In ancient battlefields, blunt objects actually played a very important role. Blunt objects appear very frequently in battlefields all over the world. Just because of various reasons, the performance of blunt objects in film and television dramas is relatively small.

Above: All kinds of blunt weapons in the army at that time were recorded in Wu Yao in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Although most blunt instruments have no blades and tips, their huge impact force is enough to knock the solid armor out of the depression, causing internal injuries and fractures, and may even die on the spot due to internal bleeding. Therefore, blunt weapons are also considered to be the sworn enemies of heavy armor fighters.

Above: The melon hammer handed down from Ming Dynasty is also a sharp weapon to protect drivers in traditional novels.

Today, Bian Xiao will show us eight most famous blunt objects in ancient China.

I. Jin Wu

When Liu Xiu was dressed, there was a famous saying: "An official should be golden couple, and a married person should be Yin Lihua." . The sun is a blunt object like a stick. The specific shape of the golden house cannot be verified. According to limited information, the sun is made of copper with gold inlaid on both sides, which is similar in shape to today's baseball bat. This gorgeous weapon was dedicated to the garrison troops in the capital at that time, and its popularity was not high. After the Han dynasty, it was gradually eliminated.

Second, the iron chain clamp rod

Also known as flail, it is a weapon with a long history, which is both dull and soft. It consists of two sticks, one long and the other short, which are connected by a chain. The long stick is the handle, and the short stick is used to attack. The main purpose is to attack infantry and defeat siege soldiers with shields. There is also a deformed iron chain clamp rod called "Julian Double iron whip". There are two short rods in series at the front end, which is the prototype of the three-section stick.

Above: Chain clamp lever

Above: Double iron whip.

Third, Chenopodiaceae plant stick

Chenopodium ambrosioides stick is a variety of stick, the front end is wrapped with iron sheet and the back part is made of wood, which is used as a handle. Because the front is heavy and the back is light, there is a wrist rope at the back end of the handle to prevent it from coming off.

Fourth, the scepter

Mace, also known as mace, has a sharp point, but it is blunt. Many people understand that mace is a weapon with a wooden handle and iron head, but it is not. As long as it is equipped with a steel head, it is a "hammer", not a stick.

Mace is a very powerful blunt instrument, which is even more powerful than the blunt instrument mentioned above. A stick is enough to blow the top of your head.

China ancient scepter can be roughly divided into two types:

One is a long weapon and a short pole, which is in the same strain as the mace of the Song Dynasty. The long spike is 2 feet 4 inches (76.8 cm), the thin handle is 4 feet (128 cm), and the total length is 204 cm. The use of this mace is similar to that of a female stick and a broadsword, which is suitable for dealing with infantry immediately, but it is not suitable for infantry because the hitting part is too short, especially when dealing with a large number of people.

Above: Mace in Wu kiln in Song Dynasty.

The other is a long-handled short weapon. The thick part is three feet and four inches (about 109 cm), and the thin part is one foot and six inches (about 5 1 cm), with a total length of 1.6 meters. The usage of this mace is similar to that of single knife, whip and mace. This mace has a moderate length and a long hitting part, so it is very suitable for both instant combat and foot combat, even against a large number of people.

Above: The short-shaped "mace" in Ming Dynasty is an "upward trend", which means mace.

Five: melon hammer

Melon hammer is named after the hammer head looks like a melon, sometimes called garlic hammer. In many novels, operas and film and television dramas, the size of the melon hammer has been greatly exaggerated.

Above: An exaggerated hammer.

In fact, the weight of such a large solid hammer has greatly exceeded the limit of human body, so it is difficult to be practical on the battlefield. The ancient melon hammer was only as big as a child's fist, and there was a handle about two feet long behind it.

Above: Handed down melon hammer.

Above: Handed down melon hammer.

Although it looks small, this head is usually forged or cast with iron or copper, and its weight is considerable. Even a square brick of clay can shoot people to death, let alone such an iron pimple in my heart.

