Dangpa
당파 · dangpa
Also known as: 鐺鈀
Korean three-pointed spear with a longer middle point, adopted from Ming China after the Imjin War; the opponent's blade would catch between its points.
Quick Facts
South KoreaAbout the weapon
Dangpa (Korean 당파, Chinese characters 鐺鈀) is a Korean spear with a head split into three points. It is first described in the Korean military manual Muyejebo of 1610. It reached Korea from China after the Imjin War (1592–1598), when the Joseon dynasty adopted Ming weapons and troop training. The Ming general Qi Jiguang introduced it against the long swords of Japanese pirates. We have not found earlier evidence of its use in Korea. The middle point is somewhat longer than the side ones, so the weapon does not get stuck in the opponent's body. There were two types: the iron cheolpa (철파) with slightly curved outer points, and the wooden mokpa (목파), whose wooden points were sheathed in iron. The side points sometimes had a cutting edge, and both ends of the shaft had a sharp point. The dangpa was a defensive close-combat weapon: the opponent's sword caught between the points, and the opponent was then knocked to the ground. It was one of the six disciplines taken over from the Muyejebo, and thus also one of the eighteen disciplines of sibpalgi. The late-18th-century manual Muyedobotongji records a dangpa chongbo form of 22 movements with the dangpa chongdo diagram. In Korean historical dramas the dangpa is often shown as the main weapon of the Joseon army, but soldiers actually used a range of other kinds of spears.
Care and maintenance
Historical sources
- Muyedobotongji (1790) — Yi Deok-mu, 1790–1795 (dangpa (당파) – sestava dangpa chongbo o 22 pohybech a diagram dangpa chongdo)