Ancient Chinese Warfare (48 page)

A third, distinctive form of dagger-axe, sometimes referred to as a
k’uei
,
³⁷
evolved on the periphery in Shaanxi around Ch’eng-ku.
³⁸
Derived from precursors traceable back to the Yangshao cultural manifestation at Pan-p’o and intermediate realizations at K’o-sheng-chuang, it migrated into the Shang during the Erh-li-kang period and down into Sichuan, where it persisted as an important style well into the Warring States period.
³⁹
Basically triangular, it has a relatively broad base but rather rounded tip and thus somewhat resembles the shape of Neolithic stone dagger-axes.

As soon as it began being cast in bronze, this triangular
ko
developed an integral mounting tab that was roughly 50 percent narrower than the blade’s width, molded binding slots at the inner edge (but no flanges), holes in the tab, and sometimes even a large hole centered in the blade itself. The preferred form evolved over the centuries, ultimately producing late Shang versions marked by somewhat elongated lower edges, similar to those found on crescent-shaped blades but considerably shorter.

The tab’s reduced profile allowed the outer portions of the blade’s base to butt directly against the shaft, greatly strengthening the joint, while the binding slots and holes permitted more extensive, tighter lashing, increasing the overall solidity. (Some analysts believe that the noticeable success of the
k’uei
’s lashing holes prompted their addition to the then-evolving crescent-shaped extension on the straight
ko
, and that they may have even preceded the upper and lower flanges that start to become visible during Erh-li-kang.)
⁴⁰
Although they frequently weigh about 300 grams, triangular “
ko
” tend to have somewhat stubbier blades of about 18 to 20 centimeters, though a few about 22 centimeters long and 9 centimeters wide at the base have been recovered.
⁴¹

By terming the triangular version a “
ko”
rather than a variant of the broadaxe, which it more closely resembles, analysts imply that its mode of employment was similar to the relatively straight-bladed, basic variant. Because it tapers to a comparatively narrow tip, the
k’uei
’s impact area was considerably smaller than that of the average
fu
blade with its wider, more rectangular profile. However, its relative bluntness would still have rendered piercing efforts more difficult, required greater strength to wield successfully, and perhaps transformed it into more of a crushing
weapon with somewhat dubious characteristics.
⁴²
The significant popularity it achieved in the late Shang and Western Chou before disappearing by the Spring and Autumn period (because hooking weapons were more appropriate for chariot warfare than the triangular
ko
, an infantryman’s weapon) attests to its functional value.
⁴³

Apart from new shapes and advances in construction techniques, the dagger-axe eventually benefited from the somewhat surprising addition of a spearhead at the top of the shaft, thereby uniting two discrete, fully evolved edged weapons into what has commonly been called a
chi
or spear-tipped dagger-axe.
⁴⁴
(One rare form, called a
kou chi
or “hooked
chi
,” affixed a knife to the top of a dagger-axe rather than a spear. This rather puzzling weapon probably attests more to human ingenuity and an inclination to tinkering with weapons than to any improved realization of lethality, because the nearly perpendicular
ko
would interfere with the delivery of slashing knife blows.)
⁴⁵
Although the earliest known example from the Erh-li-kang period combines a simple straight
ko
with a spearhead, it quickly came to be based on the crescent-bladed
ko
and assumed an appearance somewhat like a Western halberd, even though it remained a hooking rather than crushing or piercing weapon.
⁴⁶

The
chi
’s extemporaneous character was lost once unitary molded versions appeared in the late Shang or shortly thereafter.
⁴⁷
However, as attested by their relative paucity even in tombs and graves with multiple weapons,
chi
remained uncommon until multiplying in the Western Chou, proliferating in the Spring and Autumn, and displacing the spear and
ko
to become the chief weapon in the Warring States period, when there was a resurgence in separately cast pieces.
⁴⁸
Although originally an infantry weapon (as might be expected in having been derived from the crescent-shaped
ko
), the
chi
is generally viewed as primarily a chariot weapon, especially those with shafts of six feet or more.
⁴⁹

The Eastern Chou saw the addition of one or two well-aligned crescent
ko
blades onto these longer shafts to create multiple-bladed
chi
, mimicking a briefly seen development in the
ko
itself.
⁵⁰
However, the second and third dagger-axes did not have tabs protruding through
the shaft, nor did they employ sockets.
⁵¹
In addition, these multipleheaded
chi
disappeared in the late Warring States after having flourished in the Spring and Autumn around the Yangtze and Han river areas, including in the states of Ch’u, Wu, and Yüeh.
⁵²
Presumably designed to target the entire space from the tip down to the hands with a single sweep, the resulting weapon must have been too unwieldy even for the strongest infantrymen fighting on firm terrain and should perhaps be considered an oddity with no applicability apart from inspiring terror.

Being a two-part synthetic weapon, the single-bladed
chi
could be used, albeit clumsily, as a spear in forwardly directed thrusts, a vital piercing capability in situations where an overhand rotational attack would be impossible or an arcing strike missed or had been deflected. Thus, when it was necessary to recover from a swing that had carried the head through an arc into a downward position, the spear could simply be angled upward for a reverse strike in a sort of reflexive mode. However, employing the short or single-handed Shang era
chi
as a thrusting weapon probably would have been a secondary use at best, because the unbalanced
ko
head induces considerable awkwardness.
⁵³

18.

