Once again, a hugely important region historically and politically that will be getting painfully short shrift here. Although the unbroken written history of China goes back to 2000 BC (and distinct and complex civilizations are in evidence all the way back to 7000 BC), we are merely going to show the historical development of weaponry up to the Qing Dynasty at the turn of the century.
1700 BC – bows and arrows, spears, short knives, and the ge, a short spiked dagger blade mounted at right angles to a staff. The weapon heads were jade and other hard minerals, bronze coming later in the period.
800 BC – exposure to nomadic raiding trips of the Central steppe (Middle Eastern) raiding tribes (attacking with chariots). Therefore Chinese tribes went immediately from foot warriors using short utilitarian bronze knives (but of high quality) to horsemanship and the bronze sword. Sword lengths were still quite short, about 14 to 18 inches long, double-edged and slightly leaf shaped or simply straight edged. Therefore, the sword could not have been used while the fighter was mounted. Instead, the horse was used to move the warrior quickly into the field of battle, at which point he would dismount to fight. Chariots, too, were used primarily for quick transport, not as a fighting platform.
By 300 BC, the sword length had increased to over three feet in length. Certainly by this time the sword was used by both mounted cavalry and infantry, for the size of the standing army had increased to allow for differentiation of duties. Unlike Western swords of the same period, these full length singlehand bronze swords – jian – were of excellent quality. Although the Chinese by this time were fully capable of producing iron, they felt no need to do so.
200 BC – unification of China – a sudden jump from bronze to steel, by-passing iron, in sword making. Sword blades now could be made just as long, but lighter and stronger than bronze. In response to repeated nomadic invasions, the army was now composed of diverse specialized units. Foot soldiers were used primarily for defense. The heavy infantry was used for close fighting (using primarily the ge) and masses of light infantry firing crossbows or bow and arrow, but in primarily a defensive role. The primary threat (and final defeat) was from nomadic cavalry (using composite bow, lance, and sword) always fighting while mounted. As such, heavy cavalry (armed with ge, swords), light cavalry (with sword and crossbow) became the primary offensive arms. For both the light infantry and light cavalry, crossbows were preferred over simple bows, as they had a longer range than did the simple bows of the invaders. Chariots continued to be used, and were expanded from their role of mere delivery vehicles to a variety of uses, including mobile fighting platforms.
500 AD – introduction of curved sword from Turkmenistan. From then on it – called the dao – is used along with the straight sword.
618 to 907 AD – Tang Dynasty – The dao becomes standard for cavalry, jian for infantry. Tang dynasty is at a golden age – the height of empire in which Chinese weaponry, language, written characters, culture, religion spread out rather than continue to borrow from others. Here is also where improvements in steel manufacturing enabled the production of very high quality weapons. Periodic conscription of soldiers for a three year tour of duty is discontinued in favor of a professional permanent force for the standing army. A turn as well away from feudalism to a centralized Confucian bureaucracy. From this point forward, all of those that would conquer China would leave intact the massive bureaucracy necessary to run it, and in the process adopt the ways and culture of classical China of the Tang.
908 to 1644 AD. While this period includes the Ming Dynasty, for our purposes I only will note that the sword becomes relegated to a ceremonial position, and became rarely used in battle, supplanted by the halberd. Most serious fighting strategy revolved around the lance and bow and arrow. To take better use of the halberd and pike bearing heavy infantry, the battlefield formation known as the phalanx was used. The sword in China begins its long descent to a weapon of romance and legend.
1368 to 1911 AD – Qing Dynasty, although we know it better as the period of Manchu rule. These Mongolian invaders did impose some elements of Manchurian dress and tradition (especially the distinctive pigtail) on China, although after a time they too adopted traditional Chinese language and culture, and the same military format. The standard sword was a rather short, straight edged sword, much like the archers sword of medieval Europe – not considered during military planning, but still issued as a weapon of last resort. But while the sword was rarely used in combat, there was a large production of them for export as well as non-military purchase within the country. These swords differed substantially from the swords of earlier eras in that they tended to be more fanciful and of poorer quality. As they were untested in battle it didn’t matter much, but the styles still survive in what around the world are now considered traditional Chinese weapons. Especially distinctive are the butterfly knives, paired swords, exaggerated dao shapes and fanciful halberd shapes. These forms have become popular among modern practitioners of Chinese martial arts. Although not used by the standing army, they do have an important role in one moment in history – The Boxer Rebellion.
In 1900, China was on the verge of being completely dominated by foreign powers. A series of attacks against Europeans living in China by peasants escalated into a full anti-imperialist rebellion, aided by the tacit approval of the Empress and by the direct military support of the Chinese Army. The rebels called themselves the “Fists of Righteous and Harmonious Society Movement”, which the English simplified to “Boxers”. Boxers believed in using only traditional weapons, especially spears and halberds, although they certainly did nothing to dissuade the Chinese army from using rifles and artillery against the “foreign devils”. While the rebellion lasted nearly two years, it only lasted that long because resupplying the colonial troops proved difficult. Once in place, the combined foreign powers put down the Boxer rebellion rather easily.
At the end of the rebellion, the Qing empress had lost any real power. Dissatisfaction against the minority rule of the Manchu led to the creation of the Republic of China. Militarily, all vestiges of traditional weapons disappeared as the warlords in command of each warring faction procured the latest weaponry of the period.
© 2009 Richard Pallaziol, Weapons of Choice ™- all rights reserved