When did the "eighteen weapons" begin to appear? According to China's ancient books, knives, guns, bows and arrows were all made by the Yellow Emperor. "Eighteen weapons" were created by military strategists Sun Bin and Wuqi during the Warring States Period. In fact, these weapons appeared much longer than Huangdi, Sun Bin and Wuqi. At least in the Middle Stone Age, our ancestors began to know how to make and use primitive weapons such as wooden sticks, stone knives and axes for self-defense and hunting. Arrows made of stones, animal bones and mussels have also been found in 20 Neolithic cultural sites all over China.
In the Shang Dynasty, our ancestors began to use bronze knives, guns, cymbals and other weapons. During the Warring States period, I knew that iron was used to cast weapons. In the Han Dynasty and Wei and Jin Dynasties, due to the further development of metallurgy in southern China, steel was widely used to cast knives, guns and swords, and various important weapons began to increase. After the Northern and Southern Dynasties, bronze weapons were out of sight and replaced by steel. By the Ming dynasty, the "eighteen weapons" had basically been completely finalized.
The word "eighteen weapons" is not found in ancient books. Wuza originated in Ming Dynasty, and Jianji was won by Chu people in Qing Dynasty. Both books have only eighteen martial arts. Obviously, the word "eighteen weapons" was created by later generations. What weapons does "eighteen weapons" refer to? Due to the differences of times, regions and schools, the interpretation of "eighteen weapons" is not the same. To sum it up. There are more than ten different sayings in ancient and modern times.
According to Five Miscellaneous Notes and Notes, the "eighteen weapons" are bows, crossbows, guns, knives, swords, spears, shields, axes, cymbals, halberds, yellow hammers, dragoons (sticks), forks, rakes and heads. Later people called it "Little Eighteen."
Today, the definition of "eighteen weapons" in Wushu is knife, gun, sword, halberd, axe, cymbal, hook, fork, boring, stick, stick, whip, mace, hammer, grab, kidnapper and meteor.
Hanwu was founded in the fourth year of Yuanfeng (BC 107). After strict selection and sorting, 18 weapons were selected: spear, boring, knife, spear, whip, mace, sword, hammer, grab, halberd, bow, cymbal, axe and so on. Sticks, guns and forks.
During the Three Kingdoms period, Lv Qian, a famous weapon appraiser, rearranged the "eighteen weapons" ordered by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty into nine long weapons and nine short weapons according to their characteristics. Jiuchang: Ge, spear, halberd, spear, boring, cymbal, stick, gun and fork; Nine short: axe, walking, card, arrow, whip, sword, mace, hammer and grab.
From the above, the weapons listed in the Eighteen Martial Arts are similar, but they are very rich in form and content. There are long instruments and short instruments; Soft musical instrument, double musical instrument; There are hooks, thorns, sharp points and knives; There are bright and dark; Offensive and defensive; Fight, kill, fight, shoot and block.
It can be seen that the weapons listed in the Eighteen Martial Arts are all weapons of ancient masters (about 400 kinds), which are the most commonly used in actual combat.
Eighteen weapons refer to a variety of skills, and the content of different periods is also different. Its name was first seen in Yuanqu. For example, there is a lyric in "Respecting Virtue and Refusing to Accept Old Age" included in "Ancient and Modern Zaju", which reads "He has learned all 18 martial arts, and he is familiar with all six books". "Water Margin" the second time: "Which eighteen martial arts? Spears, hammers, bows, crossbows, spears, whips, hammers, swords, chains, blades, axes, cymbals, halberds, cards, sticks, guns and picks. " Of all weapons. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Xie wrote in Five Miscellanies-Volume V: "Eighteen styles: one bow, two crossbows, three guns, four knives, five swords, six spears, seven shields, eight axes, nine cymbals, ten halberds, eleven yellows, twelve mallets, thirteen pickaxes, fourteen rafts and fifteen forks. Since the Qing Dynasty, there have been four theories about the Eighteen Martial Arts:
(1) refers to "knives, guns, swords, boring tools, sticks, forks, rakes, whips, hammers, axes, hooks, sickles, pickaxes, crutches, bows and arrows, rattan cards".
(2) The arrangement is the same as (1), except that the last three items are changed to: generation, judgment, bow and arrow.
3 refers to "nine long and nine short". Jiuchang: guns, halberds, sticks, cymbals, forks, boring, hooks, shackles and rings; Nine shortcomings are: knife, sword, crutch, axe, whip, mace, hammer, stick and pestle.
(4) refers to 18 kinds of weapons, which are called knives, guns, swords, halberds, axes, cymbals, hooks, forks, whips, mallets, hammers, claws, cymbals, sticks, crutches and meteor hammers by some people in the modern theater. (Easy to remember: sword, spear, halberd, axe, hook, fork, stick, whip, mace, hammer to catch the kidnapper meteor)
Note: (3) The bows and arrows of long-range weapons and the cards or rattan cards of defensive weapons are not listed, which reflects that modern fighters are not good at learning bows and arrows and only teach routines.