²⁵
Said to have been similarly inspired by the curved handles found on knives from the Northern complex, the initially simple, flat tabs soon gave way to increasingly intricate decorative motifs coincident with the tendency to more elaborately embellish ritual vessels. Abstract patterns, Chinese characters, and fanciful animals were all employed to enhance prestige, identify the user, and seek divine protection. However, the most imaginative and complex figures appear in nearby peripheral cultures, including one associated with the Hu in the south that depicts a tiger eating a man.
²⁶
Even though their intention was ostentatious display, their primary function overawing others whether on the battlefield or in martial flourishes, these longer, thicker, heavier tabs provided a natural counterbalance to the blade head, thereby improving the battlefield dynamics, while the weight increase augmented the energy at impact.
²⁷

Surprisingly, these enlarged dagger-axe tabs were never edged, reshaped to form any sort of hammer, or pointed, three improvements that would have allowed their use on the back swing or over the shoulder
and off to the side in an emergency. However, coincident with the evolution of more complex tab shapes, the
ko
’s overall profile changed somewhat. One of the most obvious alterations was the relocation of the curbed tab to a more upward position so that the top sometimes even formed an essentially continuous line with the blade’s upper edge, particularly in the replica weapons that became common late in the Shang.
²⁸
However, these minor stylistic modifications would have had no real effect on the weapon’s primary function or effectiveness, unlike the elongated crescent’s development.

As early as Erh-li-t’ou’s fourth period a slight downward curve at the tip in the straight dagger-axe blades resulted in a slightly longer upper edge and an upper-to-lower length ratio exceeding 1:0.
²⁹
Thereafter, despite preserving the slight downward hook at the front of the blade, during the late Erh-li-kang and early Yin-hsü periods the ratio would reverse as the portion of the lower edge closest to the shaft began to be lengthened in an increasingly discernible arc. Moreover, in the Erh-li-kang period,
ko
blades with sharply tapered, sharpened edges that had initially been flat or characterized by only a slightly protruding spine began to grow wider and evolve the distinctive rhomboidal cross-section that would characterize all subsequent weapons.
³⁰
The greater thickness not only increased the weight and the force at impact, but also strengthened the blade against twisting and breakage.

Although exceptions of considerably greater length have been recovered, the normal length of the blade, including the mounting tab, for functional bronze models in the Shang varied from just under 20 centimeters to nearly 30, with the majority falling between 23 and 26 centimeters or approximately 10 inches, but a few running as high
as 38 centimeters. (For lengths of about 15 to 18 centimeters, the ratio for the portion of the blade that extends outward from the shaft to the remainder or tab generally varies from 3:1 to 4:1.) Depending on the blade’s thickness, the alloys employed, and whether the tab was a straight rectangle or a heavier, curved, or angled version incorporating complex decorations, the weight could range from a very low 200 to an occasionally hefty 550 grams, with the majority falling between 300 and 450 grams or roughly 10 to 16 ounces.

The large number of dagger-axes that weigh 300, 400, or 450 grams (or just about one pound) suggests that these were considered ideal weights for the particular designs. As with any weapon, extremes tend to result in poor performance. Excessively light
ko
would have been easy to swing and less fatiguing even over the short period of actual combat, but lightening the weapon would have little effect on the arc speed or final velocity. However, because the head’s weight significantly contributes to the momentum and thus the impulse or energy available at impact, too light a blade might simply glance off the era’s rudimentary body armor or fail to penetrate the body. Conversely, although heavier blades have greater impact, they can become unwieldy and sacrifice precision in striking, accounting for the weight and size constraints suggested by later military writers.

Another crucial issue is the angle at which the dagger-axe blade is affixed to the shaft, because (as some scholars have speculated and our experiments have confirmed) there is a very narrow range of angles that will allow the
ko
to function effectively. Delivering a piercing combat blow in an overhand style requires that the blade arrive more or less perpendicularly to the surface of the target; otherwise, a glancing blow will result that is unlikely to produce a serious wound, if any at all, should the enemy be protected by body armor.

Although a few
ko
have been recovered that employ declinations from horizontal of 20 degrees and ascendant variants of an almost unimaginable 45 degrees, the slight upward angle of approximately 10 degrees that appeared in the early Shang eventually prevailed, no doubt the result of hard-won experience.
³¹
Any greater angle simply exposes the lower cutting edge, essentially converting it into an extended saber or a precursor of later weapons that mount broad knives at the top of
a shaft, such as the Kuan Tao, named after the famous Three Kingdoms general and God of War. Conversely, angles less than perpendicular preclude both cutting and piercing, rendering the weapon useless.

