Why did the Chinese stop using their signature weapon Ji (戟) after the Han Dynasty?  It was very common before.

为什么汉朝以后中国人停止使用他们的标志性武器戟了？

以下是Quora网友的评论：

Aniki Ace

the reason is, it was the weapon of choice for chariot warfare. as chariot warfare faded out of chinese history after han dynasty, so did the weapon that is tied to it. the JI has an inverted L-shape blade, much like a squared sickle with the sharpened blade inwards, and is useful on chariots. it was used as a sideway slashing and piercing weapon, becos the horses pulling the chariots made it impractical to use front piercing weapons.

原因是戟是战车作战的首选武器。进入汉代之后，战车战争逐渐淡出中国历史，相应的武器也随之消失。戟有一个倒L形的刀片，很像一个内刃锋利的方形镰刀，作为一种侧面劈砍和刺杀的武器在战车上很好用，因为马在前方拉着战车，所以向前刺杀的武器不太实用。

Robert Leo

Because the defense against it has improved and it became increasingly obsolete.

This is the Han armor.

因为对戟的防御手段逐步改进，于是它被逐步淘汰了。

这是汉代的盔甲。

This is the Tang armor (this looks like for officers but you can see the improvements on protecting against slashes and thrusts).

这是唐代的盔甲(看起来像是军官的盔甲，但可以看出在防砍和防刺方面的改进)。

Ji had trouble with heavy armor even before the Han dynasty, it was just that the average soldiers can’t afford to have heavy armors. With better armor the slashing capabilities of the Ji was ineffective.

And the Southern-Northern dynasty period saw the improvement of cavalry and nomadic dominance. Horsemen and even the horses had armor improvements that embraced the weapons that either focused on slashing (the sabers or dao) or thrusting (qiang), the likes of multi-purpose weapons Ji simply wasn’t effective enough to penetrate better armor and not durable and was more difficult to make.

So Ji and sword (both can slash and thrust) gave way to these:

在汉朝之前，戟就很难对付重甲，只是普通士兵买不起重甲。更好的盔甲出现后，戟的砍杀能力也就失效了。

南北朝时期，骑兵和游牧民族的统治地位得到了提高。骑兵甚至马匹的盔甲都得到了改进，也出现了专门用于砍(剑或刀)或刺(枪)的武器，戟这样多用途的武器无法穿透改良的盔甲，不够耐用，也更难制造。

于是戟和剑(都可以砍和刺)让位给了这些武器：

The most effective weapons for thrusting.

这些都是最好用的刺杀武器。

Effective slashing weapons on horse and against cavalries.

可以在战马上对抗敌军骑兵的砍杀性武器。

Kaiser Kuo

Did Chinese of the Han dynasty have something against cavalry archers?

No, it was a skill that was greatly admired but not at all easily imitated. Cavalry archery did exst in China from at least the late 4th century BC, when King Wuling of Zhao compelled people in that northern Warring State to "wear barbarian dress and shoot (bows) from horseback" (胡服骑射, Hú fú qí shè).

汉朝的中国人能对付骑兵吗？

不，骑射是一种非常令人钦佩的技能，很难模仿。在公元前4世纪晚期，中国就有骑兵了，当时战国北方的赵武灵王强迫人民“穿胡服，学骑射”(胡服骑射)。

But horse archery, especially before the invention of the stirrup, was extremely difficult, and was only something that could be undertaken by people who were basically born to the saddle, as the iongnu (a pastoral nomadic people who dominated the steppes of Central Asia before, during, and even for a time after the Han Dynasty) had been. If you look across history at the peoples who practiced this, you can see that they were almost all nomadic: The ionnu, the Scythians, the Medes, the Parthians, the Avars, Alans, the Huns, The ianbei, the Cumans, the Patzinaks, the Arabs (whose Mamelukes were often enslaved from Central Asian people), the Turks, the Medes, Khitan, the Jurchen, the Mongols, the Manchus. (I'm leaving out many, of course).

