Cold weapons are weapons that are directly used for slashing and assassination.Its combat function is exerted under the action of manpower and simple mechanical force, which is different from firearms that use the chemical energy of gunpowder to produce explosive effects and emit light and heat, so people call them cold weapons.Like spears, halberds, swords, etc.Cold weapons were originally made of stone materials, and later made of bronze and steel materials.It can be seen that stone weapons are the ancestors of cold weapons. About six or seven thousand years ago, some clans and tribes active in the Yellow River Basin began to enter the middle period of the Neolithic Age. Tools such as farm implements for field use), piercing axes, and porous stone axes have been produced and used more frequently, so the production capacity has been improved.At the same time, due to the improvement of living conditions, it is possible to live a settled life, and some clan members with the same interests often live together in one place, forming relative settlements.So the first tribes and tribal alliances began to form.This form of social organization is different from that of the Paleolithic and early Neolithic ages.At that time, due to the crude and primitive production tools and low productivity, human beings had to live in groups, work together, and distribute fairly without exploitation or conflict of interest.Although the fishing, hunting and agricultural tools used by people in production are sometimes used as self-defense weapons, they are mainly used to deal with the damage of wild animals, not against the invasion of others.At this time, the tribal alliances are usually separated by a middle ground, so they can generally live in peace.However, with the development of population and the needs of production, sometimes armed conflicts may arise due to disputes such as competition for water sources, grasslands, and marriage plunder.In armed conflicts, they took up tools such as stone axes, stone knives, and stone sickles to fight.As a result, the tools used to produce labor and protect against wild beasts in the past were used as tools for killing.

By the end of the Neolithic Age more than 5,000 years ago, some clans and tribes began to transition from a matrilineal clan society to a patrilineal clan society. Social production had developed to a certain extent, and the phenomenon of private ownership of property gradually emerged. Armed conflicts between tribes had already The nature of plundering wealth.As the scale of armed conflict expanded, it developed into wars between tribes.In these wars, simply using production tools with sharp edges can no longer meet the needs of combat, so weapons that are different from production tools made by a small number of people appeared.These weapons were all made by people at that time from stone, bone, bamboo, wood and other materials, imitating the shape of animal horns, claws, beak [huihui] (bird's beak), and scraped from natural or simple processing. The lethality of advanced knives and production tools is much greater.

Regarding the tribal wars and weapons used in the late primitive society, although there are no accurate records in the history books, there are also some clues that can be explored in the ancient myths and legends and related classics.Among them, the battle between the Yellow Emperor and Chi You's Zhuolu (one said in the south of Zhuolu County, Hebei, one in Zhuo County, Hebei, and one in Julu County, Hebei) was mentioned the most.It is said that the Yandi tribe headed by Emperor Yan in the north and the Jiuli tribe headed by Chiyou in the south fought a war in the Zhuolu area for a piece of fertile plain in the Yellow River Basin.At the beginning of the war, the Yandi tribe was defeated and asked the Huangdi tribe for help. As a result, Chi You was defeated and killed, and his tribe was either killed, taken into captivity, or merged.Later, due to conflicts of interest between the Yan and Huang tribes, three wars were fought in Banbanquan (now Huailai County, Hebei).After that, there were tribal wars between Yao, Shun, Yu and the three Miao.

It is said that in these wars, all sides have created some weapons dedicated to combat.For example, "Shiben Zuopian" says: Huangdi's ministers "Hui" and "Yimu" made bows and arrows respectively. "Guanzi Dishu Pian" attributes the credit for the creation of spears, halberds, and Rui (rui Rui) Ge (a kind of short spear) to Chi You's name. "The Picture of Dragon and Fish in the River" says that Chi You "created five soldiers...to shake the world with power". "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals Mengqiu Ji" believes that "when there is no Chiyou, the people will strip the forests to fight", which shows that before Chiyou, no special weapons have been manufactured. "Yi Xici Xia" said that the ancient people "the strings and trees are the arcs, and the Shan [shanshan] trees are the arrows, and the benefits of the arrows are powerful in the world." "Yue Jue Shu Ji Bao Jian" also mentions that Shennong and Hexu "used stone as soldiers" and Huangdi "used jade as soldiers", and regarded Shennong, Hexu and Huangdi as stone weapons and jade. (Referring to the exquisite stone) the founder of weaponry.Although these legends and records are mythical, they do approximately reflect the general situation of the initial period of stone weapons.Over the years, the cultural relics and archeology departments have analyzed and identified a large number of unearthed stone weapons, and believe that their production age is roughly consistent with the fragmentary records in the above-mentioned classics.At the same time, the cultural relics and archeology departments have also discovered quarry sites in the late Neolithic age in some places. Stone tool making techniques such as cutting, grinding, carving, and hole making are important conditions for making stone weapons.

