It is said that the earliest inventor of stone weapons was Yan Di Shennong, the founder of primitive weapons manufacturing. The earliest inventor of jade articles was the Yellow Emperor, who was the initiator of ritual weapons manufacturing. The first person who invented iron weapons was Chiyou, who was the initiator of making war weapons. Figure 1- 1. The Altar Sculpture of Chinese Ancestor in Linfen
In later legends, the Yellow Emperor symbolizes propriety and righteousness, and Chiyou symbolizes cruelty, from which we can also see some clues.
There are four kinds of weapons invented by Chiyou, namely short weapon sword, long weapon ge, spear, halberd, shield weapon armor and long-range weapon crossbow. These weapons have been used for a long time in the era of cold weapons. However, Chiyou's theory of invention is a fairy tale, and its credibility is debatable.
Figure 1-2. Bronze statue of Chiyou
Classification of cold weapons There are generally two types of cold weapons, namely "five soldiers" and "eighteen soldiers".
In the slave society and the early feudal society, there was a saying of "five soldiers". There are different opinions about the "five soldiers", which can be roughly divided into three categories.
First, pure melee theory, the earliest "five soldiers" refers to five categories: Ge, Shu, Ji, Chief Spear (short spear) and Yi Spear (spear). They are all melee weapons. With the development of the times and the maturity of bow and arrow making technology, this statement has changed.
Figure 2- 1. Zhang-a weapon that looks like a stick
Second, the theory of combining far and near. In this statement, "five soldiers" refer to Ge, Shu, Ji, chief spear (short spear) and bow and arrow. In the Han Dynasty, the lethality of weapons became more and more serious, which made people pay attention to defensive weapons.
Third, the theory of joint defense, that is, spear, halberd, shovel (axe), rafter (shield) and bow. This statement was put forward by Zheng Xuan in the Han Dynasty. Bow and arrow weapons are collectively referred to as "six bows, four crossbows and eight arrows".
Figure 2-2. The internal graupel of human head.
The wheel of history keeps moving forward, and the "five soldiers" can no longer cover the increasingly complex types of weapons.
At this time, the familiar saying of "eighteen weapons" appeared.
Eighteen weapons were originally defined as bows, crossbows, guns, knives, swords, spears, shields, axes, cymbals, halberds, whips, mallets, manuscripts, shackles, forks, palladium heads, cotton ropes and white blows. Figure 2-3. Eighteen kinds of weapons
Here, white fighting with bare hands is also included. The so-called "beating in vain" refers to the combat technology without using any weapons or instruments. It includes boxing, footwork, wrestling, joint skills and so on. There is a kind of boxing called "jacket boxing". Although you don't use a sword, it's useless to use a jacket as a weapon.
"Beat in vain" has "four strikes", that is, hitting, kicking, throwing and taking, which covers all the contents of beating in vain.
Figure 2-4. a kind of traditional Chinese shadowboxing (tai chi chuan)
The second definition of eighteen weapons is spear, hammer, bow, crossbow, spear (firearm), whip, mace, sword, chain (multi-jointed stick), old man, axe, cymbal, ge, halberd, card (shield), stick, gun and fork. This not only increases the proportion of soft weapons, but also increases firearms as weapons, reflecting the characteristics of the evolution of the times.
Figure 2-5. Intangible Cultural Heritage —— Hebei Rattan Brand
There are three important factors in the production and manufacture of cold weapons.
One is the production site, the other is the production of raw materials, and the third is the production process.
That is, where, what to use and how to produce it? These three problems are solved, and well-made cold weapons are not a problem.
Figure 3- 1. Ancient bronze sword
Cold weapons were produced in Qin and Han dynasties, and the central organization responsible for weapons production was Shaofu.
There are orders and servants in the Shaofu, and there are examination orders in the Xiafu, which are responsible for the supervision of weapons production. Figure 4- 1. Shaoxing-The Sword of Gou Jian, King of Yue
In the Tang Dynasty, a military supervisor was added to the Shaofu, replacing the responsibility of the examination order and being in charge of the production supervision of weapons.
In today's words, the assessment order is the workshop director, and the military equipment supervision is a department composed of a group of workshop directors. The purpose of its establishment is to strengthen production supervision. Of course, in addition to the officials responsible for production supervision, military equipment supervision also includes two subordinate institutions responsible for weapons production.
One is the crossbow department, which is responsible for the production and manufacture of offensive weapons such as bows, crossbows, knives and spears. One is the workshop department, which is responsible for the production and manufacture of protective equipment.