Subject: 士 shi warrior
Culture: proto-Chinese
Setting: Warring States period, China 5th-4thcBC
Context (Event Photos, Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, Field Notes)
* Blank/Grinter/Magyar/Ware/Weathers 1993 p121-122 (Lawrence E Grinter, "Cultural and historical influences on conflict in Sinic Asia: China, Japan, and Vietnam" p117-192)
"Called a 'feudal period,' the Zhou period is actually one of nepotism, fief landholding, and decentralized authority. The Zhou period is also the longest in Chinese history; philosophical schools of thought, art, scholarship, and a bronze culture flourished. Yet it was characterized by violence, intrigue, and shifts in geopolitical power. By 400 B.C., the Zhou had fallen into anarchy, then open warfare, known as the 'Warring States' period.
"This period of political violence marks a kind of dividing line in Chinese affairs -- during and prior to it, warfare was a kind of free-for-all among family-controlled states, not unlike Japan's feudal period 12 centuries later. In China something like 150 small family-ruled states or areas were gradually reduced to a dozen or so big states, which were finally reduced to a half-dozen until the final unification in 221 B.C. Violence was esteemed, and victory in war was the ultimate criteria of a ruler's worth. In the midst of this grinding free-for-all Sun Tzu wrote his classic, The Art of War, which sums up the ancient military advisor's wisdom on strategy, tactics, and deception."
* Mair tr. 2007 p24-25
"There is actually no unanimity as to precisely when the Warring States period began. Some say that it started in 481 B.C., when the chronicles of Lu (Confucius' home state) conclude, marking the end of the Spring and Autumn period. Others maintain that the Warring States period began in 403 B.C., when the Eastern Zhou rump court (King Wei Lie) officially recognized Han, Wei, and Zhao, three states that had resulted from the breakup of Jin half a century earlier (453 B.C.). Many scholars, however, accept 475 B.C. as the beginning of the Warring States period, because that year witnessed a dramatic readjustment of the feudal order.
"Be that as it may, the Warring States period was in full swing by the beginning of the fourth century B.C., with seven major states (Yan, Qi, Chu, Han, Wei, Zhao, and Qin) contesting for power. The rulers of all of these states usurpingly referred to themselves as 'king' (wang), and each strove to expand his territory at the expense of the others, with the ultimate goal of achieving complete control over tianxia ('all under heaven'). A key feature of the politics of the Warring States period was the ambivalent relationship between a ruler and the feudal lords associated with him. Though the feudal lords may have sworn fealty to the ruler, they were often on the verge of revolting and were constantly trying to assume the dominant position that he occupied. The situation was by nature highly unstable and endlessly in flux, so constant wars were inevitable. ...
"In contrast to the Spring and Autumn period, war during the Warring States period was no longer restricted to brief, chivalrous battles. These had now given way to unrestrained, violent campaigns involving enormous armies. Contributing to the ferocity of warfare during the Warring States were entirely new and ruthlessly efficient military features such as cavalry and the crossbow, both of which appeared in East Asia for the first time during this period (the former from the far north and the latter from the far south), and both of which transformed war into a more terrifying phenomenon than it had ever been before. But the changes in warfare were not restricted to innovations in weaponry and vastly enhanced mobility. The ways in which human beings were marshaled were also thoroughly transformed, with the deployment of mass infantry, the skillful dispatch of spies, and the rise of competing tacticians, none of which had been seen in East Asia before."
* Hansen 2015 p64-65
"A dramatic change in warfare occurred in the sixth century B.C.E. in both ancient Greece and ancient China. In both societies, chariot warfare led by aristocrats gave way to infantry battles, in which common farmers fought. This change in warfare reflected a political shift. Because ordinary farmers could rise to lead infantry armies, they challenged the hold of the traditional chariot-based aristocrats.
"In 540 B.C.E. the ruler of the Jin polity fought the Di people, who had sheltered Double Ears a century earlier. Because the Di, one of the so-called Four Barbarian nations, had never fought with chariots, its infantry gave it an advantage, especially on its home terrain. Chariots could intimidate opponents fighting on a flat plain, but when they ran into the ravines of mountainous areas, they became hopelessly mired targets. Quick to recognize the disadvantages of chariots, the Jin commander ordered his men to give them up and reorganized the fighters into an infantry consisting of five-man units. When those nobles who had manned the chariots objected to the loss of their privileged position, he ordered them executed -- and so began the process of erasing the sharp social distinction that divided those on the chariots from those who ran alongside them. In warfare with infantry, anyone could rise up the ranks to become a general, and the ensuing social flux occasioned much comment -- and much consternation -- among observers at the time.