但是，骑马射箭，尤其在马镫发明之前，是非常困难的，只有那些从小就在马背上长大的人才能做到，比如匈奴(在汉朝之前、甚至之后一段时间内统治中亚草原的游牧民族)。如果你回顾一下历史上善于骑射的民族，你会发现他们几乎都是游牧民族：匈奴人、斯基泰人、米提亚人、帕提亚人、阿瓦尔人、亚兰人、匈奴人、鲜卑人、人类、帕齐纳克人、阿拉伯人(他们的马木留克人经常被中亚人奴役)、突厥人、米提亚人、契丹人、女真人、蒙古人、满族人(肯定还有很多遗漏)。

The Chinese had already long practiced sedentary agriculture. During Han the Chinese had troops who could fire bows or crossbows from horseback, but mostly only while stationary. The need to grow crops rather than clear land for the pasture to sustain the very large numbers of horses necessary to make horse archers the mainstay of their fighting force; and they didn't have the cultural affinity to the horse that all the Central Asian peoples did.

中国人早已开始定居务农。汉朝时期，中国军队可以在马背上发射弓箭或弩，但大多是在静止状态下。他们需要种植庄稼，而不是开垦牧场来养活大量马匹，让骑兵成为他们的战斗主力；而且他们不像中亚人，有爱马的文化传统。

David M. Prus

We know of at least 3

The Jian- the original Chinese sword. Double edged for cutting and thrusting and the sign of prestige.

我们知道至少有3种

剑—中国最初的剑。双刃剑可用于切削和刺杀，也是威望的象征。

The Dao- a new sword from the steppes combining sword and knife. Basically half bladed jian or a sword sized knife- a long blade with a single edge and half point with a simplified hilt and sometimes a ring pommel. Over the Han period it became the main sword of China

刀—一种源于草原的剑与刀的结合体。基本上属于半刃剑或如剑般大小的刀—是单刃半尖的长剑，刀柄较小，有的是圆头柄。在汉代，刀成了中国的主流刀剑类武器。

The Zhanmajian- a rare sword, this is a form of sword with a longer blade and much longer hilt. It was used two handed against cavalry but was more regularly used for execution

斩马剑—一种较为少见的剑，剑刃较长，剑柄长。这种剑需要士兵双手持剑，对付敌军骑兵，但更多时候用于处决行刑。

Emanuel Leung

What is the secret weapon of Chinese Dynasty armies which became very powerful on the battlefield?

The Chinese were the first to use the crossbow in war, starting in the Eastern Zhou and Spring and Autumn Period. This weapon was easy to train in, fairly easy to aim, and easy to shoot. It was very easy for the Chinese to conscript thousands of peasants, arm and train them with these en masse, and now they’re useful in combat.

Europe didn’t have crossbows until much later. The crossbow was exclusive to China in ancient times, and could be considered a “secret weapon” of sorts.

中国军队在战场上所向披靡的秘密武器是什么？

中国是最早在战争中使用弩的国家，始于东周和春秋时期。这种武器很容易训练，很容易瞄准，也很容易射击。对中国人来说，征召成千上万的农民进行武装和训练易如反掌，现在他们在战斗中发挥着作用。

欧洲过了很久才有了弓弩。弩在古代属于中国独有，可以被视为“秘密武器”之一。

Kathleen Listman

What are some ancient Chinese weapons from the Han dynasty that are still used today?

My studies are more about culture than weapons. We are still using canons and rockets but not as weapons (as in their earlier form) although this has led to advancements in weaponry. Tempered steel is used in many aspects of building as well as weapons, and was developed at multiple parts of the world.

The cultural ideas that the Han Chinese remain part of their group no matter where they emigrate, and the idea that Asian people groups should accept the expansion of the Han culture and language into their own, are the two greatest weapons that are still used today.

有哪些中国汉代的武器至今仍在沿用？

我的研究更多地关注于文化而非武器。我们现在仍会使用大炮和火箭，但并非作为武器来使用(早期用途)。精炼钢开始用于建筑和武器的许多方面，并在世界各地得到了发展。

无论汉人移民到哪里，他们都是华夏民族的一部分的文化观念，以及亚洲民族应该接受汉族文化和汉语扩张和融合的观念，正是自古沿袭至今的两大武器。

Minh

What are some ancient Chinese weapons from the Han dynasty that are still used today?

The Thirty-Six Stratagems is a Chinese essay used to illustrate a series of stratagems used in politics, war, and civil interaction.

"Thirty-six strategies, running is the best."

This is the last of the 36 strategies in the strategy of war, which is said to be that of Sun Tzu in "

The vast majority of commentators, when commenting on this next one, say that when they are not strong enough to fight, running is the best way to preserve their strength and find opportunities to attack later.

