Telling apart Chinese polearms — EXTRA: Armour-piercing awl and hanging moon spear

In addition to the large groups of Chinese polearms detailed in my blog post, there exists a special sub-group of Chinese pole weapons that was very common during Ming and Qing period, but somehow remains in obscurity.

Extra 1) “Armour-piercing awl”

Po Jia Zhui (破甲錐, lit. 'Armour-breaking awl'), less commonly known as Tou Jia Zhui (透甲錐, lit. 'Armour-piercing awl'), is a spear with a long spike with no cutting edge as its spearhead. It is commonly believed to be the Chinese counterpart to ahlspiess/awl pike, specifically designed to punch through armour, in particular mail armour that became more common during Ming and Qing period. Nevertheless, I strongly suspected that this weapon is in fact a type of naval boarding pike.

It should be noted that both Po Jia Zhui and Tou Jia Zhui are essentially collector's jargons coined by modern antique collectors. Accurate historical name for the weapon is probably Guo Chuan Ding Qiang (過船釘槍, lit. 'Ship-passing nail spear') or simply Ding Qiang (釘槍, lit. 'Nail spear').

Comparison between a normal spearhead (top left) and a Po Jia Zhui (top right), as well as their respective version with sword guard (bottom).

Extra 2) Hanging moon spear

Gua Yue Qiang (掛月鎗, lit. 'Hanging moon spear') is a type of spear with an attached crescent axe blade, although the axe blade is too small for it to be considered a proper Ji (戟) halberd. Like the so-called armour-piercing awl, this is also a collector's jargon.

Awl version of this weapon is known as Gua Yue Po Jia Zhui (掛月破甲錐, lit. 'Hanging moon armour-breaking awl') or simply Gua Yue Zhui (掛月錐, lit 'Hanging moon awl').

     A hanging moon spear (left) and its awl counterpart (right).

Extra 2.1) Double moon spear

Shuang Yue Qiang (雙月鎗, lit. 'Double moon spear') is simply a hanging moon spear with double the axe blade. Awl version of this spear is known as Shuang Yue Po Jia Zhui (雙月破甲錐, lit. 'Double moon armour-breaking awl') or Shuang Yue Zhui (雙月錐, lit. 'Double moon awl').

     A double moon spear (left) and its awl counterpart (right). 

Extra 2.2)  Hooked hanging moon spear

Known as Gua Yue Gou Lian Qiang (掛月鈎鐮鎗, lit. 'Hanging moon hook-sickle spear'), this spear is one of the most common variants in the sub-group. It is a combination of hanging moon spear and hooked spear, and closely resembles a European-style halberd.

Awl version of this spear is known as Gua Yue Gou Lian Zhui (掛月鈎鐮錐, lit. 'Hanging moon hook-sickle awl').

     A hooked hanging moon spear (left) and its awl counterpart (right). 

Extra 3)  Other awl variants

There are countless other variants of Po Jia Zhui, most without known historical names. As such, many collectors simply add descriptive prefixes such as Dai Gou (帶鈎, lit. 'With hook') or Dai Cha (帶叉, lit. 'With fork') to identify these spears.

                                                    Various Po Jia Zhui variants.