Pi-P'openg

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Unlike conventional Ji Infantry who are slowed down by the length of their weapons, Pi Spearmen are armed with what can be best described as "sword-staves". As such, they may lack the reach of the Ji, and don't deal splash damage, but they are sufficiently lethal so as to allow their users to fend off both cavalry and infantry alike. Pi Spearmen also wear Qin's characteristic scale mail corslets, thus rendering them much more effective in close-up encounters.

Pi-P'openg, thus armed with shorter but broader weapons, are able to afford the use of a shield in addition to being able to deal more damage. They may be costlier to equip, compared with conventional Tiongkhan-P'openg, but added armour and attack helps them function well as a medium spear unit, being faster on the march and capable of forming a fast defensive line to defend the flanks, especially from cavalry.

Notes[edit | edit source]

These men are not bareheaded, but wear caps.

History[edit | edit source]

A Pi was a special sword-staff like weapon, which consisted of a jian-shaped spearhead attached to a staff. While conventional spears (called Mao) formed the primary weapon of most of ancient China, Pit No 1 of the First Emperor’s mausoleum yielded five Mao heads versus sixteen Pi, a ratio of one to three, indicating that the Pi had relegated the mao to a secondary position on the battlefield.

References[edit | edit source]

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Pi Spearhead