Tiger Fork or spear?

[the_disciple123]

Hello everyone,

While searching for information about the origins of the tiger fork in Chinese martial arts i came across different types of spears also used to hunt for the beast.My question is when did the though arise to use a fork over a spear anyway?I was thinking maybe for the stability of having more points of contact over the one of a spear but in actuality i have no idea.I also wanted to know if there were any good examples of the tiger hunting instruments still around today.

Any knowledge on the subject would be most appreciated.

[Peter Dekker]

Hi,

My question is when did the though arise to use a fork over a spear anyway?

I don't think that the fork replaced the spear at any time, but that they were rather used at the same time but by different people for different purposes. I will elaborate a bit on either type of weapon below.

TIGER SPEAR

Tiger Spears were used by the Tiger Spear Division of the Manchu banner armies. They originated from a type of Jurchen hunting spear that was used in Manchuria and Siberia to hunt the great Siberian Tiger, and most of the peoples that later would be united under the name "Manchu" were in fact Jurchen. The Jurchens were hunters pur sang that did not develop any agriculture until as late as the 16th century but instead relied mostly on hunting, gathering and the trade in animal derativates and ginseng to neighboring people that included Russians, Koreans and Chinese.

After the conquest of China the Manchus held close to their hunting traditions in an attempt to uphold their traditional (Jurchen) culture of mounted hunters / warriors. This is reflected in their vast array of specialized hunting arrows, and the appearance of their tiger spear design listed among Chinese weapons in official texts.

It has a head that resembled other spears in use at the time, with the difference that its head was somewhat wider to do more damage, as there was no need to penetrate clothes and armor. Another difference was that it has two horn bars attached to cords right after the head. The purpose of these bars is to prevent the spear from penetrating too deep, and thus preventing the beast to reach the wielder.


A wonderful example of an imperial Tiger Spear I saw in the Palace Museum in Beijing. Note the two horn bars. The spearhead has a relief that reminds of, and was probably inspired by, similar features on some Indian katar.


A fine specimen of a German or Austrian hunting spear in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, New York. Note the steel bars.

An advantage I see of the Jurchen design over the European one is that the bars on this one are doubled and are not aligned with the edges of the spearhead, making it a lot less likely to penetrate too deep. One needs to keep in mind though that the Tiger Spear was designed to kill Siberian tigers that could grow has heavy as 500 kilos. The European ones were mainly designed for hunting wild boar, of which the heavier specimens encountered are not even half that weight.

In the 14th year of his reign (around 1750) the Qianlong emperor also designed a new type of military spear that was to be used by his Jianruiying special forces that were to quell a rebellion in Sichuan. It was based on both the Tiger Spear and a design that may have originated under the Zhungars: It had two balls attached to cords right behind the spearhead, while it also had one long additional edge glued into the shaft. The balls served the same purpose as the bars on the hunting spear, but unlike the bars they could not be grabbed by a human adversary to control the spear. The edge glued into the shaft behind the spearhead also served to prevent an opponent from grabbing the spear right behind the head.


TIGER FORK

The origins and use of the tiger fork is a bit harder to trace back because as a weapon originating in civilian circles it lacks the textual reference the tiger spear comes with. It probably originated in China itself and was probably based on forks used by farmers. We must remember that until not so long ago tigers were much more numerous and frequently formed a serious threat to people living in rural areas where they lived.

I have the feeling that tiger forks were primarily developed as a weapon to defend against tigers, rather than to actively hunt them like the elite Manchu tiger spear men did. Settlements in tiger territory were bound to have tiger forks or other measures on the ready for if one emerged. This is what probably lead people to practice the use of these forks as a martial art as well. On some late pictures these forks are also seen used by guards.

Both tiger spears and tiger torks have been seen in use by the Chinese military by Western observers in the 19th century. I know that among others the Southern "Hung Gar" system still has one or more tiger fork forms. I doubt whether contemporary tiger spear / fork forms have much or any connection with their initial use against tigers, as they incorporate all kinds of movements that use the back end of the spear as well.

I also wanted to know if there were any good examples of the tiger hunting instruments still around today.