In the 21st century BC, the Xia Dynasty was established, and China began to enter the first class society - the slave society.In order to establish and consolidate their rule, slave owners forced a large number of slaves to build cities and cities for them, build armies, and manufacture weapons for use in wars.So far, the tools used exclusively for war—weapons—have separated from the tools of production and existed independently.Its attribute has also evolved from a combination of production tools and self-defense weapons to a weapon that is directly used to kill the enemy's vital force and destroy the enemy's combat facilities in war.Their structure also breaks away from the simple imitation of animal horns, claws, and beaks, and the extension highlights the killing parts and components, strengthens the killing effect, and expands the use to meet the special needs of combat.As a result, professional weapon manufacturing workshops emerged, and they began to manufacture weapons of uniform specifications in batches for the unified national army to meet the needs of combat and training.

As the original weapon, stone weapon has gone through a long time. It was the main weapon used by the army in the late primitive society and the Xia Dynasty. In the Shang and Zhou dynasties, it was still used mixed with bronze weapons.Although the weapons made in the Stone Age used stone as the main raw material, they also used a large number of animal bones, horns, wood, bamboo, etc. as materials for making weapons.For the convenience of research, scholars usually include them in the system represented by stone weapons. Once weapons are separated from production tools and exist independently, they will develop with the development of social production and improve to meet the needs of war.During the long-term use in the late primitive society and the Xia Dynasty, several main types of offensive weapons have been initially formed.They are:

Long-handled combat weapons: clubs, hammers, spears, daggers, axes, Yue Yue [yue Yue], etc., which have the functions of hitting, hammering, piercing, chopping, hooking and pecking respectively. Short-handled body weapons: daggers and hand-held short-handled spears, etc. Long-range weapons: bow and arrow and stone balls thrown with slings. With the continuous emergence of new materials, the structure and quality of the above-mentioned various weapons have been improved and improved day by day. When people mastered the copper smelting technology, the conditions for using copper to make weapons were mature.According to archaeological excavations, our ancestors had mastered the smelting technology of natural copper and the methods of making and using utensils in the late Neolithic age.Later, he further mastered the bronze smelting technology, which is made of copper and tin, so the first generation of metal weapons made of bronze entered the historical stage of war, making ancient Chinese weapons change from stone weapons in the era of its origin. , Bronze weapons that entered the Bronze Age.

From a tin bronze knife unearthed from the Majiayao cultural site in Gansu Province, it is known that our ancestors began to use bronze utensils 5,000 years ago.The tin content of this tin bronze knife has reached 6%-10%.Later, at the Huoshaogou cultural site in Qingquan, Gansu Province, a casting stone mold made of argillaceous sandstone was unearthed, indicating that the casting technology of bronze weapons at that time had reached a certain level, laying the foundation for the mass production and use of bronze weapons. base.At the end of the Xia Dynasty, bronze weapons were equipped with the army to fight, so the ancient literature said that the Xia Dynasty "used copper as soldiers" is credible.

