I have searched the web as best I can (in English),
but have been unable to find any substantive information on the following topic.
I hope that this forum will be a good place to ask.
This is my first posting on the china history forum. Thanks.

I am trying to research historical information on the chain whip
(a.k.a. the 7-section whip or 9-section whip depending on the number of sections,
although there are other variations)

According to the book "Soft Weapons: Nine-Section Whip and Rope Dart"
The weapon is said to be a traditional Chinese kung-fu weapon,
that first appeared in battlefield use at the time of the Jin Dynasty (265-420).

I have several specific questions:
- are there any antique chain whips that have been found?
if so what are they like (weight, length, construction, materials etc.)?

- is there any primary documentation of civil and or military use of this type of weapon?

- if the previous question does not provide evidence, is there other information
that supports the assertion made that the weapon first appeared in battlefield use
at the time of the Western Jin Dynasty?

Any general information that you might have about the chain whip would be very welcome.

Chain whip is called "Bianzi 鞭子" in chinese. This is a kind of ancient chinese weapon and was grouped as one of the short type weapons.

The whip is not like a rope-like weapon. What is known as "Whip (bian 鞭) " in ancient chinese arsenal is like an iron staff, but with many metal sections chained up together.

The origin of Chinese Whips was quite early. During the Spring/Autumn and Warring States period, whips were already popular. There were two main categories of whip: Hard and Soft. Hard Whip generally refers to those made of bronze or iron. Soft Whip generally refers to those made of leathers. The commonly referred "whip" are those referring to hard whip. 7 sections whip, 9 sections whip, 13 sections whip are generally belonged to soft whip. Whips were generally used in calvary (horse-riding) combat as well as infantry combat. Hard Whip was used more commonly in cavalry combat. The general who uses this weapon will more likely uses double whip. Steel whip was quite heavy and does not have any blades. It uses impact and shock to strike the enemy. Thus, the person who is using this weapon must have great strength. Many of the whips were used as shock-impact weapon to destroy the enemy's armour.

There are several techniques in the use of whip such as Hacking, Sweeping, Pricking, Taking Out, Pulling, Stabbing, Withstanding, Cutting, Throwing, Falling etc.

Below are the common types of Whips.

Hard Whips

1. Square Sections Whip (Fang Jie Bian 方节鞭)



This was made up of the whip-body and the handle. The whip body was formed by 11 square-shape lumps-knot. The handle was made up of round-shape iron material. When using this weapon, one can strike the enemy. One can also use the small whip at the back of whip-tail to swing-strike.

2. The Qin family Whip (Qin Jia Bian 秦家鞭)



The Qin family whip is about 4 ft (about 1.2m) long. It's usually used as a long metal rod. Its upper and lower ends had a bulging rounded ball. There was no major difference between the handle and the sharp edges. Its common usage is similar to any of the hard whip.

3. Thunder God Whip (Lei Shen Bian 雷神鞭)



This Thunder God Whip is about 4 ft long (1.2m). The front body of the whip is thin and refined while the back is thick and coarse. It consists of 13 sections, and was shaped like a pagoda. The body of the whip was squarish in shape. In between every section, there was a bulging lump-knot. The sharp edges of the whip had a squarish-cone-like shape and were quite sharp. The whip body was about 1 inch (2.54cm) thick. Its handle had a round-shape bronze protection tray. The weight of the whip is about 15 kg. Its main material is iron.

4. Water Grinded Steel Whip (Sui Mo Gang Bian 水磨钢鞭)



The water grinded steel whip was one of the short-type weapons. It belongs to the hard whips. The handle of the whip is about 5 inches long (12.7 cm) and its body about 3 ft long (90cm). The back of the body is thick and corse while the front is thin and sharp. Its cross-section is generally square shape and has about 13 metal lump-knots. The whip-heads are quite think and has a squarish-cone shape. The handles was quite thick (about 1.3 inches or 3.3 cm) . The whip-head and whip-handles had 3 regions for holding and can be inter-changebly used for holding.

5. Bamboo Sections Whip (Zhu Jie Bian 竹节鞭)



The bamboo sections whip belongs to a type of hard whip. Its length is about 4.5 ft (1.35m) and its handle is rounded in shape and has bulding rounded knots used for easier holding. The front of hte handles had a rounded-shape protection-guard. The front of the whip is thin while the back is thick. There are about 9 or 11 sections to this whip. The tip of the whip body is very thin and the material is generally iron.


Soft Whip

The soft whip generally refers to a type of weapon formed by linking the blade, handle and various iron sections/ rod sections together as a chain. Soft Whip can strike, scourge, encircle, hook an enemy. One who is skillful in it use can beat a Dao (Sabre) or Sword (Jian). The soft whip has 3 sections, 7 sections, 10 sections as well as 13 sections type. The technique of using these whips (most often known as 9 sections) are commonly the same. In addition, there are also other types that uses rubber-bands, leather, rope-type to formed snake-like soft whip, leather whips etc. These whips generally uses the technique of 'pulling and whipping".

