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Weapons and armor in Chinese mythology: magical, mythological, or other, weapon arms, and armor form an important motif or motifs in Chinese mythology.

Chinese mythology

Chinese mythology is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature in the geographic area now known as "China". Chinese mythology includes many varied myths from regional and cultural traditions. Chinese mythology is far from monolithic, not being an integrated system, even among just Han people. Chinese mythology is encountered in the traditions of various classes of people, geographic regions, historical periods including the present, and from various ethnic groups. China is the home of many mythological traditions, including that of Han Chinese and their Huaxia predecessors, as well as Tibetan mythology, Turkic mythology, Korean mythology, and many others. However, the study of Chinese mythology tends to focus upon material in Chinese language. Much of the mythology involves exciting stories full of fantastic people and beings, the use of magical powers, often taking place in an exotic mythological place or time. Like many mythologies, Chinese mythology has in the past been believed to be, at least in part, a factual recording of history. Along with Chinese folklore, Chinese mythology forms an important part of Chinese folk religion (Yang 2005, 4). Many stories regarding characters and events of the distant past have a double tradition: ones which present a more historicized or euhemerized version and ones which presents a more mythological version (Yang 2005, 12–13). Many myths involve the creation and cosmology of the universe and its deities and inhabitants. Some mythology involves creation myths, the origin of things, people and culture. Some involve the origin of the Chinese state. Some myths present a chronology of prehistoric times, many of these involve a culture hero who taught people how to build houses, or cook, or write, or was the ancestor of an ethnic group or dynastic family. Mythology is intimately related to ritual. Many myths are oral associations with ritual acts, such as dances, ceremonies, and sacrifices (Yang 2005, 5-10). Weapons featured in Chinese mythology include Guanyu's pole weapon, sometimes known as the Green Dragon Crescent Blade. Also: the shield and battleax of the defiant dancer Xingtian, Yi's bow and arrows, given him by Di Jun, and the many weapons and armor of Chiyou. In Chinese mythology, the use of elemental weapons is also frequently encountered.

Notable users

Xingtian

One of figures of classical mythology is Xingtian, a defier of Heaven and a dancing wielder of shield and weapon (Birrell 1993, 216-217). Xingtian's name is also transliterated as "Hsing T'ien". Xingtian fought against the warrior-god Huangdi (Birrell 1993, 130). Defiant to the last: even after being deheaded, Xingtian carries on, becoming immortal (Birrell 1993, 181). This, despite having his head chopped off, and having to resort to using his nipples for eyes and his navel for a mouth (Birrell 1993, 216-217). Generally, Xingtian's fighting paraphernalia is depicted as a shield and an ax.

Di Jun and Yi's bow and arrows

The great archer Yi was given a bow and arrows by Di Jun, in order to dispel the noxious presence of nine of ten over-heating suns (Birrell 1993, 314). Some scholars identify Di Jun and Di Ku as variations from a shared original source (Yang 2005, 100).

Lü Dongbin

Lü Dongbin had or has a demon-slaying sword, according to legend (Eberhard 1986, 281-282).

Guan Yu and his glaive

The mighty warrior, later general, and subsequently deified Guan Yu is particularly associated with his glaive weapon, known in China as a yanyuedao, "crescent moon blade", or as a guandao. Guan's blade-weapon is known as the Green Dragon Crescent Moon Sword or as the Frost Fair Blade, from the idea that during a battle in the snow, the blade continuously had blood on it; the blood froze and made a layer of frost on the blade. According to Chapter 1 of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade was said to weigh 82 catties. During the Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms periods, one catty was approximately 220 grams, so 82 catties would have been approximately 18 kilograms (~40 pounds). A weapon weighing about 100 pounds (~45 kilograms), purported to be the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, is on display at the Purple Cloud Temple in China today. Despite the weight, Guan Yu was said to have ridden alone for a thousands of miles, carrying his weapon, and to have capably wielded it one-handed, according to the somewhat mythologically-based novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Magical weapons in Journey to the West

Various weapons appear in Journey to the West, some of interest as part of a mythological legacy.

