Qiang is the Chinese term for spear

Spear

A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...

. Due to its relative ease of manufacture, the spear in many variations was ubiquitous on the pre-modern Chinese battlefield. It is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the Gun (staff)

Gun (staff)

The Chinese word gun refers to a long Chinese staff weapon used in Chinese martial arts. It is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the qiang , dao , and the jian , called in this group "The Grandfather of all Weapons".-Variants:There are various kinds of gun, and they include the...

, Dao (sabre)

Dao (sword)

Daois a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping , often called a broadsword in English translation because some varieties have wide blades. In China, the dao is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the gun , qiang , and the jian , and referred...

, and the Jian (sword)

Jian

The jian is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the jian date to the 7th century BCE during the Spring and Autumn Period; one of the earliest specimens being the Sword of Goujian.Historical one-handed versions have blades...

, called in this group "The King of Weapons".

Common features of the Chinese spear are the leaf shaped blade and red horse-hair tassel lashed just below. The tassel serves a tactical purpose, and is not simply for decoration. When the spear is moving quickly, the addition of the tassel aids in blurring the vision of the opponent so that it is more difficult for them to grab the shaft of spear behind the head or tip. The tassel also served another purpose, to stop the flow of blood from the blade getting to the wooden shaft (the blood would make it slippery, or sticky when dried). The length varied from around 7 feet (2 meters) long, commonly used by infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

, increasing up to the length of 13 feet (4 meters) favoured by cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

. The spear is typically made of wax wood

Wax Wood

White Wax Wood is the wood of Ligustrum lucidum , which has been prized in China for thousands of years. It is considered one of the best materials from which to fashion staffs, spear shafts, and walking sticks, because it is tough, hard and flexible and can absorb shock without breaking...

, a strong but flexible wood. It bends to absorb impact preventing breakage. The bending motion combined with the horse hair tassel makes the spear tip very hard to follow.

Many Chinese martial arts

Chinese martial arts

Chinese martial arts, also referred to by the Mandarin Chinese term wushu and popularly as kung fu , are a number of fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" , "sects" or...

 feature spear training in their curriculum. The conditioning provided by spear technique is seen as invaluable and in many styles it is the first weapons training introduced to students. Moreover, some schools of empty handed fighting in China credit spear technique as their foundation, notably Xingyiquan

Xingyiquan

Xingyiquan is one of the major "internal" or Wudang styles of Chinese martial arts. The word translates approximately to "Form/Intention Boxing", or "Shape/Will Boxing", and is characterized by aggressive, seemingly linear movements and explosive power...

 and Bajiquan

Bajíquán

Bājíquán is a Chinese martial art that features explosive, short-range power and is famous for its elbow strikes. It originated in Hebei Province in Northern China, but is also well-known in other places today, especially Taiwan...

.

See also

• Wushu (sport)
  Wushu (sport)
  The sport of wushu is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. It was created in the People's Republic of China after 1949, in an attempt to nationalize the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts...
  
  
• Spear of Fuchai
  Spear of Fuchai
  The Spear of Fuchai is purportedly the spear of King Fuchai of Wu, the arch-rival of King Goujian of Yue. It was unearthed in Jiangling, Hubei in November 1983. The script on it is a kind of script used only in the states of Wu, Yue, and Chu called 鸟虫文 or bird and worms script, a variant of seal...
  
  
• Yari
  Yari
  is the term for one of the traditionally made Japanese blades in the form of a spear, or more specifically, the straight-headed spear...
  
  , Japanese spear