"When their chariot armies proved unable to defeat the cavalry of enemy peoples, rulers opted for a more efficient and more ruthless means of fighting. They staffed their armies with infantry who took vows to respond to their general's commands with unquestioning speed. In order to field larger armies, sometimes with more than several hundred thousand men, rulers had to develop new ways of deriving income from their territories. They found that the traditional means of awarding estates to subordinates did not produce the necessary revenue."
* Quaritch Wales 1952 p16
"[F]rom the sixth century B.C., Chinese warfare had undergone a radical change. This came as a result of wars of expansion against the Barbarians on the borders. 'Against the tribes which live outside Chinese law, they conduct wars of conquest in which the old rules of battle arc [SIC] no longer valid. They undertake colonial wars, wars of civilization: they make real war, bitter and without quarter. From that time begins the reign of technicians, military engineers and professors of tactics. Then are devised innumerable stratagems of war, and ambuscades. The object of war is the destruction of the enemy. The battle is no longer an ennobling tournament. Success alone counts.' In brief, 'war, ceasing to be though of as a procedure desitned to reveal and to carry out the judgment of Heaven, became an industry.'"
* Hansen 2015 p66
"The shift from chariot warfare to infantry, with the accompanying increases in army size, created a demand for a new type of general. Rulers could not allow men to lead their troops simply because their fathers had been commanders before them. Instead, they sought expert generals who knew how to fight. They believed that the art of war could be taught, and the first treatises on warfare appeared in this period. The most well known, The Art of War took shape before 481 B.C.E. and is attributed to Sun Wu, a general who, if he really existed, lived in the late sixth century B.C.E. Sunzi, as the text refers to him, stressed that the entire army had to be trained to follow the orders of its general unquestioningly.
"Many of Sunzi's teachings ran directly counter to the practices of armies during the Spring and Autumn period. His most radical teaching held that the most successful generals avoided war when possible:
To bring the enemy's army to submit without combat is the highest skill.
Therefore the best is to attack his stratagems and deliberations, the next best is to attack his system of alliances, the next best is to attack his army, and the worst is to attack his cities. ... Therefore he who is skilled in the use of armies brings the enemy's army to submit and does not engage in combat.
The art of war -- in a quasi-mystical way -- promised to teach students to identify weaknesses in their enemy and to understand the right moment to attack."
* Peers/McBride 1990 p12
"The 5th century saw temporary stalemate, as the ambitions of each of the leading powers were thwarted in turn. Tsin, which had long suffered from instability, was defeated by its former allies at Ching Yang in 453, a blow which led to its disintegration and to the foundation of the three new powers. However, economically and culturally it was an age of great progress, and the population of China increased from 12 million in 650 to as many as 40 million. Pressure on land became yet another factor driving the states into war."
* Royal Ontario Museum > China Galleries
"[....] Lors de la dynastie des Zhou orientaux, des améliorations apportées aux alliages de fer contribuèrent randement à la productivité et aux surplus agricoles. Ces améliorations entraînèrent des guerres fréquentes entre les États cerchant à agrandir leur territoire géographique et à éntendre leur dominance politique. Des épées tranchantes comme des rasoirs, gorées à partir du fer et habituellement ornées d'élégants accessoires de jade, devinrent les armes de combat préférées de cette époque."
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"[....] The improvement of iron alloys during the Eastern Zhou period contributed dramatically to agricultural productivity and surplus. This in turn provoked frequent warfare between states seeking to expand their geographical territories and political dominance. Razor-sharp swords forged from iron and usually decorated with delicate jade attachments, became the battle weapon of choice at this time."
"One of the persistent patterns in Chinese discourse on this subject is to identify the internal domestic realm as one characterized by “civil” values, while the outside fringes of the empire were the dangerous and exotic lands that gave rise of “military” genius. The pattern is remarkably stable over time. During the Warring States period and early Han, martial genius (indeed, even the very notion of swordsmanship) was something that was seen as emerging from the wild and militant cultures that existed in the far the south, including (but not limited to) the culturally exotic kingdom of Chu."
Long Sword
"When viewed from an environmental perspective it is not a coincidence that the longsword should have been adopted in the State of Chu at a relatively early date, or that it would again become a rarity by the Han dynasty. Between the Warring States and the Han most swords (with the exception of those given to the calvary) were meant to be used with a shield. Shields were a necessity both because archery was a common aspect of the battlefield, and most soldier wore very little armor (or none at all). Indeed, armor was expensive enough that it was often reserved for more specialized troops or officers.
