Whip and Hammer are young players in the history of ancient weapons in China. Whether it is a knife, an axe, a halberd or a hook hammer, their history can basically be traced back to ancient times, at least to the end of Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. However, a whip and a mace are different. There are no prototypes of them in ancient weapons.
As far as the two weapons are concerned, the so-called "whip" we are talking about now is actually a hard whip. In contrast, there is also a whip derived from the whip, which will not be discussed in this paper. The origin of iron whip, I think, originated from "whip" rather than "whip" in whipping equipment. The so-called rattan is bamboo or Vitex negundo. This is the reason why iron whip, which we see in modern times, looks like a bamboo joint.
The earliest known records of whips come from the Five Dynasties. According to The Biography of An Chongrong in the New Five Dynasties, An Chongrong, a general at the end of the Five Dynasties, once made a big iron whip, which was then called the "King of iron whip". Iron whip in the Five Dynasties was recorded in Jin Shi Suo written by Feng and Feng Yunan in Qing Dynasty. There is a portrait of iron whip, an envoy of the Five Dynasties, and it is indicated that the whip in the Han Dynasty was six feet two inches (about 140 cm) and weighed fifteen pounds (about nine pounds) in the Qing Dynasty. Each section is wrapped in copper strips, the handle is decorated with wooden strips, and wrapped in copper. The handle end is like a hammer, and there are four words around it: "Serve the country wholeheartedly". The words are green, as if they were made of molten copper. Therefore, this iron whip is also called "the whip of serving the country". This whip used to be hidden in Wang Liang Taishi Temple outside the West Gate of Wenshang, and was moved to Wenshang County Library in Qing Dynasty. Wang's bravery has been passed down from generation to generation, and even the heroes in Water Margin take iron whip as the standard to measure it.
The shape of the whip is complex, generally divided into many sections. There are thirteen sections in the general outline of martial arts, and the tip is like a cone, which can be stabbed. The author thinks that the model of iron whip was named after the bamboo whip used as a torture device or torture device at that time. In fact, iron whip was only used as a deterrent in the early days, and it was gradually applied to combat in the later period. There are many records about whips in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the relevant records are left in the General Theory of Martial Arts with pictures.
The back beam of the Five Dynasties made the king use "the heart as the whip of the country"
Mace is developed on the basis of whip. Mace also left relevant records in Wu Yao and drew a picture. Mace is long, with four edges without edges, slightly smaller at the upper end and a handle at the lower end, which is completely different from whip. Iron maces made by officials in the Song Dynasty are also popular in modern times.
On June 29th, 1985, Fujian Provincial Museum received an iron mace donated by collector Lin Zhongqian. Produced by Youcheng Shangshu in the Northern Song Dynasty, and supervised by Li Gang, a famous anti-gold star. Excellent workmanship. This mace is 94.2 cm long, with a handle length of 20. 1 cm and a weight of 3.6 kg. Mace handle is melon hammer-shaped, covered with rosewood, perforated near the head, and a rope can be hung around the waist. There is a four-petal grille between the mace handle and the edge, with a diameter of 7 cm and a thickness of 0.4 cm. The edge of the car body is close to the grille, which reads the seven-character seal script of "Li Gangzhi of the first year of Jingkang". The words are inlaid with gold ornaments, and they are still legible.
Woodcarving of medium-sized whip, mace and cangue in the general introduction of martial arts classics.
It should be noted that the shapes of whip and mace are not customized and can be changed according to the user's physique and purpose. Therefore, they are not standard military weapons, but weapons equipped by individuals. "General Introduction to Martial Arts Classics" records: "iron whip and iron mace are two colors, and the shape, size and length of the whip can be used according to manpower. Some people make it into a four-sided iron mace called a square blade, all of which are whips. " The same is true of Wu Bei Zhi in Ming Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, "Bing Zhan Ji" contained: "Those who look like knives are iron maces, with four blades without blades, like square blades; Shaped like iron whip, made of pure iron and shaped like a bamboo root knot. Whips are big and short, and each takes what he needs. "
1On June 29th, 985, the iron mace donated by collector Lin Zhongqian to Fujian Provincial Museum was supervised by Li Gang.
