Ancient Chinese Warfare (87 page)

48
Li Chi, BIHP 22 (1950): 15. Kuo Muo-jo, “Shuo Chi,” 179, 182, once claimed that the
ko
had been discontinued by the Han, only
chi
with one or two heads being employed.

49
Yang Hung, “Chung-kuo Ku-tai te Chi,” 161; Kuo Muo-jo, “Shuo Chi,” 177.

50
For further information on the multiple-
ko
variant of the
chi
, see Sun Chi, WW 1980:12, 83-85, and Chung Shao-yi, WW 1995:11, 59. Considerable controversy exists over the exact term for these multiple-
ko
weapons and whether they require a spear point to be termed a “
chi
” or not, with claims for the latter being based on the discovery of thirty
chi
at Tseng Hou-yi. (See, for example, Chung Shao-yi, 60, or T’an Wei-ssu,
Tseng Hou-yi Mu
, 2001, especially 52-56.)

51
Sun Chi, WW 1980:12, 84.

52
Chung Shao-yi, WW 1995:11, 59 and Sun Chi, 84.

53
In numerous experiments conducted with replicas, the short Shang-style
chi
was felt to be awkward in either of its modes. Effectively exploiting this dual capability requires learning new rotational hand and arm movements, as well as developing the ability to deliver a thrust with the hand turned to disadvantageous positions of lower leverage. (Longer two-handed Spring and Autumn versions do not suffer from this defect because short arc attacks no longer exist, only long-range hooking, piercing, or thrusting movements.) Moreover, the fighter must essentially precommit to either a slicing or thrusting attack because the two possibilities do not equally present themselves in combat situations.

1
Twentieth-century military experience in Southeast Asia attests to the lethality of sharpened sticks—essentially mini-spears—concealed in rice paddies and jungle underbrush. Guerilla actions also involved employing roughly fashioned spears against a variety of forces, and sharply cut bamboo culms continue to be used in street melees and against the police, causing frequent deaths and numerous wounds.

2
Claims that their numbers decreased in the Western Chou with the ascension of chariot combat are common. (For example, see Shen Jung, KKHP 1998:4, 456-458.) However, Western battle experience contradicts arguments for the spear’s inapplicability that tend to be made with reference to the effective hooking power of the crescent-shaped
ko
. (Because they are used by thrusting rather than swinging, it can equally be argued that they would be more effective against horses—the usual target—and chariot riders, especially in the congested confusion of a melee when the chariots would have virtually been brought to a halt.) Moreover, in comparison with the masses of fighters clogging the battlefield, even the largest chariot force represented only a fraction of the total combatants.

3
As discussed below, the
p’i
featured a cast bronze spearhead with a tab that was inserted into a shaft until socket mounting was adopted late in the Spring and Autumn period.

4
Chung-kuo Ku-tai Ping-ch’i T’u-chi
, 26 (based on traditional explanations).

5
Hayashi Miano,
Chugoku Inshu Jidai no Buki
, 1972, 99.

6
Shen Jung, KKHP 1998:4, 452.

7
Li Chien-min, KK 2001:5, 68, notes a somewhat abstract, elongated type found at Sanchia-chuang east that has been attributed to Yin-hsü’s first period.

8
This unusually long, basically rhomboidal stone spear has a willowy blade that merges into a somewhat rectangular lower (shaft) portion. Dated to about 1000 BCE, it is the largest ritual weapon found in China, the next being an unimaginably oversized stone
ko
of 1.0 m. Fabricated from one piece of smoothly worked sandstone, it has a total length of 120.8 cm. apportioned as a head section of 48.8 cm. and a shaft of 72 cm.; a maximum blade width of 6 cm.; and a very moderate thickness about of 1.2 cm. (Wang Ssu-chou, KK 2006:2, 95-96).

9
Short protrusions that lie in the same dimension as the blade just below, separated by a slight gap, almost like a detached flange, appear on the two
pi
specimens from P’an-lungch’eng (shown in
P’an-lung-ch’eng Wen-hua
, 138). However, rather than having lashing holes, the ends are unexpectedly solid. One has a length of 24 cm., the other 23. (
P’i
are rarely discussed in archaeological reports, and there seems to be some disagreement over their defining characteristics. Comments in
P’an-lung-ch’eng Wen-hua
distinguish it from the
mao
solely by the crosslike protrusions and solid shaft, requiring insertion into the shaft rather than mounting over the handle. However, weapons identified as
p’i
that were commonly employed in the Warring States tended to have socket-mounted, elongated, willow-like blades and lengths up to 1.62 m., and some from Ch’in Shih-huang’s tomb with a pike- or javelin-like appearance exceed 3.5 m., including their bronze heads of 35-36 cm. None of these later variants have a crosspiece, only a sort of rim at the base. The
p’i
reportedly died out as a battlefield weapon after the Western Han.)