"Double handed swords can be wielded effectively against both polearms (which dominated the period’s infantry formations) and lightly armed individuals with smaller swords and bucklers. Yet the precondition for being able to use the such [SIC] a weapon is the development of some sort of armor that frees the warrior from the necessity of carrying a shield. We have ... seen how Chu (and regions such as the former kingdoms of Wu and Yue) had an advantage when it came to the production of early steel weapons. Obviously, that made the development of the longsword technologically possible. But it was an entirely different set of natural resources that made such an innovation advisable. Specifically, multiple species of wild rhinoceros could still be found in the warmer and wetter south long after they had gone extinct in China’s northern and central regions.
"It was actually the greater access to rhino hides that allowed Chu to deploy the longsword as something more than a novelty or a prestige weapon for the elite. Of course, all of this had a devastating effect of China’s remaining rhinoceros populations. Climate change in the guise of the cooling and drying during this period had already stressed these populations. As the demand for armor increased, the remainder were quickly hunted to extinction becoming yet another casualty of the Warring States period.
"By the Han dynasty the few surviving populations of China’s rhinos were forced into isolated pockets of the deep south. Most individuals would never see a rhinoceros and the species quickly entered China rich bestiary of mythic creatures. Nor would there be much of a demand for the remaining suits of rhino armor. With the development of much more powerful crossbows during the Han dynasty, leather plates were eventually replaced with metal (often iron or decarbonized steel). Relatively few soldiers could be equipped with enough armor to provide anything like full coverage and militaries again turned to shields and long pole arms as a primary mode of defense.
"It is thus interesting to compare the steel longswords of the late Warring States period to their Han counterparts. In truth, the blades of even ordinary Han jian tended to be quite long. You can see this for yourself if you just put LK Chen’s White Arc (a direct reproduction of a surviving Han jian) next to the Roaring Dragon (his Chu longsword). The two blades are roughly comparable in length, with the long sword only being an inch or two greater. The actual difference in these swords is to be found in their hilt construction. Whereas the Roaring Dragon is a specialized two-hander, Han jian generally assumed that soldiers would need to wield a blade in one hand and a shield in the other. Even a Han “two handed” sword, something like the Soaring Sky or Flying Phoenix, is still designed to be used primarily with one hand, while a second hand may be called upon at times for extra support or special techniques. While some longswords have been recovered from the Han, in general an elite warrior in this later period was much more likely favor a slighter shorter blade with a more versatile hilt.
"The term intersectionality is used to describe the ways that complex social and environmental factors interact with each other. Certain types of technological change gave rise to the development of the longsword in southern China. Yet by putting greater pressure on fragile populations of wild rhinos, these same technological changes ensured their own obsolesces. Once again, it is impossible to really understand how ancient weapons were used in a decontextualized sense. But when we combine what we know about the development of new technologies (stronger crossbows) and environmental change (the over hunting of wild rhinos), it becomes possible to understand why the Kingdom of Chu’s longswords occupied such a fleeting (if glorious) moment in history."
Short Sword
* Coe/Connolly/Harding/Harris/Larocca/Richardson/North/Spring/Wilkinson 1993 p173-174 (Thom Richardson, "China and Central Asia" p172-185)
"The sword probably entered the Chinese arsenal at the same time as the use of cavalry -- the practice of riding became widespread in Central Asia from the eighth century BC onwards. Encountering this new means of transport, probably among the nomadic tribes of the Ordos region, and perceiving its military potential, the states of northern China equipped themselves with mounted troops.
"The earliest Chinese swords come from sites in northwestern China, for example from Zhangjiapo in Shaanxi province. These swords, of cast bronze, are of jian type, with straight leaf-shaped blades reinforced by rounded medial ribs. Blade length was very short, about 14 ins/35 cm. The tang was also relatively short and fitted with a large bound and guardless grip. This type persisted in southern and western China, but in the east the blade was cast with a much longer round-sectioned tang and an integral disc pommel. This development, which seems to have taken place by the seventh century, was a distinct improvement, for it reduced the tendency of the hilt to part company with the blade. A small shoulder-like guard was added at the beginning of the Eastern Zhou period in the sixth century."
* Bennett 2018 p66
"The emergence of the full-length sword as a weapon seems to have coincided closely with the advent of mounted warfare in China.
