The dagger-axe is a type of weapon

Weapon

A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...

 that was in use from Shang dynasty

Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty or Yin Dynasty was, according to traditional sources, the second Chinese dynasty, after the Xia. They ruled in the northeastern regions of the area known as "China proper" in the Yellow River valley...

 until at least Han dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

 China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It consists of a dagger

Dagger

A dagger is a fighting knife with a sharp point designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. The design dates to human prehistory, and daggers have been used throughout human experience to the modern day in close combat confrontations...

-shaped blade made of jade

Jade

Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...

 (ceremonial), bronze

Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...

, or later iron

Iron

Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...

, mounted by the tang

Tang (weaponry)

A tang or shank is the back portion of a tool where it extends into stock material or is connected to a handle as on a knife, sword, spear, arrowhead, chisel, screwdriver, etc...

 of the dagger to a perpendicular wooden shaft with a spear point. There is a variant type with a divided two-part head, consisting of the usual straight blade and a scythe-like blade.

Though the weapon saw frequent use in ancient China, the use of the dagger-axe decreased dramatically after the Qin and Han dynasties. By the medieval Chinese dynasties, the use of the dagger-axe was almost nonexistent. The horizontally aligned blade could be attached to a spear to form a much more useful polearm.

Generally, the Qin dynasty

Qin Dynasty

The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...

 is noted as the most prolific user of the dagger-axe, with millions of these weapons produced. The use of the weapon involve thrusting the vertical spear head against the enemy's head as a feint. Then the user may cut the foe by pulling the scythe-like horizontal blade backwards. The cutting blade is angled optimally to behead the enemy.

Normally only the head of a dagger-axe is found, with the haft absent due to either decomposition or mechanical removal. Although the jade examples do not appear to have been intended for use in actual combat, their morphology closely imitates that of the battle-ready bronze version, including a sharp central ridge which reinforces the blade. Some dagger-axe artifacts are small and curved, and could have been intended for use as pendant

Pendant

A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of jewellery, generally attached by a small loop to a necklace, when the ensemble may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. In modern French "pendant" is the gerund form of “hanging”...

s.

Dagger-axes appear to have seen use in combat, though most examples are ceremonial jade

Jade

Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...

 weapons found in the tombs of aristocrats. These examples are often found within the coffins themselves, possibly meant to serve as emblems of authority and power, or in some other ritualistic capacity. Sometimes they are found in a pit dug beneath a coffin, with a victim who was sacrificed to guard the tomb, where they presumably are intended to keep the spirit-guard armed.

Dagger-axes were also experimental weapons of the Chinese, as this continued they were able to fuse their dagger-axe with the traditional spear to form a halberd

Halberd

A halberd is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries. Possibly the word halberd comes from the German words Halm , and Barte - in modern-day German, the weapon is called Hellebarde. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on...

.

See also

• Jǐ (Chinese halberd)
  Ji (halberd)
  The ji , the Chinese halberd, was used as a military weapon in one form or another from at least as early as the Shang dynasty until the end of the Qing dynasty. They are still used for training purposes by many Chinese martial arts...
  
  
• Pūdāo (Chinese sword)
  Pudao
  The Chinese weapon known as the podao was originally an edged infantry weapon which is still used for training in many Chinese martial arts. The blade of a podao is shaped like a Chinese broadsword, but the weapon has a longer handle usually around one and a half to two meters which is circular...
  
  
• Crowbill
• War hammer
  War hammer
  A war hammer is a late medieval weapon of war intended for close combat action, the design of which resembles the hammer.The war hammer consists of a handle and a head...
  
  
• Bec de corbin
  Bec de corbin
  A bec de corbin is a type of pole weapon that was popular in medieval Europe. The name is Old French for "crow's beak". Similar to the Lucerne hammer, it consists of a modified hammer's head and spike mounted atop a long pole. Unlike the Lucerne hammer, the bec de corbin was used primarily with...