In 1975, a wooden coffin tomb from the early Zhou Dynasty (about 1120 AD) was excavated in the suburbs of Beijing. Among the unearthed bronze weapons, there were nine "halberds", which proved that the "halberd", a unique weapon in China, at least It has a history of more than three thousand years.

The unearthed Euphorbia of the Zhou Dynasty shows that it was widely used in the Zhou Dynasty. The "thorn" recorded in ancient books is the "halberd". "Zuo Zhuan·Yin Gong Eleventh Year": "Ying Kao Shu took him away, and Zidu pulled out thorns to chase him. Du Yu's note: "thorns, halberds." The halberd was also one of the five soldiers in the Warring States Period. It can be seen that The halberd was a common weapon at that time.

In 1974, a large number of weapons were unearthed from the burial pits of Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum in Lintong, Shaanxi Province, including Qin bows, arrowheads, spears, Ge, Yue, Wu hook, etc. It is the reappearance of the weapons and equipment of the Qin Dynasty army 2,200 years ago. The three weapons, the sword, the spear, and the halberd, all have long wooden handles about three meters long, with copper at the lower end. Some spear handles are as long as 6.3 meters.

Han Liu Xi's "Shi Ming Shi Bing": "The chariot halberd is called Chang, and it is six feet long. It is held on the chariot. Eight feet is called Xun, and double the search is called Chang, so it is called Chang. Hand. Halberd is a halberd held by the hand."

"Zhou Li·Kao Gong Ji·Lu Ren": "The Lu people have six-inch weapons, six-foot-long swords, four-foot long swords, and chariot halberds. "Change."

Han Liu Xi's "Shi Ming·Shi Bing": "Ge means "Jie Ji". "Ge" means "passing". If you stab it, you will defeat it; if you hook it, you will control it. ”

The length of long soldiers and heavy halberds in the Han Dynasty was between long soldiers and short soldiers. "Book of Han: Biography of Dongfang Shuo": "Emperor Wu was sitting in the front hall of Weiyang, and Dongfang Shuo was standing holding a halberd." This shows that civil servants in the Han Dynasty also held halberds. (?) There are also double halberds. "Three Kingdoms·Wu Zhi": "Sun Quan rode his horse to shoot the tiger and threw the two halberds." "Gan Ning danced with the two halberds." A pair of halberds weighs eighty pounds." It can be seen that the halberd was not only widely used at that time, but also relatively heavy.

Cao Pi's "Dictionary: Autobiography": "You can't claim to be good at your husband's affairs. Yu Shaoxiao persists in saying that he is not right; the common name is Shuangji, which means sitting in an iron chamber and inlaying into a wooden door. Later. Learning from Chen Guo Yuan Min, he used single-handed attack and recovery. He was like a god, but he didn't know where to go. In the past, he was as sharp as he was in a narrow road. "("Three Kingdoms, Book of Wei, Chronicles of Emperor Wen" Annotated by Pei Song)

In the Jin Dynasty, long soldiers were heavy on spears and spears, and halberds were reduced to ceremonial weapons. All sergeants held spears instead of halberds. "Book of Jin·Biography of Wang Jun" says: "I opened the road in front of my house, walked dozens of steps across the street, and said: I want to hold a halberd and a flag." It can be seen that the halberd is no longer used on the battlefield.

The Tang Dynasty halberd has been widely used as a dance tool. "Book of Tang·Book of Rites and Music": "Taizong made a dance picture, and ordered Lu Cai to teach one hundred and twenty-eight musicians according to the picture, wearing silver armor and holding halberds to dance. Every three changes, every time it becomes four formations, and the elephants strike. The thorns are going back and forth, and the singer sings, "The King of Qin's formation music." Although this is a halberd held in silver armor, the halberd has completely lost its character as a weapon and has become a dance tool.

Song Dynasty halberds were rarely used on the battlefield. Among the long-handled iron knives in the "Wu Jing Zong Yao", there is a picture of a "halberd knife". It can be seen that its shape has changed to adapt to the battlefield, and it is not the original halberd.

There was a short crescent halberd, or hand halberd, among the miscellaneous soldiers of the Qing Dynasty. In addition to the crescent blade, it also had a sharp edge and a curved hook. It also had the functions of hooking, stabbing, cutting, and fighting.

There are still people who practice halberds. The training method of halberds is different from that of swords and guns. Generally, halberds do not perform dancing, but chop, stab, hook, slice, probe, hang, capture and knock as the main moves.

In ancient times, halberds were divided into horse halberds, infantry halberds, and double halberds. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the same shape of halberds was used in various martial arts schools and with various training methods.