finds of this form of weapon have lengths between 85 and 114 centimeters.^30
The advantage of the single-edged sword was that the back, or dull side, of
the sword could be thickened to strengthen the weapon as a whole. It was
a much sturdier weapon than the long sword, and much less prone to
breaking. The sword retained its point but improved its ability to hack or
cut. The heavier back also added weight to hacking swings. This form of
sword spread to the rest of east and southeast Asia.
The sword began to displace the long sword on the battlefield, partic-
ularly when paired with a square or rectangular shield. Depictions of
battles toward the end of the Han dynasty show bows and arrows, and
swords and shields among the combatants. This is true of both the cavalry
and infantry. The growing ubiquity of the sword within the military was a
tribute to its greater durability–and probably its improved hacking ability
as well. Most soldiers would not have been very skilled swordsmen and
would have tended toward hacking at their opponents rather than using
the sword point. Direct textual evidence for sword dances using the sword
rather than the long sword does not appear until shortly after the Han
dynasty, but the infiltration of the sword into the larger military sphere
would have mandated some form of sword training, however rudimen-
tary. Fencing with a sword was likely based, at least initially, on fencing
with the long sword.
While short weapons like the long sword and sword held a critical place
on the battlefield, in personal defense, and in entertainment, long weapons
like the halberd and spear also maintained a place in these arenas. Military
writers had long stressed the importance of combining long and short
weapons, along with long-range missile weapons. Ordinary soldiers there-
fore learned to cooperate in interlocking formations that took advantage
of the strengths of each weapon. Spears were vital for cavalry who needed
the extra reach to strike men on foot. Conversely, spears were important
for infantry to fend off cavalry. Spears and halberds, along with the less
widely used wolf-tooth clubs and axes, became noteworthy weapons of
individual warriors after the Han dynasty, though the arts of spear and
halberdfighting had been around for centuries.
Finally, archery retained its place on the battlefield and in competitions.
The bow was not the only weapon for missilefire, of course, as the cross-
bow had been around for several centuries in general use. The crossbow
would never gain the symbolic or cultural cachet of the bow, and it
remained a purely practical weapon for all of imperial Chinese history.
The crossbow was much more closely tied to the battlefield and the army.
With respect to archery practice, there were no changes during the Han
70 The Qin and Han Dynasties