In ancient times, melon hammer was also a sharp weapon against armor. Against opponents who wear chain mail and ordinary scales, if they hit, they will basically suffer from internal bleeding and fracture.

Six, page hammer

It is generally believed that the leaf hammer was a weapon from the western regions in the Southern Song Dynasty, but by the Ming Dynasty, the equipment of the leaf hammer was already very large. In the Ming Dynasty's A Mirage of Police, many guards stood beside the emperor with leaf hammers.

The structure of the leaf hammer is similar to that of the melon hammer, both of which are hammers and handles. The hammer head of the leaf hammer is piece by piece, separated around a central axis, like page by page, hence the name.

Above: The head of the page hammer.

Compared with melon hammer, page hammer has obvious advantages and is more in line with the principles of physics. The smaller the stress area, the greater the attack power. Although the melon hammer also has a "melon blade", it is still a bent hammer after hitting the target. The page hammer concentrates the attack power on a vertical edge, which is more concentrated.

Seven, Gu Duo.

Many people think that a hammer and a bone flower are the same thing, and even Baidu Encyclopedia says that "bone flower … also known as golden melon". But the golden melon here only refers to the shape of the golden melon, not that the bone flower is also called the golden melon hammer, but that the general bone flower can be called "golden melon" alone.

In fact, although these two things look very similar and have similar structures, they are both hooked by a handle and a hammer, but there are still subtle differences.

There are two ways to connect the hammer and the handle. One way is direct casting or welding, the iron bar is used as the handle behind the hammer head, and a sleeve is added behind the hammer head to cover the hardwood handle. In short, the head of the hammer is made of solid metal.

Above: Welded hammer handle and hammer head

But there is a hole in the middle of the head of the bone flower, and the stick as a handle passes through the hole in the middle of the bone flower.

Above: The connection mode of the bone flower.

Therefore, bone flower is generally lighter than a hammer, which can be understood as adding a heavy iron hoop to one end of the stick. So bone flowers are longer than hammers. The hammer is generally only two feet long, and the bone flower can be more than three feet or even longer.

Above: Etiquette bones in Liao and Jin Dynasties.

Eight, whip and mace

Above: Handed down from the Song Dynasty, mace is 96 cm long and weighs 3.6 kg.

In ancient times, whip and mace were generally regarded as two kinds of weapons, but there is no difference in the way they are used. Let's put them together.

Clubs, hammers and bone flowers are basically weapons at home and abroad, while whips and mallets are unique blunt objects in China. It is unknown when the whip and mace originated, but at least in the Song Dynasty, these two weapons were widely used.

Whips and maces are very scientific blunt objects with moderate lethality, flexibility and attack range. To the greatest extent, they embody China's golden mean philosophy, and to the smallest extent, they embody the superb metalworking technology in ancient China.

Above: The power of the scepter.

Whips and hammers have a characteristic, that is, they are thin at the front and thick at the back, which keeps the center of gravity well, and keeps the center of gravity in front under the condition of ensuring the weight, thus improving the flexibility to the greatest extent.

The whip is shaped like a bamboo joint, so it is also called "bamboo joint whip". The most powerful whip is the two-handed whip of the Ming Dynasty. This whip is four feet and nine inches long, about 157 cm, 28 knots, and weighs about 12 kg to 24 kg. When using, the whip is held in both hands, and the usage is similar to that of the Ming Dynasty, but only the best swordsman can use it.

Above: Two-handed whip in Ming Dynasty.

Mace, on the other hand, is pyramid-shaped, generally with four edges and grooves on all sides to reduce weight. Therefore, mace is much lighter and more flexible than whip. Therefore, in ancient novels, people who use sticks like He Eight Immortals are more handsome, while people who use whips like Hu and Weichi Gong are much rougher.

Although mace is light, it is still heavier than a sword of the same length, and because of its flexibility and length, mace can not only blunt opponents in armor, but also easily deal with some light targets. The American cold steel company has done a test, and almost all sword weapons are vulnerable to mace. It can be seen that it is powerful.

Above: A mace smashed a Japanese knife with one blow.