The ancient weapon "Transformation Meter": Appreciation of the "Bronze Ge" with hook and kill as the main damage method
The Ge is a unique bronze weapon in China. The earliest bronze Ge appeared in Erlitou (that is, what we often call the Xia Dynasty) to the Qin Dynasty, the Ge was the main weapon on the battlefield.
1. The Structure of the Bronze Ge
The Ge in ancient times was called Hook Soldier. It is a weapon that uses hook and kill as its main method of damage. It usually consists of a Ge head, a pole, a cap and a spear. . The structure of the Ge's head: the one that connects the stick is the "inner"; the long blade is the "Yuan", which is the main killing part of the Ge. The front part is the "front", the lower part is the "lower blade", and the upper part is the "upper" Therefore, the sword can be used for both pecking and hooking; the curved and drooping part of the lower blade is called the "hu", and the hole on the sword is the "piercing". The functions of the sword and the piercing are to strengthen the connection between the sword and the head. The connection between the trestle and the trestle prevents it from loosening easily; the "lan" is the protruding edge at the junction of the yin and nei'an. Its function is to block the girdle so that it will not fall into the tack when hooking and pecking. The part is called the upper and lower lanterns.
2. The Development and Evolution of Bronze Ge
The Zhine Ge unearthed from the Erlitou site in Yanshi, Henan, has a history of about 3,500 years and is the earliest bronze Ge discovered so far. . The bronze Ge of the Erlitou period mainly consists of two parts: inner and yuan, without upper and lower parts. The front of the yin is sharper, the upper and lower blades are not developed, and the hooking and cutting function is weak. It mainly relies on the forward's peck to kill the enemy, and it should be the infantry. A close combat weapon used.
The bronze Ge of the Shang Dynasty followed the characteristics of the Erlitou period. The upper and lower blades of the Ge were still not very developed, with the Ge front as the main killing part. However, with the advancement of technology, the style of Ge has also developed greatly. In order to overcome the flaw that the Ge head can easily fall into the trap during battle, the bronze Ge of the Shang Dynasty began to have upper and lower rails to ensure that the Ge head and the Ge trap were more tightly bound. For reliability. In the late Shang Dynasty, a new shape also appeared - Xiong Nei Ge. In this type of Ge, the "inner" part is cast into a round sleeve, and the Ge holder is installed in the Xiong to prevent it from falling off. This installation method can effectively avoid pecking. The loosening and receding of Getou made it popular for a period of time in the Shang Dynasty, which was dominated by infantry. However, when this type of spear is used for hooking and killing, the head of the spear is very easy to fall off from the pole. Therefore, with the gradual popularity of chariots after the Shang Dynasty, the demand for the hooking and cutting function of the spear gradually declined. The shape of the bronze Ge of the Shang Dynasty is mainly without Hu Ge and a small number of Hu Ge. The function of the Hu is mainly to fix the war, and does not emphasize the hooking and cutting function. This is consistent with the organizational form of the army in the Shang Dynasty, which was mainly infantry.
After entering the Western Zhou Dynasty, chariot warfare gradually entered the stage of history. Chariots became the core of the battlefield with their powerful impact and fast maneuverability. The Wuhu Ge used to equip infantry is mainly responsible for killing the Ge Feng. Its attack method is pecking and concentrating on one point. It is difficult to control on a high-speed chariot, so it cannot adapt to the requirements of vehicle combat. Compared with those without Hugo, the Hugo has a powerful hooking and cutting function. It can sweep across the chariot and kill the enemy by hooking and cutting, which is more conducive to the lethality of the tank. Therefore, the number of casts with Hugo is increasing day by day. , gradually replaced the Hugo and became the basic configuration of the army.
The Spring and Autumn Period was the heyday of the development of chariots. Chariot warfare became the main method of military combat, so that people often regard "the country of ten thousand chariots, the kingdom of thousands of chariots, and the kingdom of hundreds of chariots" as the major and The names of the medium and small vassal states, in order to cooperate with chariot battles, also formed a complete set of chariot battle etiquette. With the further development of social productivity and the further popularization of vehicle combat, the Hugo has almost completely withdrawn from the battlefield and been replaced by the Hugo.
During the Warring States Period, the bronze gun made great progress, mainly in two aspects: First, the inside of the gun began to be sharpened, and the sharp edge gave the inside greater lethality. In addition to the fixed gun inside, The outside of Taowei has a new role; secondly, with the improvement of bronze smelting technology, the supporting part of the bronze gun in the Warring States Period has also undergone major changes. It has changed from the original relatively straight to long and narrow, and in the central part of the supporting part The girdle further strengthens Ge's hooking and cutting function and enhances Ge's lethality.
