98 Systemizing Martial Practice
crescent’s significance in contemporary weaponry can be gauged by its appear-
ance in the names of such instruments as the “Crescent-Shaped (yueya) Spade,”
“Crescent-Shaped Spear,” “Crescent-Shaped Battle-ax,” and “Crescent-Shaped
Rake.”^49
Yang the Fifth
Protagonist of the late Ming novel Yang Family G ene ral s, Yang the Fifth
(Yang Wulang) shares with Lu Zhishen a Wutai connection, and with Sun Wu-
kong a magic weapon. Joining the Buddhist order on Mt. Wutai, Yang the Fifth
leads a monastic army from there in support of his heroic Yang family brothers
and sisters. In the two slightly different versions of the novel, he is armed with
a battleaxe as well as a “Dragon-Felling Staff ” (xianglong bang), which, as its
name suggests, subdues the mythic creatures.^50
Fig. 17. Late Ming
woodblock illustra-
tion of Lu Zhishen
manipulating the
staff.