1. 3 sections Whip (San Jie Bian 三节鞭)

The 3 sections whip was made by chaining together the whip-head, whip-handle and two steel sections using iron-chain

2. 9 sections Whip (Jiu Jie Bian 九节鞭)



The 9 sections whip was made of iron or steel and was formed by 9 short sections whip. Its upper end was the whip head and its shape was like that of a spear-head rounded cone. At its back, there was a ring linked with the next section. At the end was the handle and was like a rounded stand. Every 2 sections was tied with iron ring. This type of weapon can be used as both a hard and soft whip weapon, it can be used as a short or long weapon. It was convenient to carry out. Its common technique of use is entanglement, swinging, sweeping, hanging, throwing etc.

3. Rod-Shape Whip (Gan Zi Bian 杆子鞭)



This rod shape whip was formed by tying short rod-heads together using rope with a spear-head. The end of the rod has sheath.

4. Leather Whip (Pi Bian 皮 鞭)

The leather whip was made of leather (cow skin or cow tendons). It can also be made by hemp (rope), after soaking it with oil. Its length depends on requirement. It can be as long as 3m , but can be as short as a few feet.

5. Short Whip (Duan Bian 短鞭)

Short whips do not have handles. It only has a whip body. The whip body is made of leather (cow skin or tendon). Its length can be about 3 -4.5 ft (90-135 cm).


Double Handed Whips

Double handed whips refer to those that require the use of two hands

1. Double Whip (Shuang Bian 双 鞭)



A type of short-distance weapon. It's made of bronze or iron and was shaped like bamboo strip. Thus it's often known as "Bamboo Sections Double Whip". When using it, one will hold each weapon on each hand. Common technique includes throwing, dropping, ticking, withstanding, blocking, hanging, sweeping etc.

2. Double Hero Whip (Shuang Xie Bian 双侠鞭)



It has a rounded stand shape.

3. Two Instruments Whip (Liang Yi Bian 两仪鞭)

The two instruments whip is about 3 ft long (90 cm). Its body was made of bronze and has a chestnut shape. It has no blade, but the horn-like corner was quite clear. The hand-guards was quite thick (about 8 cm), its top about 6 cm. Its handle is just like the handle of any sword and is about 6 inches long (15.24 cm) and has octagonal cross-ection. Its usage is just like that of the double whip.

For more info, please refer the source: http://www.cnwushu.com/bingqi/duanbq/bian.htm

*Note that what GZ translates as "Hard Whip" may be more accurately translated as "Truncheon".

As for the chain whip, I cannot say much.

Thanks Yang for the appropriate term translation.. "Truncheon". Is there more appropriate translation for "soft whip"?

Soft whip is just that- a "whip". I don't think there's much trouble there.

Though the truncheon can either be "Jian3" or "Bian". Jian is squared, and they are more commonly found than the rounded, segmented bian.

The oldest training manual that still exists, that I am aware of, for that weapon was written by Jiang Rong Qiao(姜容樵1891-1974). The book is entitled Grand Teacher Tiger Tail Whip Depicted was published in January 1930. It features a long routine for the metal tiger tail “whip”; which is rigid and actually amounts to a type of cane. According to Jiang, the tiger tail whip has a long history and was ancient military weapon. It is called tiger tai’ whip because it has curls which give it the appearance of the stripes on a tigers tail.

A reprint of that manual is available from Lion Books in Taiwan. One closing comment I would make is that modern Chinese martial artists are really indebted to Jiang Rong Qiao for his efforts to record many Chinese martial arts routines during his career in the Republican Period.

Take care,
Brian

Firstly thank you all for the informative replies.

I would like to concentrate on the metal 7,9 or 13 section whip, which from the descriptions above seem to fall in the category of the soft whip.
I believe the usage in combat is probably very different from that of both the hard whip and the leather whip, presenting a different set of characteristics, pros and cons from the other types.

QUOTE

> General_Zhaoyun said
> "Whips were generally used in calvary (horse-riding) combat as well as infantry combat."

Does this include the 7,9 or 13 section whip?
I was wondering have any metal multi-section whips specifically such as the 7,9 or 13 section whip been recovered from any dynasty?

QUOTE

> Brian L. Kennedy said
> The oldest training manual that still exists, that I am aware of, for that weapon was written by Jiang Rong Qiao(姜容樵1891-1974).
> The book is entitled Grand Teacher Tiger Tail Whip Depicted was published in January 1930.

Jiang Rong Qiao's training manual sounds fascinating and I will certainly search that out. Wow, it seems that Lion Books has a lot of interesting texts.
I was wondering where the oldest known written reference specifically to the 7,9 or 13 section whip appears,
or at least are there any specific references to the 7,9 or 13 section whip in any historical texts?

Segmented "Bian" and chain "Bian" are perhaps more akin to European flails than to whips. Flails do vary in design but a common feature is a handle. The chain variety may be plain or have steel balls or spiked balls at the end of the chains.

The terms 'Hard whips' and 'Soft whips' do feel like a nicer way of classifying them though, 'Truncheons', 'Flails' and 'Whips' are much more evocative of their European counterparts.