This kind of weapon is a very common cold weapon on the battlefield in ancient China. This is beryllium. Beryllium is a cold weapon similar to a spear in ancient China. This is a new weapon that combines a spear and a dagger. It first appeared in the Yin and Shang Dynasties, when it was called "spear". Later, with the development of history, beryllium played an increasingly important role in the battlefield. During this period, beryllium had many strange names, such as "magnesium" and "titanium", and was later named "beryllium".
Beryllium officially became the main weapon used in the battlefield during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Beryllium was described in many ancient books at that time. "Zuo Zhuan" recorded that "the sword was stabbed to the king, and the chest was sent". This passage comes from the record of "stabbing the king" in Zuo Zhuan, and beryllium was already a very common weapon at that time.
Beryllium was also called "big spear" in ancient times. It is a long weapon similar to a spear, with little difference in structure but great difference in shape. The head of beryllium is longer than that of a spear. The ancient spearhead was about 20 cm, and the beryllium head was about 30 cm. There are blades on both sides, which are not like spear tips in appearance, but more like short swords. Its handle is also made of the toughest special composite material in ancient China.
Archaeologists unearthed many "beryllium" in some ancient tombs from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the early Han Dynasty in China. At the beginning of excavation, only the head of beryllium was well preserved because the handle of beryllium had been corroded. Because the head of beryllium is too similar to a dagger, archaeologists regarded beryllium as an ancient dagger in the early days, and later discovered that beryllium is a new ancient long weapon.
Before the Han Dynasty, beryllium was mostly made of bronze. At the beginning of the Warring States, beryllium was the most popular at that time, especially in Qin and Zhao. At present, the most unearthed beryllium is that of Qin and Zhao during the Warring States Period, both of which have their own characteristics. Qin and Zhao had no beryllium, so later generations called it "Qi".
Beryllium was upgraded to steel in the early Han Dynasty, and its shape changed slightly. Compared with Beryllium in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the head of Beryllium in Han Dynasty became longer, because the head of Beryllium in Han Dynasty was tougher and sharper, and there was also the position of "a captain of long Beryllium" in the army of Western Han Dynasty, which showed the important role of Beryllium in the army at that time.
Although beryllium is a long cold weapon, it is also recorded in some ancient books that beryllium is another name for a sword, or that beryllium is a "big needle". It is also recorded that beryllium is used with a shield, which makes people think about how to fight with a shield of two or three meters. This weapon was used until the middle of the Han dynasty, and then gradually withdrew from the historical stage.
Before the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses were unearthed, this weapon was recorded in the history books, but never unearthed in kind, so no one saw it at that time, so that the copper beryllium unearthed later was regarded as a copper dagger for a long time, so that people who know it now often regard it as an anecdote.
In China, there are still many cold weapons quietly waiting for someone to dig their existence, to understand their stories, to feel their history, to take us back to the battle on the ancient battlefield in China, and to feel the grandeur of the ancient ancestors' bloody battles. Cold weapons are an indispensable part of our national history and the cornerstone of our Chinese martial arts culture.