The Shang Dynasty was a dynasty in which the slavery state of our country was increasingly consolidated and developed. In order to suppress the resistance of the slaves, the ruler further strengthened the state machine, established a larger army, and needed more weapons, thus promoting the development of the weapon manufacturing industry. .In the Zijingshan site in the north of Zhengzhou Shangcheng, the capital city site in the mid-Shang Dynasty, various weapon casts were unearthed, including single-joint, double-joint and core-filling bronze knives, axes, and arrowheads.These relics show that since the early Shang Dynasty, there have been large-scale bronze weapon smelting and casting workshops around the capital, casting a large number of weapons for the Shang army.These weapon foundries already have relatively high weapon manufacturing technology.The most obvious of these was the advancement of bronze smelting techniques.At that time, the primary stage of smelting and casting of mixed ore had been developed to the advanced stage of smelting and casting of pure copper and tin or lead.It laid the foundation for the manufacture of sophisticated weapons.The unearthed objects prove that the bronze weapons made in the Shang Dynasty have developed from small knives and chisels to long-handled daggers, spears and battle axes for fighting, long-range bows and arrows, short-handled swords for body guards, and bronze helmets for protective equipment. , leather armor, shield, etc.Among them, the early Shang Dynasty mainly manufactured Ge and shields suitable for the needs of unarmed soldiers. In the later period, due to the rise of chariots, it mainly manufactured Ge, spears, halberds and bows and arrows suitable for chariot warfare.According to "Zhou Li·Xia Guan·Si Bing", at that time, a chariot was generally equipped with five weapons including Ge, Halberd, Spear, Barbarian Spear, and Bow and Arrow, which were collectively called "Five Soldiers of Chariots".These weapons are also often found in unearthed chariots.

From the late Shang Dynasty to the early Western Zhou Dynasty (13th-10th century BC), it was the heyday of the development of bronze weapons.In the tombs and cellars of Yin Ruins, Taixi, Fuhao Tomb, Zhouyuan, Fenghao [haohao] and other sites, bronze fighting weapons knives, spears, daggers, halberds, axes, battleaxes, and protective armor armors have been found. Wait.The bronze weapons of this period have changed from single to diverse in shape and structure, such as Ge with straight inner without Huge, straight inner with short Huge, short Hu with one piercing Ge, short Hu with two piercing Ge and so on.The alloy ratio has also been greatly improved. In the early days of Yin Ruins, most of them were lead-tin bronze weapons, and in the later period, most of them were tin bronze weapons.The 12 bronze weapons unearthed from Fuhao's tomb contain 8%-19% tin, which is an important manifestation of the improvement of weapon manufacturing technology and lethality.Great progress has also been made in the production process. For example, an iron-edged copper axe of the Shang Dynasty unearthed in Gaocheng City, Hebei Province. After identification, the straight blade part was forged with meteorite iron, with a thickness of about 2 mm, and then combined with a bronze axe. Pouring together.This shows that the craftsmen at that time had mastered certain forging and casting techniques to make composite weapons with a high level of craftsmanship.

After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, the official Sikong was appointed to take charge of weapon manufacturing.By the Spring and Autumn Period, due to the great development of the copper mining and smelting industry, the manufacturing technology of bronze weapons had new breakthroughs, mainly in three aspects. First of all, people can see the combination ratio of copper and tin in several bronze weapons from the "Kao Gong Ji · Jin You Liu Qi", which recorded the handicrafts at that time.The book says: "Gold has six equalities, six parts of which are gold and tin are one, which is called the Qi of bells and tripods; , which is called the Qi of Ge Ji; three parts of the gold and tin are one, which is called the Qi of the big blade; Qi.” According to this record, the ratio of copper to tin for these types of bronze weapons is: 6:1 for the bronze axe, 16.6% tin; 5:1 for the halberd, 20% tin; 4:1 for the large blade , tin accounted for 25%; cut arrow weapons 7:2, tin accounted for 28.5%.According to the research results of modern metallurgists, bronze with a tin content of 20% is the toughest, and it is a good material for making spears, halberds and battle axes.Bronze with a tin content of 30%-40% has the highest hardness and is a good product for making knives and arrows.It can be seen that our ancestors not only accumulated practical experience in making high-quality bronze weapons during the Spring and Autumn Period, but also mastered its craft theory. Secondly, people also saw the exquisiteness of the materials used in the manufacture of weapons at that time from the articles "Yeshi", "Taoshi", "Hanren", "Luren" and "Bowren" in Kaogongji. The selection, size, shape and specification, construction