Dagger-Axe
The dagger-axe, a weapon used by soldiers on the chariot in ancient times evolved from the sickle, and was one of the weapons carried by the people. With a long shaft, the dagger-axe is a flat-headed weapon with a blade on the lower side. It can be used for sweeping attacks and also for pulling-down killing (Fig. 6).
Bronze dagger-axes were used in the Yin Dynasty (1400-1100 B.C.) as an attacking weapon. In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (770-221 B.C.), dagger-axes were still in wide use. The main weapon used by soldiers in the Qin Dynasty was also the dagger axe but it was gradually replaced by spear in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D.220)
The dagger-axe underwent improvement and development during the Yin and Qin dynasties. Not only the point of the dagger-axe was used for hitting, but also the blades on both sides of the head. The connection part between the head and the shaft was lengthened, making the dagger-axe even stronger.
Different forms of fighting used different daggeraxe which are classified into three types of long, short and medium shafts. The long-shaft dagger-axe measured about 314 cm, the medium-shaft 139.4 cm and the short-shaft about 91 cm. The dagger-axe was used by soldiers on chariots while the short-shaft one was used by foot soldiers.
As the dagger-axe was abandoned in military fighting very early no routines have been handed down to the present day. The main techniques of play included hook cutting, pecking and hitch-poking.