10
Li Chi’s “Yin-hsü Yu-jen Shih-ch’i T’u-shuo” (BIHP 23b [1952]) does not show any spears.

11
For example, while Shen Jung sees a major northern contribution, Li Chien-min KK 2001:5, 65, claims the Shang spear is simply an amalgamation of the southern model plus a few Shang elements.

12
Even though Hayashi Minao’s comments are not without value, two seminal studies have appeared in the last decade: Shen Jung, KK 1998:4, 447-464, which contains an evolutionary chart that may be overly systematic, and Li Chien-min, KK 2001:5, with a discussion of spears on 65-68.

13
Descriptions of the three will be found in Ho-pei-sheng Po-wu-kuan, WW 1976:2, 33; the clearest photographs appear in
P’an-lung-ch’eng Ch’ing-t’ung Wen-hua
, 136 and 137.

14
Based on binding being the most common method for securing axe and dagger-axe heads, Shen Jung, KKHP 1998:4, 458-460, concluded that the ring holes were simply employed for lashing. (When pegging subsequently dominates, the ears will be employed for pennants and streamers.)

15
Of the two with “ears,” the one with the less pronounced rim is 23.6 cm. long, slightly oval, and has a significantly raised spine that extends right to the tip; the other is slightly shorter at 20.2 cm. The third, with upwardly oriented triangles molded onto the shaft, is 22 cm. long with a blade to socket ratio of 2:1; has an essentially rectangular spine with a somewhat rhomboidal cast that runs down most of the length; and includes two protruding upward-hooked flanges at the base which, in a sword, would be intended to stop enemy blades from sliding down onto the warrior’s hand.

16
One example discovered in Hubei that lacks ears is particularly interesting because the blade’s multihued patina suggests it underwent some form of secondary heat treating. Extremely basic in design, it has a long shaft with a small symmetrical leaf blade, relatively rounded core with raised spine, and slightly raised smaller leaf section on the blades that serves for the relatively simple
t’ao-t’ieh
decorative pattern that is repeated on the lower mounting portion. The length
is 28.7 cm., blade width 7 cm., socket diameter 3.4 cm., and weight 0.55 kg. (See Ho Nu, WW 1994:9, 90 and 91.)

17
Li Chien-min, KK 2001:5, 65-68. Although the specimens clearly reflect the southern spear tradition, local elements loom large, the strongest influence perhaps being from Wuch’eng. (The spearheads at Wu-ch’eng and Hsin-kan are said to date to approximately the second period at Yin-hsü.) Twenty-seven can be broken down into subtypes depending on the relative length of the shaft and blade, although they range from 11.8 to a maximum of 30.5 cm., as one cluster falls around 15 cm., another 24-25 cm. The ones with ears are generally short to moderate in length, those without ears often very elongated. Many have blood grooves, some have decorations, and at least one widens out, then the blade edges continue in a sort of indentation down to the rim, as in the late Shang. Although not called
p’i
, two variants have crosspieces with holes in the ends rather than ears. No weights are given. (For further discussion of the merged influences seen at Hsin-kan, see Chan K’ai-sun, CKKTS 1994:5, 34-40.)

18
Li Chien-min, 67.

19
The integrated view has been particularly espoused by Shen Jung, KKHP 1998.4: 452, whereas Liu Yi-man, KK 2002:3, 65, and Li Chien-min (65) assert that the Shang spear is derived from southern precursors. Others, while generally accepting the latter viewpoint, see indigenous Shang stone and bone spears as having exerted a residual effect.

20
For example, three spears dating to the fourth period at Yin-hsü that have somewhat pudgy but moderately long triangular blades and a gradually expanding rhomboidal shaft with pronounced ears lack pegging holes and should therefore be considered purely southern-style embodiments. (For a report see SHYCS An-yang Kung-tso-tui, KK 1993:10, 884.)

21
For examples that date to the fourth period at Yin-hsü, see Yin-hsü Hsiao-min-t’un K’aoku-tui, “Ho-nan An-yang-shih Hsiao-min-t’un Shang-tai Mu-tsang 2003-2004-nien Fa-chüeh Chien-pao,” KK 2007:1, 32, which depicts two stretched rhomboidal spearheads that are vividly decorated with facelike deigns on the very base and upwardly pointing triangles along the spine. (The shaft openings are somewhat distorted circles.) Comparable in size, one is 25 cm. long with a maximum 5.8 cm.-wide upper blade, the other 26.3 cm. with an identical 5.8 cm. width.

22
Li Chien-min, KK 2001:5, 65-68. Spears recovered from Commander Ch’ang’s tomb include southern specimens with ears; a roughly circular spine; but short, stubby, flat leaf blades about 24 cm. in length, and variants with rhomboidal spines and blades with extended lower edges that reach down to the ear holes before cutting sharply inward; they are slightly longer at around 28 cm. (See KK 2004:1, 16.)