style and operating procedures, etc., have put forward clear requirements and made specific regulations, indicating that the weapons manufactured in the Spring and Autumn Period have taken the earliest step towards standardization and standardization. .Therefore, it can be said that "Kaogongji" is the creative achievement of our country's weapon manufacturing technology more than 2,500 years ago.A large number of archaeological excavations show that many bronze weapons manufactured at that time are basically similar or consistent with the technical regulations and requirements of "Kao Gong Ji". Third, the creation of compound swords.The manufacturing technique of this composite sword is very ingenious. The spine and blade of the sword are cast in two parts in bronze with different tin contents.The method is to cast the hilt and spine first, then cast the blade, and then combine the blade with the tenon of the spine to form the sword body.After the archaeological department used scientific methods to determine this sword, the tin content of the ridge was 10%, and the tin content of the blade was 20%.The ridge with low tin content has greater toughness and is not easy to break, which is good for long-term use.The blade with high tin content is strong and sharp, which is convenient for assassination.This kind of composite sword with tough spine, sharp blade and combination of rigidity and softness is an important symbol of the improvement of bronze weapon manufacturing technology. The improvement of bronze weapon manufacturing technology has improved the army's weapons and equipment, and the combination of chariot weapons is more reasonable. The combat weapons equipped on a chariot include daggers, halberds, spears, and shu (shu) with sharp points and thorn balls. Book], there are bows and arrows for shooting long distances, protective equipment shields and a whole set of armor painted with red and black patent leather, and leather armor to protect horses.During this period, the wars among the vassal states were frequent and the scale expanded. Some vassal states had powerful armed forces with 100,000 armors, which shows that many weapons were manufactured and used at that time. From 475 BC to 221 BC, it was the Warring States period in the history of our country, and the wars for hegemony between the various vassal states continued to increase.In order to meet the needs of war, they all set up official workshops specializing in the manufacture of weapons, which greatly increased the quantity and variety of weapons manufactured, and the quality also greatly improved. In 1979, more than 4,000 bronze weapons were unearthed from the tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng in Sui County, Hubei Province, which can be regarded as the epitome of the manufacture and use of weapons in this period.Among them, the long-handled fighting weapons include long-handled double-handed, long-handled three-handed, long-handled three-handed and one-spear long-handled halberds, and spears with a handle length of more than 4 meters; long-distance shooting weapons include long bows and short bows made of bamboo and wood. , single bow, compound bow and various bronze arrowheads; protective equipment has a complete set of leather armor and so on. Our ancestors already knew meteorites that fell from space to the earth in the Shang Dynasty.The above-mentioned iron-edged copper ax unearthed in Gaocheng City, Hebei Province was first forged with meteorite iron, and then cast together with the bronze ax body.Weapons made with this composite method have also been unearthed in other places, such as the iron blade copper axe and the iron aid copper ge unearthed in Junxian County, Henan Province.Their unearthed shows that our ancestors were able to use different thermal processing techniques to make weapons from meteorite iron and bronze in the 14th to 12th centuries BC.With the improvement of metallurgical technology, man-made ironware appeared in China around the late Western Zhou Dynasty, that is, in the 8th century BC. An iron sword with a jade handle unearthed at Shangcunling, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province is a strong proof.By the end of the Spring and Autumn Period and the beginning of the Warring States Period, early ironware had developed to a certain extent and was widely used in agriculture, handicraft industry and weapon manufacturing industry.In the middle of the Warring States period, all the vassal states had set up iron smelting bases, appointed officials to manage them, and officials such as engineers and smelters were in charge of smelting and manufacturing matters, which ensured the development of the weapon manufacturing industry.With the development of the iron smelting industry, the smelting and casting technology of iron and steel weapons has also been improved accordingly.In the site of Yanxia Capital in the late Warring States Period in Wuyangyang Village, Yixian County, Hebei Province, 79 iron objects were unearthed, including spears, halberds, knives, swords, daggers and other weapons. Among them, five pieces were tested and found to be all Forged from a block of solid carburized steel, it is a high-hardness