Ruyi Jingu Bang

Ruyi Jingu Bang is a name for the magic staff of Sun Wukong.

Fly-whisks

Fly whisks appear as weapons of immense magical potency, especially wielded by Daoists.

Use in notable battles

Battles of Banquan and Zhuolu

The early mythological battles of China were the battles of Banquan and of Zhuolu. Of the two, the conflict at Zhoulu is the more mythologically replete: both offensive and defensive weapons are described, along with countermeasures. Also, a third battle was held to have been fought between Huangdi and Yandi, as part of the series match-up (Birrell 1993, 132, citing Ta Tai Li chi, Wu ti te, SPTK 7.1b)

Banquan

The Battle of Banquan (simplified Chinese: 阪泉之战; traditional Chinese: 阪泉之戰; pinyin: Bǎn Quán Zhī Zhàn) is the first battle in Chinese history is recorded by Sima Qian's in the Records of the Grand Historian, a major source of both historical and mythological material. It was fought by Huangdi, the Yellow Emperor, and Yandi, the Flame Emperor.

Zhoulu

According to the Chinese mythological account Classic of Mountains and Seas, Chiyou, various allies fought against Huangdi at the plain of Zhuolu. Both sides used magical means, but Chi You had the advantage of forged swords and halberds. Using his powers, Chiyou covered the battlefield in thick fog. The Yellow Emperor's troops found their way through the mist with the help of a magical south-pointing chariot. Huangdi used Nüba (also known as Ba or Han Ba), a drought deity, to harm Chiyou's troops by application of weather control as a weapon. Yinglong, the winged dragon, finally defeated Chiyou (Sima Qian, "Wǔdì Běnjì", Records of the Grand Historian).

Yandi

Yandi is also known as the Flame Emperor or the Red Emperor. He fought a war with Huangdi which was decided in the Battle of Banquan. The fire with which Yandi is associated seems to have been put to agricultural purposes along the lines of slash-and-burn farming techniques (Wu 1982, 56). In mythology, Yandi uses fire as an elemental weapon, in opposition to the use by Huangdi of water as an elemental weapon (Birrell 1993, 131).

Chiyou

The mythological Chhih-yu was supposed to have invented weapons and war, Chiyou's legendary war with Huangdi included enhancing the technology to use of artificial mists and possibly the use of the compass as a countermeasure by Huangdi, and evoking the powers of wind and rain to inluence battle (Christie 1968, 90-91). Chiyou is especially associated with the element of metal, using it to form arms and armor (Birrell, 296, and so on).

Huangdi

Huangdi is also known as the Yellow Emperor, Yellow Thearch, or Xuanyuan, among other names. Well known as a culture hero in Chinese culture, part of the mythology surrounding him involves his martial prowess and the use of mythological arms and apparatus of war. One example is the south-pointing chariot. Another example is the use of water as an elemental weapon (for example, see Birrell 2003, 130-137).

Made by notable smiths

The makers and origins of weapons and armor is often mythologically important. Examples include the swords and spears originating from Wu (state), such as the sword used to slice open Gun to release his son Yu, or the legendary swords of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye (Birrell 1993, 222). The mythological materials quoted by Birrell from various sources illustrate the dangers associated in mythology with mythological weapons, both their manufacture and their acquisition.

Ou Yezi

Ou Yezi was a famous swordsmith, according to Chinese mythology (see Birrell loc. cit. below, and so on).

Ganjiang and Moxie

Also known as Kan Chiang and Mo Yeh, Gan Jiang and Mo Xie were a husband and wife pair and eponymous makers of paired swords, with Gan Jiang having studied under Master Smith Ou Yezi, according at least to the Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue (Birrell 1993, 221-227 and 303). Gan-jiang was the male, Mo-xie female. They were sometimes said to have been forged from the liver and kidneys of a metal-eating hare residing in the Kunlun Mountains (Eberhard 1986, 282).

