The bian is a Chinese weapon shaped like a rigid tubular club or rod, its name meaning whip even though, unlike an actual whip or a chain whip, it does not bend; it is made of iron or steel, roughly 90 centimeters long, weighs 7 to 8 kilograms, and carries bamboo node like ridges along its length to concentrate the force of a strike. It is documented as far back as the 11th century Song dynasty military compendium Wujing Zongyao and appears again in Ming and Qing dynasty sources, with surviving examples held in collections today. Wielded from horseback with one or both hands, it gave a cavalryman better reach and balance than the top heavy maces also used in Chinese warfare, and its slimmer profile let a rider parry with it much as with a sword. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category)Sword / Polearm / Bladed 1 Weapon Class (category)Club / Mace / Blunt Weapon 1 Classification
Service Status Weapon Class Sources
1. Wikipedia: Bian (weapon)
- Weapon class classified from the entity's own sourced description text.
- Weapon class (sword-polearm-blade) is a pre-industrial/melee weapon type by its own nature per the entity's own sourced description text; not carried in current active military service.
View the SourceWikidata: Bian (weapon)
Wikidata Q56742669, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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