One occasionally still encounters "tiger forks" on the market today, mostly only the trident heads remain. A friend of mine has one. I also saw a nice and large mounted example on an arms fair in Baltimore earlier this year. I only know of a few remaining examples of tiger spears, all of which are in Chinese museum collections in Beijing and Shenyang.

Curiously, there is also mention of a "horse spear" in Chinese official sources. It differs from tiger spears in that the center spearhead is flattened and the two outer prongs are somewhat S-shaped.

-Peter

[Peter Dekker]

I just found an additional image on the web:



The tiger spear I photographed in Beijing, and a painting of the Qianlong emperor and two of his personal bodyguards hunting a tiger with such spears.

-Peter

[the_disciple123]

thank you for all that information Peter it was most intriguing. I do have one question though generally how large were the tiger hunting spears of the Manchu?were they as large as normal spears or did they vary in length from individual to individual?

[Peter Dekker]

Hi,

The text that I have that describes them in detail (The Huangchao Liqi Tushi of 1759) states them to be 8 chi and 3 cun long. Assuming the common conversion of 1 chi being 32 cm, it would come to about 266 cm / 8 foot 7.

It is notable that these tiger spears are among the shortest of "regular" spears that appear in this set of regulations. The other spears exceed 3, and sometimes even 4 meters.

Exceptions are a very short type described as "hand spear" that may be a javelin or a single handed spear, a spear with a hook, and other pole-arms with funny looking heads and vague names.

The difference in length is probably due to the fact that when fighting a human opponent, his weapon likely has somewhat more range than the claws and fangs of a tiger. On the other hand, the superior strength of the tiger as opposed to a human opponent might also call for a shorter shaft in order to have better control over the tip.

With all lengths stated in texts, it thus does not appear to be the case that these spears were made to measure, nor that other spears of the time were made to measure. This often amazes martial artist in the same way that the standardized arrow lengths amaze modern archers. But apparently it worked for them, and they were no hobbyists like most of us.

-Peter

[Philip Tom]

Tridents may well have played a role in defending against these large cats, evolving from the pitchforks used by farmers in virtually all cultures for centuries. But consider for a moment that they are found in Europe as well (where it was commonly known as a "fourche de guerre" or a "Sturmgabel") which has no indigenous tigers and where the terminology implies martial, not venatic, use.

In East Asia, the trident was perhaps used far more frequently in warfare than for trying to control or otherwise poke at ferocious felines. It is found in Korea as well, and forms which resemble the Chinese types (but of a somewhat smaller size) were also popular in Vietnam, where they were called "dinh ba" and are often depicted in battle scenes right down to the 19th cent.

[Peter Dekker]

It is interesting to note that it has counterparts in other cultures as well, especially those that not fight large tigers. The trident is of course a rather basic design that in some form was probably used for many purposes in many different times and places.

It deserves note however that in one of a series of 13 portraits the Yongzheng Emperor is seen facing a tiger with a trident.

In East Asia, the trident was perhaps used far more frequently in warfare than for trying to control or otherwise poke at ferocious felines.

It is indeed well known that Chinese villages had almost always crop watchers and militia on the ready to defend themselves against rebel armies, crop stealers, raiding minority peoples, bandits and passing imperial armies. So I fully agree that we should consider this a legitimate weapon used to fight people with as well.

On the other hand, numerous sources point out that tiger infestations and frequent attacks were not so rare at all. In our current era where nature preservation is a hot issue it is easily overlooked how in pre-industrial times nature still had the upper hand. Many settlements were just small islands scattered in a vast wilderness inhabited by numerous hostile animals that were attracted by the villages. Up to fairly recently there are accounts from India, Vietnam, China and others that describe how tigers were still a very real and constant threat even to the suburbs of larger cities up to the 19th century. It is known that not only the adults were hunted, but even cubs were killed wherever possible in attempts to keep the populations down. It got even worse in times of war where tiger infestations were known to follow in the wake of advancing armies, feeding on the victims of war and rapidly multiplying. Such tiger infestations in China are described in Lynn A. Struve's Voices from the Ming / Qing cataclysm and Thomas T. Allsen's The Royal Hunt in Eurasian History.