Famous swords of Chinese legend or mythology

Various famous swords may be encountered Chinese legend or mythology. Some of these swords also appear in literary fiction; or, various other media, including comics and video games. There are two main types of sword: jian and dao. Swords with estimated or presumed magical powers (or, that were especially well-made) were often designated by the epithet "treasure" (寶), as is the case with "treasure jian" (寶劍) and "treasure dao (寶刀)". Famous sword smiths documented in mythology include Ou Yezi and the husband and wife pair Gan Jiang and Mo Xie.

Jian

Jian swords have blades with two edges, longer than what would be considered to be a dagger. Translations into English are mostly provisional. In Chinese mythology, in various sources, associated with much related mythological material, various swords are said to have been forged by Gan Jiang (who studied under Ou Yezi) and Mo Xie (also transliterated as "Kan Chiang" and "Mo Yeh"), who were a husband and wife pair and eponymous makers of paired swords (Birrell 1993, 221-224 and 303). Gan-jiang was the male, Mo-xie female (eponymously both swords and smiths). The Gan-jiang and Mo-xie swords were sometimes said to have been forged from the liver and kidneys of a metal-eating hare residing in the Kunlun Mountains (Eberhard 1986, 281-282, sub "Sword"). Note that just because these swords may be encountered in mythology does not mean that they never existed historically.

1. List in part adapted from 中國名劍, at zh.wikipedia.org
2. Likely the transcription of a non-Chinese name. It has also been translated as "Great Riverbank".
3. Likely in the sense of capital punishment: execution by chopping-off heads of "snakes".
4. 30 catties are approximately equivalent to just over 18 kilograms, or about 40 pounds avoirdupois.
5. There are places named Longquan in Sichuan and Zhejiang.

Various types

Demon-slaying weapons

Some of the weapons most commonly wielded against demons were made of peach-wood, such as the either actually made or made according to mythology peach-wood bows actually or mythologically wielded to shoot down mythologically, superstitiously, or religiously conceived or believed demons (Eberhard 1986, 228).

Cash swords

One type of sword, magically efficacious against mythological and other evils, was held to be made out of monetary coinage, or Chinese cash coins. These coin swords looked to be in the shape of a sword, but not to be effective in real life. These artifacts were used as a talisman or a charm used to ward off evil.

Sources

There are many sources for information on arms and armor in Chinese mythology. These sources range from literature to oral sources and from classical times to modern times. Mythological gems may be embedded in the matrix of histories, such as Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian or located somewhere in the mythological landscapes of the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Besides the Chinese sources and their translations, a mythological studies oriented literature in English has been an actively growing field.

See also

General information

• Category:Weapons of China
• Chinese armour
• Chinese swords
• Chinese martial arts
• Chinese mythology
• Dao (sword)
• Gun (staff)
• Ji (polearm)
• Jian: general article about double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China.
• List of Chinese wars and battles
• List of magical weapons
• Qiang (spear)

Other information

• Green Dragon Crescent Blade
• Hymn to the Fallen (Jiu Ge)
• Jiutian Xuannü
• Leigong
• Mr. He's jade
• South-pointing chariot
• Thunderbolt
• Wu xing
• Yinglong
• Xuan-Yuan Sword: a video game series.

External links

• 中國名劍 category
• 传说兵器 category

References cited

• Birrell, Anne (1993). Chinese Mythology. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins). ISBN 0-8018-6183-7
• Christie, Anthony (1968). Chinese Mythology. Feltham: Hamlyn Publishing. ISBN 0600006379
• Eberhard, Wolfram (2003 ), A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought. London, New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-00228-1
• Sima Qian, "Wǔdì Běnjì", Records of the Grand Historian
• Wu, K. C. (1982). The Chinese Heritage. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-54475X.
• Yang, Lihui and Deming An, with Jessica Anderson Turner (2005). Handbook of Chinese Mythology. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-533263-6

References consulted

• Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海經)
• Strassberg, Richard E., editor, translator, and comments. 2002 . A Chinese Bestiary: Strange Creatures from the GUIDEWAYS THROUGH MOUNTAINS AND SEAS. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-29851-4
• Qu Yuan et al., David Hawkes, translator and introduction (2011 ). The Songs of the South: An Ancient Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-044375-2.

• Chinese mythology
• Weapons of China