"The riding of horses became widespread across Central Asia from the eighth century BC onwards. From the fourth century BC, the Chinese states increasingly came into conflict with nomadic tribes of steppe horsemen to the north and west. Chinese forces were compelled to assimilate cavalry to gain the speed and mobility that would enable them to contend with these mounted foes. This was particularly vital in the northern and border territories, and it is in these regions and from around this time that the earliest Chinese swords have been unearthed. It is therefore likely that swords began to feature in the Chinese arsenal because they were suitable for fighting on horseback, although they quickly became popular as ancillary weapons for infantry and status arms for officers."
* Chinese art of the Warring States period 1982 p71
"Opinions differ as to whether the sword was introduced into China from outside or was developed independently by the Chinese. In any case, there is no denying that the sword appeared in China relatively late, with the finds from the ancient state of Kuo at Shang-ts'un-ling, Honan Province, demonstrating that they were in use before 655 B.C. During the Chou dynasty the sword became an important military weapon, and as late as the fifth century B.C. swords of the type represented by the Freer example were made with elongated blades and articulated handles. According to Chinese records and on the basis of archaeological finds, it appears that some of the finest swords were made in south China. Excavations in the areas occupied by the ancient states of Ch'u, Wu, and Yueh have yielded outstanding examples of Eastern Chou swords. While iron swords were made during the Eastern Chou, bronze examples continue to be more numerous in excavations."
* Peers/McBride 1990 p13
"[B]y 500 the sword was beginning to gain popularity, and from this time swords start to predominate over bows in battle narratives, sword and shield being apparently regarded as a superior combination for infantry fighting to the spear or dagger-axe."
* Bennett 2018 p67
"The first weapons to be made and used as swords in China were fashioned from cast bronze during the Zhou period. They took the form referred to as jian, characterised by a straight, double-edged blade. The earliest jian discovered suggest that initially, Chinese sword blades were short (about 35 cms) with medial ridges and guardless grips. Swordsmiths improved this design by incorporating an integral disc pommel and a small guard at the base of the blade to make the grip more secure. By the fourth and third centuries BC, the bronze jian had evolved into a formidable weapon, with a diamond section blade which could reach half a metre in length, a solid tang strengthened with two metal collar rings, and a shaped guard. Rare survivals show that hilts were bound in braided silk, to cushion them in the hand, improve the grip and to act as ornamentation. High status weaponas could be richly decorated in gold, with geometric patterns showing on the surface of the blades, and inscriptions detailing ownership."
* Peers/McBride 1990 p14
"Swords were still of the short stabbing type; blades were still bronze, but from the 5th century iron began to appear, the states of Ch'u and Han being known for their weapons of low-grade steel. Iron smelting technology, however, remained very primitive until the 2nd century BC, and the metal could not replace bronze for most military purposes."
Crossbow
* Bennett 2018 p52-53
"One of the great innovations in Chinese military technology was the development of the crossbow (nu) which Chinese forces used to great effect over two thousand years. Sources start to mention the crossbow regularly from around the 4th century BC and it quickly became a commonplace weapon.
"Building on centuries of bronze casting expertise developed for the manufacture of complex ritual vessels, the Chinese crossbow's success was thanks in large part to the ingenuity and engineering skills of the craftsmen who made the mechanisms. They succeeded in producing a cast bronze trigger mechanism involving three separate moving components linked by two shafts or pins. The moving parts included a trigger, a rocking lever and a spool device. The spool component included two teeth to secure the braced string and a prolonged lug for resetting the mechanism to a cocked position after the trigger had been released."
Halberd
* Peers/McBride 1990 p14
"Armour and bows were similar to earlier types, but the dagger-axe continued to evolve, and by the 4th century the addition of a spear-blade to the end of the shaft had turned it into a true cut-and-thrust weapon or halberd. Spears and dagger-axes fell into two groups, one about nine feet long, the other around 18 feet."
* Chinese art of the Warring States period 1982 p76
"[D]uring the late Warring States and Han periods, halberds were made, frequently of iron, in a simplified shape consisting of a long vertical shaft from which a single blade projects downward at an oblique angle."
Armor
* 5000 years of Chinese costumes 1988 p37
"The iron armour of the Warring States Period was usually made of iron strips strung together in the form of fish scales or willow leaves.
"The dou wu (helmet), also called zhou, shou kai, tou wu or kui, was of different types, some round and pieced together from very small iron stirps, others made of bronze cast into the shape of animals' faces. At the top of such bronze helmets there was often a bronze tube in which teh tail of an ancient bird of prey, or a bird's feather, or a tassel could be fixed, as ornament. The surface of teh helmets was mostly ground smooth, while the inside was course [SIC], rough and uneven. From this it can be surmised that a warrior wearing a helmet of this kind invariably had a turban on his head."
