arts, and the bow [archery] is the first.” From this time on, exceptional
martial artists were commonly described as “skilled in the eighteen martial
arts.” One can find essentially two versions of the eighteen weapons in var-
ious sources. The matchlock is included in the eighteen weapons listed in
the early Ming novel Water Margin(also known as All Men Are Brothers
and Outlaws of the Marshin English). Later Ming versions drop the
matchlock and include boxing at the end of the list, perhaps influenced by
General Qi Jiguang’s chapter on boxing, which is also the oldest extant il-
lustrated Chinese boxing manual. The most common listing of the eighteen
weapons includes the composite bow, crossbow, spear, broad sword,
straight sword, pike, shield, arrow axe, broad axe, halberd, flail, iron rod
or bar (a tapered, smooth or segmented, solid iron rod [also called “iron
whip”] with a sword grip, often used in pairs), claw (metal talons attached
to a cord thrown to seize and unhorse a rider), lance, trident, rake (similar
to an agricultural tool), dart and cord, and boxing. This selection seems a
bit arbitrary, and at least one Chinese author has noted that some of these
weapons appear more suited for use in interclan feuding than in large-scale
military combat. Thus, the phrase “eighteen martial arts” appears to reflect
a convergence of military and popular forms. The “Song Period Essentials”
from the Military Classics(Wujing Zongyao) (ca. 1044) includes illustra-
tions of the variety of weapons used by the military.68 China
Young children in Beijing going through basic martial arts training, November 1997. (Karen Su/Corbis)