steel weapon made after quenching. Its toughness and sharpness have greatly surpassed that of bronze weapons.As a result, in the late Warring States period, the various vassal states produced a large number of steel weapons, making them the main equipment of the army.Documentary records and unearthed objects prove that at that time, the Chu State in the south, the Yan State in the north, and Han, Wei, Zhao and other countries had already used iron swords, iron spears, iron halberds, and iron mouhou [moumou] and other weapons and equipment. . During the Qin and Han Dynasties, iron and steel smelting and casting technology were further improved, quenching technology, annealing technology, and cast iron decarburized steel technology were widely promoted, and the manufacturing technology and quality of steel weapons were also improved.On the one hand, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty set up an examination order to be in charge of weapon manufacturing, and on the other hand, he built a 1,500-square-meter armory group between Changle Palace and Weiyang Palace in Chang'an (now Xi'an) to store iron knives, swords, Spears, halberds, battle axes and arrowheads, and some bronze weapons.Among them, iron arrowheads are about 10 times that of bronze arrowheads. This huge disparity in quantity reflects the growth and decline of copper and iron weapons.This is because steel weapons have better toughness than bronze weapons, so they are more conducive to combat.During this period, iron ring-shoulders had already been used, and iron spears and halberds gradually replaced bronze ge and halberds. Except for the long-range weapons and crossbows, which still retain bronze crossbows, almost all weapons have been replaced. With iron products. From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, due to the creation and development of steel frying technology, steelmaking technology, and steel filling technology, the quality of steel has become more and more excellent.After high-quality steel was used to manufacture weapons, steel weapons entered a relatively stable development period, creating conditions for the standardization of weapons.At that time, the infantry used swords and shields, which had the characteristics of both offense and defense; apart from the bows and arrows used by individual soldiers, the long-range weapons had been improved to heavy bed crossbows; Shuo, that is, the spear] replaced the outdated horse halberd; replaced the outdated old armor with exquisite iron armor; the creation and promotion of stirrups, the improvement of high saddle bridge saddles, and the improvement of protective equipment, etc., made the horse gear in ancient my country Entered the stage of perfect development. The Tang Dynasty was a dynasty in which my country's steel weapons developed rapidly and matured.The imperial court set up a military supervisor to take charge of weapon manufacturing, and promulgated uniform standards and systems for the manufacture and use of weapons.According to the "New Book of Tang Bingzhi", the basic equipment of a combat soldier at that time was roughly: "One bow, thirty arrows, Hu Lu, horizontal knife...all one." As far as the weapons equipped by the entire army are concerned, It can be said that there are complete types and various uses, including fighting weapons, guard weapons, long-range weapons and protective equipment. They have the characteristics of both offense and defense, combination of light and heavy, and complementary length and short.If the whole army goes out, all kinds of weapons can be used together to play a comprehensive role in killing the enemy. Although firearms had been used in combat in the early Northern Song Dynasty, because they were still in their infancy, not only were there few varieties, but also their killing and destroying power was limited, so the focus of weapon manufacturing at that time was still steel weapons.In the more than 300 years of the Song Dynasty, there have been many wars between the Song courts and the Liao, Xixia, Jin, Mongolian and other ethnic minority regimes in the north, and between the various ethnic minority regimes.These wars followed each other successively and intertwined.In order to win, all parties are competing to develop the iron and steel smelting industry, establish a huge weapon manufacturing and management system, and manufacture various weapons. Since the eighth year of Taizu Kaibao (AD 975), the Northern Song Dynasty has established a weapon manufacturing and management system from Kaifeng, Tokyo to the local states.This system has North and South workshops and bow and crossbow courtyards in Kaifeng, and workshops and courtyards in various states.There are many craftsmen concentrated in these workshops and courtyards, and there are 1,024 military craftsmen in the Gongnu Academy in Kaifeng alone.They have a fine division of labor and manufacture a large number of weapons.Among them, the northern and southern workshops make more than 16.5 million bows, crossbows, and arrows every year, and the workshops and academies in various states make 6.1 million bows, crossbows, guns, swords, and armors every year.Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin had to spot-check every 10 days the weapons made by various works and institutes in Kaifeng before they could be sent to the arsenal for storage.The court of the Southern Song Dynasty also followed the system of the Northern Song Dynasty and established weapons management and manufacturing institutions such as the Military Weapons Supervision and the Imperial Military Weapons Institute.The military workshops and general supervisors in the Liao Dynasty, the technical institutes and iron engineering institutes in Xixia, the military supervisors in the Jin Dynasty, and the Shouwuku and arsenals in Mongolia are also weapons manufacturing and management institutions. The weapons manufacturing and management institutions established by various parties in the Song Dynasty created many steel weapons.In the fourth year of Qingli in the Northern Song Dynasty (AD 1044), the military encyclopedia military book "Wu Jing Zong Yao" compiled and published by Zeng Gongliang and Shen Zhizheng Shi Ding Du, etc., recorded various weapons used at that time.Among them, there are seven kinds of long-handled knives and spears for combat, three kinds of short-handled knives and swords, nine kinds of guns specially used for siege, defense and training, two kinds of other guns, five kinds of dual-purpose weapons, axes and One kind of fork, 12 kinds of weapons such as whips, maces and hammers, nine kinds of protective equipment and armor, four kinds of bows, seven kinds of arrows, five kinds of bow and arrow equipment, 14 kinds of crossbows, 17 kinds of cannons, and a set of vests.It basically reflects the general appearance of various steel weapons manufactured and used in the Song Dynasty. After the rise of the Mongols, they also imitated the various ethnic groups in the Central Plains to manufacture various steel weapons.After Kublai Khan became the Mongolian Khan, in the fifth year of Mongolia Zhiyuan (AD 1268), he set up a military weapon supervision in Dadu (now Beijing).After the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty in the 16th year of Zhiyuan (AD 1279), a weapon manufacturing and management system from the metropolis to the localities had been formed.In the fourth year from Yuan to Da (1311 A.D.), the Weapon Supervisor was upgraded to Wubei Temple to manufacture and manage weapons.In addition, Dadu also set up professional weapon manufacturing workshops such as Armor Craftsman Lifting Division, Bowsmith Lifting Division, Dadu Bow Bureau and Arrow Bureau. , A Bureau, Bow Bureau and other workshops to manufacture weapons such as knives, axes, swords, bed crossbows and catapults. After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, in order to continue the unification war, he quickly established a huge and complete weapon manufacturing system composed of the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the local chief secretaries, and the weapon manufacturing institutions under the jurisdiction of the garrisons in various places. The policy of living conditions promotes the development of the weapons manufacturing industry.Although steel weapons in the Ming Dynasty began to take a backseat due to the massive development of firearms, considerable progress was still made in increasing the variety and quality of weapons.Among them, in addition to long spears and long-handled knives, the long-handled fighting weapons also created 镋, palladium, horse forks and wolf whisks [xianxian]; the short-handled body guards included short knives, waist knives and swords; , Long-range weapons include bows and arrows, crossbows and various trebuchets, in addition to various chariots.Since the Jiajing year, steel weapons and firearms have each accounted for roughly half of the army's equipped weapons. With the development of the war, some cold weapons have begun to be phased out. Since the Wanli Year of the Ming Dynasty, the Later Jin gradually rose. Its leader, Nurhachi, launched an army to attack the Ming Dynasty, and defeated the Ming army repeatedly in field battles with horseback riding and shooting.The cold weapons they use include knives, axes, spears, halberds, stiles, Mongolian shields, various bows and arrows, special weapons and armor.Before and after they entered the customs, there was a climax of imitating Western artillery.After entering the customs, the Shunzhi court quickly set up an "animal building" to manage and manufacture weapons.In the 11th year of Shunzhi (1655 A.D.), it was changed to a military battle bureau.Eighteen years later, it was changed to Armed Forces Academy.The Imperial Shotgun Department and the Gunpowder Depot are set up under the Armed Forces Academy to manufacture and store imperial guns and gunpowder respectively.In the Yongzheng period, because the emperor repeated the old tune of the Qing Dynasty using bows and horses to shoot and shoot the world, he underestimated the role of firearms and vigorously cast knives, spears, bows, arrows, shields, armor and other cold weapons.Although they are improved compared with the previous cold weapons, since cold weapons are powered by manpower and simple mechanical force, the improvement of killing and destroying capabilities is greatly limited. It pales in comparison.