Bao wrote:Bhassler wrote:Bao wrote:In this context it doesn't matter what the word can mean. Chinese is a contextual language and the meaning of a word in its context becomes specific. The name clearly refers to a solid sword breaker. If you interpret it as a "whip-like" movement/strength, then your understanding of the jin is completely wrong.
Have you ever used a mace, truncheon, or sword-breaker? You "snap" them, because they bounce when they hit something, and you want to take advantage of that to flow into your next strike. You also have to think about recovery, as it's too slow to recover if you miss when you take a heavy swing.
Just let us agree to disagree, that is if you mean snap as a pull back. When you hit with this kind of weapon you want to hit heavy, letting it really go through the target. It’s more like hitting with a hammer, you want the weapon to do the work. Not like using a whip.
Yeah, snap was not a good word. It's similar to a hammer in some respects, but is (and needs to be) more agile in recovery and changing directions, as nails generally aren't moving around and trying to stab you in the face while you swing at them. On the plus side, the bian doesn't have an edge or flat striking surface that needs to be aligned a particular way, so that adds flexibility.
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As general food for thought, I'll re-iterate that bians weighed about the same amount as swords of the same length, so the idea of this massive smashing weapon is not correct. It may have operated that way when wielded by horsemen on the battlefield, but that's as much a function of the horse as it is the bian. Taiji came about towards the end of the whole "large scale battles using cold weapons" era, and certainly any style other than Chen would likely have evolved well into the civilian usage phase, so that may be worth consideration if folks are thinking about the likely usage of the tool and associated meanings.