The Qin Ge follows the shape and characteristics of the Warring States Bronze Ge. It is long and narrow and has an internal blade, which increases the lethality of the Ge and allows it to be hooked, pecked and pulled.
With the development of cavalry and the improvement of iron-making technology in the Han Dynasty, bronze weapons eventually withdrew from the battlefield. Although bronze weapons occasionally appeared in Han tombs, most of them were ornately decorated and were not used in actual combat.
3. Bronze Ge counterfeiting
Bronze Ge counterfeiting can start from four aspects: shape, inscription, decoration and patina. To get a bronze Ge, you first need to determine its approximate age based on the shape of the Ge we explained above, whether it is the Shang or Zhou Dynasty, the Western Zhou Dynasty or the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Then the inscriptions and decorations were identified based on the shape of the Ge. From the inscriptions, generally speaking, the Yin Shang bronze inscriptions were developed from oracle bone inscriptions. Although the pen shape is more rounded and plump than the oracle bone inscriptions, it is closer to the original than the later Western Zhou Dynasty inscriptions. Word. In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the calligraphy style of the late Yin Dynasty was inherited; by the time he became king, a unique style was formed, with a vigorous, elegant and spectacular calligraphy style; after Zhaomu, the strokes became even and uniform, and the ending and starting strokes also changed from different squares and circles. It becomes a round pen and looks more rigorous and upright. In the Spring and Autumn Period, "Ke Dou Wen" and patterned "Niao Chong Shu" were popular; in the Qin Dynasty, small seal script was commonly used.
From the perspective of decoration, bronze Ges in the Xia Dynasty generally have no patterns or very simple decorations; bronze Ges in the Shang Dynasty have gorgeous and complicated patterns, and the overall style is relatively rough; in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the patterns tend to be simple and unpretentious; in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the patterns are fresh, lively, full of flavor, and often It uses techniques such as gold and silver, red copper inlay, turquoise and fine line engraving. There are few patterns in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and they are not as fine as those in the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Finally, the four methods mentioned by the author in "Identification of Authenticity with a Wisdom of Eyes - General Methods for Identifying Counterfeit Bronze Wares" were used to identify the patina: observation, needle pricking, burning and crystal spot identification. False, determine whether the rust color is a naturally occurring rust color.
4. Bronze Ge and Chinese Traditional Culture
Ge is a unique bronze weapon in China and the main weapon on the battlefield in the pre-Qin Dynasty. Its influence even transcends the weapon itself and penetrates into ancient culture and etiquette. middle. During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, ge was not only used in combat, but also in various ceremonial activities. There were even ge weapons specially made for burials. In the famous tomb of Fuhao in the Yin Ruins, there are 39 jade and bronze gongs buried with her. Among them, the jade and copper inner gong inlaid with turquoise is hidden in the Museum of Chinese History. The front part of the gong is made of jade, and the base and inner gongs are It is made of copper and is plugged into one piece. It is obviously not used for actual combat.
The Western Zhou Dynasty was the most popular period of bronze Ge. Ge became a cultural element and penetrated into all aspects of life, even words and customs. We can often see images of warriors holding bronze swords in Western Zhou bronze inscriptions. In addition, during the Western Zhou Dynasty, it was common to bury weapons and shields in male tombs in the Guanzhong area, and the weapons were often bent and broken artificially. This custom of destroying weapons and then burying them with them is what we often refer to as "destroying soldiers" burials. Customs, here Ge has become an important part of customs and habits.
"Rituals" is one of the Thirteen Confucian Classics and a compilation of Han rituals in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of China. The content involves various etiquettes such as crowns, weddings, funerals, sacrifices, hometowns, archery, court, betrothal, etc. In the records of "Yili", Ge is often used as a ceremonial guard. "Yili·Funeral Ceremony" records: "When the king arrives...the two ministers hold the Ge first. The two follow. The king opens the door. The master sets out. ”
In view of the important position of Ge in war, the ancients often used Ge to refer to war, such as the idioms we often use now, such as “fighting in the same room”, “turning sides against each other”, etc. Ge's great influence on traditional Chinese culture.
In short, the Ge is the earliest and most widely used bronze weapon in ancient China. Understanding the bronze Ge is of great significance to our study of ancient Chinese wars and ancient traditional etiquette culture.