23
Hayashi Minao, 1992, 97, and Liu Yi-man, KK 2002:3, 65, claim that the character
mao
does not appear in the oracular inscriptions. However, Karlgren (KGSR1109) interprets the character as a kind of lance and provides a Yin dynasty bone version whose existence, if attested, would contradict assertions of nonexistence.

24
Two spears were among the weapons recently found in a set apparently belonging to a foreign nobleman who had settled in the Anyang area. The leaf-type blades are short but marked by a smooth curve at bottom, while the shafts, which have “ears” on the bottom, are comparatively longer. In one the socket opening is relatively circular, in the other slightly oval. The lengths are given as 21.3 and 21.6 cm., with outer socket diameters of about 3.5 and 3.6 cm. Only one weight is given, 295 grams (An-yang-shih WWKK YCS, KK 2008:8, 22-33). The one found together with a
yüeh
at Ta-ssu-k’ung is marked by
t’ao-t’ieh
decorations at the bottom, protruding ears, a fairly long but narrow blade that quickly curves inward, and a length of 22.2 cm. (SHYCS An-yang Kung-tso-tui, KK 1992:6, 513-514).

25
Yen Yi-p’ing, 1983, 7-10. Tomb 1004 at Hou-chia-chuang contains a significant quantity of armor, shields, and helmets. Some of the short shafts of the 370 upper-layer bronze spears show red coloring.

26
The spears can be divided into two types: a short, stubby, leaf-shaped blade with a roughly circular spine and separate ears at bottom about 23-24 cm. in length, and a longer, flat, leaf-type blade whose edges extend down to the ear holes before cutting inward, has a rhomboidal spine, and averages about 28 cm. in length (SHYCS An-yang Kung-tso-tui, KK 2004:1, 16-17).

27
The spears can again be divided into two styles. The first has a rather broad blade that curves somewhat inward before flaring outward again on the lower third of the shaft, has two lashing holes in the blade itself, and has a pronounced oval socket/spine that extends halfway up to the tip. In the second the blade suddenly flares out then cuts inward, turning slightly upward ; shafts are generally rhomboidal or extended ovals, but there are no ears or lashing holes (SHYCS An-yang Kung-tso-tui, KK 1996:2, 380-381).

28
Few articles have pondered the earliest forms of Chinese armor: Yang Hung’s “Chung-kuo Ku-tai te Chia Chou” and “Chung-kuo Ku-tai te Chia Chou te Hsin Fa-hsien ho Yu-kuan Wen-t’i” and Albert E. Dien’s “A Study of Early Chinese Armor.” The
Chung-kuo Ku-tai Ping-ch’i T’u-chi
provides essential illustrations, while an odd, highly colorful reconstruction of a Shang warrior’s garb may be found in
Chung-kuo Ku-tai Chün-jung Fu-shih
, 1. (However, it should be noted that the colors on some recently excavated late Warring States tomb figures are quite vibrant, indicating that the Chinese martial realm did not confine itself to somber embellishments.)

29
Yang Hung, 1985, 3; Yen Yi-p’ing, “Yin Shang Ping-chih,” 1983, 3.

30
For an oversized illustration that is also reproduced in the
Chung-kuo Ku-tai Ping-ch’i T’u-chi
, 39, see Yen Yi-p’ing, 3.

31
The arrangement of the shields is shown on Yen Yi-p’ing’s “Yin Shang Ping-chih,” 1983, 4.

32
For a depiction see
Chung-kuo Ku-tai Ping-ch’i T’u-chi
, 39. An additional shield in dark red lacquer has been found in Shandong at T’eng-chou Ch’ien-chang. (See Yang Hung, HCCHS 2000:5, 8.)

33
About 80 cm. high, it was 65 cm. wide at the top but tapered outward to 70 cm. at the bottom and therefore did not form a perfect rectangle. Shih Chang-ju’s famous reconstruction of this shield, BIHP 22 (1950): 65-69, upon which all discussion to date has been based, is also cited by Yen Yi-p’ing, 7, and included in the
Chung-kuo Ku-tai Ping-ch’i T’u-chi
, 38.

34
The only large catch yet discovered has been at Hou-chia-chuang’s M1004, where 141 helmets in seven discernible styles were recovered. (Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to these helmets subsequent to the initial report, but for a brief discussion see “Chung-kuo Ku-tai te Chia Chou,” 8-9, and
Chung-kuo Tu-tai Ping-ch’i T’u-chi
, 39-41, for photos.) Though none have been found at P’an-lung-ch’eng, a similar helmet with an even more exaggerated appearance has been recovered at Hsin-kan. (See P’eng Shih-fan and Yang Jih-hsin, WW 1993:7, 11 plus a separate photo. Yen Yi-p’ing also provides an illustration of a helmet from M 1004 in his “Yin Shang Ping-chih,” 8. The
Chung-kuo Ku-tai Chün-jung Fu-shih
shows a short version on page 1 and other Shang helmets on page 2.)