In this context I wouldn't be so surprised if many Chinese villagers would have grabbed the tiger spear more frequently to ward off a big cat than to ward off human foes.

(In his book The Royal Hunt in Eurasian History Thomas T. Allsen also argues that in many societies the hunt got to be associated with the elites because it had been initially their job to protect the early agricultural settlements from both animal and human invaders.)

-Peter

[Philip Tom]

I recall seeing a large Chinese painting (probably 18th cent.) in the Deutsches Jagdmuseum in Munich, depicting an imperial hunt. One of the huntsmen was indeed using a trident. However, I've run across far more period graphics (woodcuts, and later, photos) dealing with China and Vietnam which show tridents in a military role, either in battle or held by bodyguards or troops on parade.

While undeniably effective in the hands of a skilled user, a trident is not likely to be significantly more effective, say, than the stout, stiff-bladed tiger spears designed for the purpose.

One should also keep in mind that when available, firearms were probably the weapon of choice for "tiger management". In case of a miss, the sheer noise they make has some repellent value. The traditional oriental matchlock packed enough punch to do the job, assuming that people weren't trying to shoot in a rainstorm. I recall reading in TIME magazine sbout 30 years ago that such muskets were still in use in some smaller villages in India. I've also seen a photo, taken at about that time, of one greybeard tiger vigilante holding a "toradar" that would have been a familiar sight to the Mughal emperors. Most Indian matchlocks have a barrel length and bore size comparable to their Chinese and Tibetan equivalents, in fact a tad larger in caliber than the typical guns used in Vietnam for hunting game of various sizes.

[Peter Dekker]

Hi,

While undeniably effective in the hands of a skilled user, a trident is not likely to be significantly more effective, say, than the stout, stiff-bladed tiger spears designed for the purpose.

I have been wondering about this too. My guess is that these tiger spears were more effective because the Jurchen ancestors of the Manchus had been doing little but hunting until the 16th century, and the Chinese had went into farming much earlier. The forks, if used against tigers, were probably used by groups of far less experienced peasants. The prongs may have helped preventing the tiger to pass, even if it was not hit by the main spike.

Nothing points in the direction of the use of these special "tiger spears" anywhere but among a small portion of the bannermen. The three remaining examples I am aware of are all in Beijing and Shenyang, "Manchu territory". According to Bennet Bronson's article "The weapons of the Emperor" in Orientations this type of spear was used in Siberia as well, but I have found no reference to their use in rural China anywhere.

For the Chinese rural population hunting was perhaps more a necessity outside their regular agricultural habits, perhaps this is the reason why they came up with a more standard trident. It is imaginable that they first warded off hostile animals and bandits with pitchforks, and later modified them to the "tiger fork" design for more martial purposes.

One should also keep in mind that when available, firearms were probably the weapon of choice for "tiger management".

Their effectiveness against tigers would be undeniable, but I wonder to what extent peasants had access to them. Even the Chinese military of the 19th cent. couldn't afford the amount of gunpowder and lead necessary to train their men properly in the use of firearms.

-Peter

[Philip Tom]

It's surprising sometimes to read about the prevalence of muskets in non-military hands in some areas of China during the Qing. The Kangxi Emperor had to address the concerns of officials in some southern provinces about the widespread use of guns and their role in local crime. He acknowledged that banning these arms might not be practical considering that some rural folk relied on hunting. One would expect gun ownership to have been greater among the common people in game-rich, forested areas such as would be encountered in Sichuan, Yunnan, Guangxi and Guangdong, and also in Fujian. The Kejia minority people were known for hunting and use of firearms, and during the 19th cent., clashes with the Cantonese-speaking majority led to an increase in defensive activity -- villages pooling resources to build ramparts and watchtowers, and drill militias with muskets and cannons obtained privately. Qing officials were known to complain at that time that the people in some of these areas were better-armed than government troops.

The gradual deforestation of the north China plain (resulting in the barrenness noted by 19th cent. visitors and evident in period photos) probably meant that game animals had become scarcer in those regions by the later Qing. Considering that economic resources available to most commoners, especially rural folk, were so lean, there probably wasn't much motivation for a farmer in these areas to incur the expense of buying and owning a gun if it didn't help put more food on the table.