The word "eighteen kinds of weapons" first appeared in Yuan Qu, and there was a lyric in "Respect for Virtue, Don't Live Old" that said, "He has learned all the eighteen kinds of martial arts, and he can understand the six Taoshu".
Eighteen kinds of weapons have different meanings in different periods, but they are basically the same, including 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; Wait a minute.
Historical sources:
Eighteen weapons appeared earlier, and ancient books recorded that eighteen weapons were created by military strategists Sun Bin and Wuqi during the Warring States Period. In fact, these weapons appeared much longer than Sun Bin and Wuqi. At least in the Middle Stone Age, our ancestors began to know how to make and use sticks, stone knives, axes and other primitive weapons for self-defense and hunting.
With the development of productive forces, bronze and iron are used to make weapons. After the Northern and Southern Dynasties, bronze weapons were replaced by steel. By the Ming Dynasty, the "eighteen weapons" were basically stereotyped and became the most commonly used weapons in actual combat.