Costume
* 5000 years of Chinese costumes 1988 p13
"In the Warrings States Period drastic changes in dress and ornaments took place, the most important being the popularization of hu fu -- the dress of a national minority in the northwest of China. Generally speaking, this comprised a short jacket, long trousers and leather boots, the jacket being tight-fitting to allow greater freedom of movement. The first person to adopt this kind of clothing was King Wuling of the State of Zhao, the earliest reformist in the annals of Chinese costume. His adoption of the apparel of the northern tribal nomads and introduction of their horse-back archery were in tune with the needs of warfare, and contributed to the increase in power and prosperity of his state. From then on, hu fu was widely worn throughout China, and became the general fashion for that era.
"Towards the end of the Spring and Autumn Period and the beginning of the Warring States Period, there appeared another kind of costume known as shen yi. Unlike the preceding costume, this was a one-piece robe, whose popularity had important repercussions on the society of that period. Both men and women, and officials and military officers alike, all took up this fashion."
* 5000 years of Chinese costumes 1988 p25
"Compared with other costumes, apart from being a one-piece garment, the shenyi had another distinctive feature called 'xuren goubian'. As ren refers to the lapel, while goubian describes the style of the dress. Departing from the usual tailoring method of opening slits at the hems, the new approach was to sew up the front and the back pieces on the left hand side of the dress. Then the lapel of the back piece was extended so that the lengthened lapel formed a triangle. When worn, the lengthened piece was wound to the back and the garment was fastened by tying the girdle at the waist. Robes of this sort can now be clearly seen from the nale and female figurines unearthed at Changsha County, Hunan Province, and Yunmeng County, Hubei Province. Such a pattern is also seen in a drawing on plain white silk found in a tomb of the State of Chu in Changsha. For example, a picture unearthed at this tomb shows the male occupant of the tomb in a high hat and large-sleeved robe, with the lapel winding down -- a typical patttern of shenyi. [....]
"This was also a form of spiral-shaped one-piece garment. These dresses were usually made of soft thin materials and bordered with thick gold and silver threads at the extreme edges so as to reveal the silhouette of the dress. The more distinguished garments had the sleeves ornamented with silk or gold threads of light or dark texture, which produced a highly ornamental effect."
* Traditional Chinese costumes 2002 p30
"During the Warring States Period (475B.C.-221B.C.) King Wuling of the State of Zhao reformed the outfits of his soldiers. This marked a departure from the wearing of broad-sleeved gowns on the battlefield. From then on, soldiers wore jackets with narrow sleeves, trousers and boots, over which they donned armor."
Ornaments
* Kimbell Art Museum > Passport to Asia
"The constant climate of warfare that characterized Chinese history from the Eastern Zhou period to the initial decades of Han rule is reflected in the abundance of military equipment excavated from the tombs of upper-class men. During this period, the adoption of cavalry and the dress style of the nomadic tribes to the north prompted the creation in China of many accessories closely related to the new outfit: belt hooks and belt buckles, garment hooks, fittings for iron swords, horse trappings, and archery-related accessories. Besides their utilitarian function, these accessories also communicated the high status of their owners."
* Sackler Gallery
"By the sixth century B.C. a revolutionary technique of working ornaments in relief was introduced. The method added exciting dimensions to the tactile and decorative qualities of jade and resulted in the many remarkable and beautiful creations of the fifth through third centuries B.C.
"Rectangular and arc-shaped pendants, and others shaped like dragons and birds, were strung together in elaborate compositions with disks and beads to serve as necklaces."
* Sackler Gallery
"Toward the end of the Eastern Zhou period (770-221 B.C.) ... the demand for luxury goods in affluent and powerful household goods in affluent and powerful households produced a wealth of new materials. Most were ornately inlaid vessels made for grand festivities, and jewel-like accessories for personal consumption, products that had little relation to the somber rituals adn rites of earlier dynasties. Luxury items, rather than the traditional ritual vessels, were the crowning artistic achievements of the time.
"During the last centuries B.C. a heightened interest in humanity and nature expressed itself in a proliferation of human and natural subjects in art. Attachment to worldly pleasures was accompanied by the search for immortality, which became a popular social obsession, for which Daoist teachings of the late Eastern Zhou provided the ideal foundation. Daoism thus became another major source of artistic inspiration throughout the period."
Knife
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