As attested by the large number recovered from Yin-hsü, even without further improvement the dagger-axe had become a substantial weapon with formidable killing power when wielded by practiced warriors. Nevertheless, it continued to evolve, the next major development being the gradual elongation of the bottom edge downward in an increasingly arc-shaped profile. In its incipient Erh-li-kang embodiment this extension did not yet constitute an additional hooking or cutting edge, but instead provided the basis for a somewhat longer flange that further stabilized the blade’s mounting while providing an additional lashing slot sufficiently offset below the body of the blade to avoid weakening it. However, even these slight changes must have produced dramatic effects, because the lower portion was quickly extended further downward during the Anyang period, resulting in an essentially crescent-shaped blade that could incorporate additional mounting slots and achieved its final realization in the late third and fourth periods at Yin-hsü, as shown in the illustration overleaf.
³²

Various sizes and basic shapes, including a modified triangular blade, were eventually produced, all generally falling within the overall length and weight limits seen in the straight- and curved-tab models. The triangular- and crescent-bladed
ko
appear to have evolved separately, but it is also claimed that the former influenced the latter. However, tab variants tended to be more dramatic, and a few actually reached lengths approximately equal to the blade itself. Increasingly displaced slightly downward, these tabs also increased in width, providing ample surface for more complex designs.

Because it can be used for hooking and slicing, the crescent or scythelike blade radically modified the nature of the dagger-axe.
³³
Now that it was no longer restricted to fighting in a piercing mode, penetrating strikes were probably relegated to secondary importance, if ever attempted. However, employing the dagger-axe as a hooking and slicing weapon requires a completely different fighting method. Rather than manipulating the point to strike a roughly perpendicular blow, the curved portion of the blade must be employed to catch and pull through the
objective. Moreover, as depictions of decapitated bodies and evidence from ritual executions subsequently show, in seeking to sever rather than penetrate, warriors naturally targeted the neck and four limbs rather than the torso. Strikes could also be directed at the enemy’s horses, whose speed would actually contribute to the weapon’s effectiveness, as well as the chariot’s occupants, eventually making it the preferred weapon for chariot combat.

In theory, both the upper and lower edges of the earliest daggerlike
ko
, as well as the upper edge of the hooked or crescent blade form of the
ko
, could have been used as cutting surfaces, but only through rather awkward maneuvers. The lower edge of the earliest piercing weapons can make an effective cut only by striking in a swift downward motion against the shoulder, requiring the wielder to hold the shaft nearly vertical and effect an awkward (and therefore weak) hand orientation before pulling forward or through a contorted horizontal hooking and pulling motion. The mechanics of the crescent blade allow it to be directly brought to bear before the lower edge is far more effectively pulled through as the forearms drop and the hands are rotated downward. On the other hand, despite claims to the contrary, the upper edges of early versions were probably only used “on the rebound” or “in recoil,” when an initial swipe missed and the warrior had to abruptly thrust the top edge of the blade back upward in an awkward attempt to strike the enemy in the throat through some sort of reverse blow.

An apparent reference to employing the upper edge of the dagger-axe in this mode appears in the
Tso Chuan
, which states that Lu “defeated the Ti at Hsien and captured a giant called Ch’iao-ju. Fu-fu Chung-sheng
struck his throat with a
ko
, killing him.”
³⁴
Commentators have traditionally explained the fatal blow as an upward thrust with the top edge of the blade, because the enemy’s greater height exposed his throat. (Why he would have been slain after being capturing with a method appropriate to the battlefield is rather puzzling.) However, they generally believe that the weapon was a
chi
rather than a simple
ko
, particularly as the two terms were traditionally used somewhat interchangeably, in which case the actual implement of death would have been the spear at the top.
³⁵

Issues of rotation would not have been as severe for the early or true “dagger-axe” because, being designed to penetrate, the blow would necessarily have been directed downward without much sideways angle. Nevertheless, because of the weapon’s unusual design, the early
ko
inherently required highly specialized techniques to wield as an overhead or overhand weapon and would have had somewhat reduced effectiveness when swung horizontally and even less power when striking upward in a rising arc from below. However, the arc need not have been wide—in fact, large sweeps can easily be avoided and there would have been a tendency for the head to rotate—so the
ko
may have been employed for short punching blows such as those recently determined to have been highly effective for similarly shaped Western-style weapons.
³⁶
But in the case of the hooked version, greater torquing forces would have been exerted on the hand when the head angle changed from the initial strike as the blade cut through. In addition, the forces experienced at impact would have tended to thrust the blade upward on the shaft immediately upon encountering any resistance, accounting for the ever increasing length of the crescent blade with its additional lashing slots.