有哪些中国汉代的武器至今仍在沿用？

《三十六计》是中国巨著，介绍的是政治、战争和民间使用的一系列策略。

“三十六计，走为上计。”

这是孙子所著的三十六计兵法中的最后一计。

绝大多数注释在评论这一计时都说，如果他们不够强，打不过对方，最好逃开，保持实力留待日后伺机再战。

Ian Holloway

If guns exsted since ancient Chinese dynasties, why weren’t they common in later periods like medieval times?

如果中国古代就有了火炮，为什么没有普及呢？

Both premises of the question are, alas, simply false!

Guns are a medieval invention, not an ancient one.

The oldest Chinese gun was found in Manchuria in about 1970. It was probably mounted on a handle. It has been dated about 1288.

Guns were quite common at the end of the medieval period

The standard gun 15th century gun, of which 100,000 were produced is “the heaven” model of hand cannon. About 25 weapons of this type have been discovered- with serial numbers! Different guns differ in detail but are approxmately the same.

呜呼，你这个问题的两个前提都是错的！

火炮是中世纪的发明，并非古代。

中国最古老的火炮是1970年左右在满洲发现的。它可能是装在把手上的，年代大约是1288年。

火炮在中世纪末期已经相当普遍。

15世纪的标准火炮生产了10万门，是“天”式手持火炮。目前已经发现了大约25种这种类型的武器—带有序列号！不同的火炮在细节上有所不同，但总体相似。

David H (call me WarpedFactor)

If guns exsted since ancient Chinese dynasties, why weren’t they common in later periods like medieval times?

Gunpowder was not developed in in China till sometime in the 8th Century, C.E., and not used in warfare till the early 9th century. Gunpowder had found its way to the middle East and Europe, by about the middle of the middle of the 13th century, but firearms technology was till very crude, the Chinese, fire lance not much more than a proof of concept.

如果中国古代就有了火炮，为什么没有普及呢？

火药直到公元8世纪才在中国出现，直到9世纪初才开始用于战争。大约在13世纪中期，火药传到了中东和欧洲，但火炮技术仍然非常原始，中国人的火炮还只是一种概念。

Aya Shawn

Halberds and Ge were weapons before the Qin Dynasty, when the Chinese army used "chariots" extensively

Generals and soldiers attacked on chariots drawn by horses.

Since the horse was on the front of the chariot, forward assassination became almost impossible, so the soldiers attacked from the sides of the chariot.

戟和戈是秦朝以前的武器，那个时候中国军队普遍会使用“战车”

将军和士兵们骑着马拉的战车进攻敌军。

由于马位于战车的前方，士兵们无法向前刺杀，而是从战车的侧面发起进攻。

Since the direction of travel of the vehicle is at a 90-degree angle to the direction of attack, assassination is not the most advantageous method of attack. They often use scythe-harvesting movements to wield their weapons.

The blades on the side of the halberd and the Ge exst for this purpose.

After the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty unified China and there was less need for internal warfare. Their main enemies were the nomads of the steppes.

The nomads were all cavalry, and their chariots were slow and heavy, unable to fight against the cavalry.

由于车辆的行进方向与攻击方向呈90度角，刺杀不是最有利的进攻方法。士兵们经常使用镰刀收割的动作来挥舞武器。

戟侧的刃和戈就是因此而出现的。

秦朝之后，汉朝统一了中国，内战停息了。汉朝的主要敌人是草原上的游牧民族。

游牧民族都是骑兵，汉朝的战车又慢又重，无法与骑兵作战。

Therefore, the Han Dynasty chose to build its own cavalry, and generals and soldiers fought directly on horses. The enemy they faced was also cavalry.

At this time, the direction of attack becomes directly in front of the horse. Since the the forward piercing action becomes consistent with the direction of travel, forward piercing action becomes the best attack method. The unbalanced halberd and Ge were quickly replaced by spears.

Weapons always change with the changes in war situations, which is why halberds and spears were replaced by spears.

因此，汉朝组建了自己的骑兵队伍，将军和士兵直接骑在马上作战。他们面对的敌人也是骑兵。

这时，攻击的方向就变成了马的正前方。由于前刺动作与行进方向一致，前刺动作成为最佳的攻击方式。左右不平衡的戟和枪很快被长矛取代。

武器总是随着战争形势的变化而变化，以上就是戟被长矛取代的原因。