A
S ATTESTED BY SPECIMENS dating back 400,000 years, whether thrown or employed in thrusting attacks, the spear has generally been one of the first weapons fabricated throughout the world. Despite assuming many forms, ranging from a sharpened, sometimes fire-hardened length of wood to elaborately cast bronze variants mounted on shafts carved from the rarest timbers, the objective was simply body penetration.
¹
However, the addition of a triangular head with sharpened edges, initially of stone but eventually cast from metal, enhanced the spear’s capabilities by enabling a new attack mode, slashing and cutting.

Although stone spearheads increased the weapon’s lethality, their use entailed multiple problems. Within weight and balance constraints, effective sizes and shapes had to be determined; methods for mounting and fastening developed; and workable minerals sought out, quarried, and prepared. Long, thin spearheads can achieve great penetration but generally cause more limited wounds and, being brittle, are liable to break at every stage from fabrication to impact. Broader blades require greater strength for penetration but make retraction difficult and generally inflict more significant damage. Small heads are light but lack impact; larger, heavier ones transfer greater energy but can shift the center of gravity too far forward, making them cumbersome to use and difficult to control when thrown.

In ancient times the combined length of the shaft and blade could vary greatly, but essentially depended on whether the warriors fought as individuals on a relatively dispersed battlefield or in closely packed,
disciplined formations. The maximum length that can be effectively wielded by one hand in combination with a shield in the other has historically averaged about two meters or seven feet. Any longer and the weight of the shaft, coupled with the disproportionate effect of the head at the end, causes the spear to become unmanageable except for the very strongest warriors or through rigorous training. (Contemporary martial arts practice shows that skill sets can be learned that will enable a fighter to single-handedly employ a three-meter spear, but generally only in a very dynamic mode, featuring excessively large swings and considerable body involvement that create indefensible openings for enemy strikes and threaten nearby comrades.)

Because longer shafts generally require two hands to wield and make it impossible to employ a shield, fighters are compelled to depend on agility, body armor, and cooperative action. However, spears also increase the thrusting range, provide a significant advantage against enemies armed with short weapons such as a sword or axe, and make it possible to target chariot and cavalry riders and their horses. Nevertheless, depictions from Mesopotamia, Greece, Egypt, and even Warring States China show that long spears were used single-handedly in a downwardthrusting mode by mounted chariot fighters, contrary to claims that the spear’s obsolescence in China resulted from its inherent uselessness in chariot warfare.
²

Traditional Chinese lore sometimes credits Shao-k’ang’s son Chu with inventing the spear, a rather unlikely possibility given the spear’s preexistence at the time, but possibly indicative of him having been the first warrior to bind a bronze spearhead to a wooden shaft. Archaeological evidence shows that in China the earliest stone spearheads were mounted by inserting them into a slot at the top of the shaft, then securing them, however precariously, with lashings and bindings. Irregularity in early shapes and the slipperiness of certain minerals that required roughing and grooving must have enormously complicated the task of solidly affixing the head to the shaft. The advent of bronze casting mitigated the problem because metallic spearheads could be molded with an internal cavity or socket extending well into the spearhead. Preshaped, tapered wooden shafts could then be inserted a considerable length, resulting in a tight fit and minimal tendency to rotation when oval and
rhomboidal shapes were employed. Other than the
p’i
, all known Shang bronze spears use this method of attachment, a practice that continued right through the Warring States period.
³
The spear’s balance was improved by adding a blunt cap at the bottom of the shaft (in contrast with the pointed ones used for dagger-axes).
⁴

Unlike the
ko
, whose shaft might snap at weak points along its length from sudden perpendicular (shearing) forces, the spear’s vulnerability lay in buckling under compression when the spearhead struck and was thrust into an object. As evident from the
K’ao-kung Chi
’s emphasis on the need for a circular cross-section and no reduction in thickness even at the handhold, consistent thickness and strength were therefore required along the entire length. Unfortunately, apart from one specimen recovered from Ta-ssu-k’ung-ts’un in the Anyang area with an original shaft length of 140 centimeters, nothing more than short remnants and impressions in the sand remain from the Shang. However, a 162-centimeter Warring States shaft constructed from long bamboo strips that had been laminated onto a wooden core and then lacquered black shows that the problem was thoroughly comprehended and illustrates the engineering sophistication eventually achieved.
⁵

Even though the stone precursors that have been found in Yangshao and Ta-wen-k’ou sites attest to the spear’s employment in the late Neolithic, it is only with the inception of bronze versions that it would assume a focal role. No bronze spearheads attributable to the late Hsia or Erh-li-t’ou, Yen-shih, Cheng-chou, or even Fu Hao’s tomb have yet been discovered, and the spear appears to have remained relatively uncommon prior to the late Shang, despite requiring relatively little bronze in comparison with the solidity of axe and dagger-axe blades. In fact, the earliest Shang bronze spearheads appear in peripheral southern culture and the Northern complex, reputedly the twin sources for the modified Shang style that would rapidly proliferate late in their rule from Anyang.
⁶

Since few spearheads have been recovered even from Yin-hsü’s early years, the spear’s history falls into the latter half of the Shang rule from Anyang, when their numbers seem to have rapidly increased.
⁷
As might be expected given that older bronze spearheads retained an intrinsic value even as newer forms evolved, several styles are visible in
the artifacts from Yin-hsü. In addition, just as with the
ko
and
yüeh
, nonfunctional ritual forms that complicate the assessment of combat designs have also been recovered. Distinguished by the thinness of their blades and the absence of sharpening, they gradually became longer and more elaborate, even occasionally assuming oversized forms similar to the long stone spear found at Liaoning, which dates to the dynasty’s end.
⁸