Whips and hammers can be used by infantry. They are very flexible attack weapons. Not only in the Song Dynasty, but also in the Xixia and Liao and Jin Dynasties. The Ming and Qing dynasties followed the whip and mallet modeling of the Song Dynasty. The iron whip used by Rui Jianying is described in the Qing Code, which is about 74 cm long. There is also a double-headed mace used by Lu Ying, which looks like a sword and is extremely sharp. They are about 86 cm long and each weighs 0.82 kg. It can be seen that the shape and weight of whip and mace are very flexible, which is an excellent supplement for soldiers, especially cavalry. In the Song Dynasty, cavalry or military commanders generally liked to carry several weapons on horseback to prevent damage. At the same time, these two weapons can also be regarded as unique cavalry weapons in China, because the blunt weapons of western cavalry mostly use hammers, rather than such weapons similar to swords.
Iron whip and Gu Duo Riding Map was drawn with the heavy armor era in the Song Dynasty as the background. Heavy weapons prevailed in the heavy armor era, so on both sides of the picture, one is bones and the other is iron whip. (Yang) According to
There were many generals who were good at using whips and hammers in the Song Dynasty. "History of Song Dynasty" Volume 274 "Biography of Wang Jixun" contains: "iron whip, iron gun and iron are commonly used in the military array, and the military name is' Wang Santie'." "History of Song Dynasty" (Volume 325) Liu Pingchuan (attached to Wang Jue) said: If you are brave and good at riding and shooting, you can use iron whip with an iron staff. In the first year of Kangding in the Northern Song Dynasty (A.D. 1040), Wang Gui was attacked by enemy soldiers when he was at war with the Xixia Army in Shizibao. Holding a pestle in the left hand and a whip in the right hand, they are invincible. The following year at 0 10-300, he died in Haoshuichuan. The situation is fierce, even "iron whip bends". The History of the Song Dynasty (volume 279) and Biography of Huyan Zan also said: "Yongxi was the deputy commander of the infantry in Ma Jia for four years. He tried to put forward the battle plan, military strategy and camping strategy, consulted the leaders, summoned the military commanders, praised the sword, and circled the DPRK four times with a iron whip jujube gun. Four sons will flourish, change, beg, present and dance together. Bring platinum 124. The History of Song Dynasty Volume 290 Biography of Di Qing (with Zhang Yu attached) According to records, in the first year of Kangding in the Northern Song Dynasty, Zhang Yu and Xixia cavalry fought in Qingjian and Zhaoanzhai in Yanzhou, and took remy martin directly, so the army called it' Zhang Tiejian'. History of the Song Dynasty (Volume 325) Ren Fuchuan (with Biography of Sangzi) According to records, in the Battle of Haoshuichuan, Ren Fu "stood in the array with a four-edged iron sword, was shot in the left cheek and died by cutting his throat". In addition, Qiu Yong, a native of Kaifeng Prefecture, sang Yi is "brave and extraordinary, and makes good use of knives, guns and iron pieces". Mizukawa died in battle. In addition to Song Jun, Liu Pingchuan (with Wang Jue) in the History of Song Dynasty (Volume 325) also recorded that in the first year of Baoyuan in the Northern Song Dynasty, Ping Liu, the deputy commander-in-chief of Daoma bu "or horse stance just look, was at war with Xixia Army in Yanzhou. Attack from all directions of the mountain. " Finally, Ping Liu was captured, which shows that many cavalry in Xixia used iron whip. According to the History of Jin Dynasty (Volume 86: Biography of cigar smoke), in the sixth year of Jin Dynasty (A.D. 1 16 1), cigar smoke fought against the Khitan in New South Wales, "with two iron slips in each hand. Iron swords are thousands of households' ". The Khitan army was defeated, and Yan Wu led the troops in pursuit. "Swing left and right iron slip, shocking. "
Whips and hammers are mostly used by cavalry on the battlefield, because cavalry can use the speed of horses to improve combat efficiency. After the prevalence of firearms in the Ming Dynasty, whips and mallets gradually lost their value. However, in modern martial arts, whip and mace still have a place.
The value of whip and hammer for cavalry lies in that with the development of armor, the loss of weapons can be reduced as much as possible in long-term operations, causing effective damage to the enemy. Although whips and maces are not standard equipment in the army, their appearance indicates that short soldiers have reached a threshold of change. Due to the progress of armor, old-fashioned cold weapons such as swords can't keep up with the needs of the battlefield, and combat weapons have become the mainstream. Compared with heavy weapons such as bone axes, flexible whips and hammers are actually more suitable for soldiers to carry out offensive and defensive operations. However, the invention of thermal weapons interrupted this process, and we also missed seeing whips and maces take hundreds of years to reach their peak like swords. We can only watch them pass by like meteors, fleeting. Finally disappeared in the torrent of history. This may be the fate that cold weapons cannot escape.