“TThe Eighteen Weapons is a general term meaning all weapons as well as the skills employing these weapons. It is also the principle of a common saying, shihbaban wuyi Yangyang Jingtong, literally referring to someone who knows every weapon; in its extended usage this saying is commonly used to describe someone who is good in doing everything.

      The earliest uses of this general term can be found in books written in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the book Cuiwei Nanjheng Lu, there is a line saying, The bow comes first among both the 36 weapons used in the army and the 18 fighting skills. This book was written by Hua Yue, who passed the jinshih examination testing the martial arts skills with the highest marks in the year of Jianding in the reign of emperor Ningzong (around AD 1215). A popular play, 'Jhang Sie Jhongyuan', of the Southern Opera, nan si, in the Yongjia area at the end of the Song Dynasty also mentions this term but did not explain the items of these eighteen weapons.

      The zajyu opera,'Chengfongliu Wang Huan Baihuating', in the Yuan Dynasty has a line mentioning the weapons of the 18 weapons including gong the bow, nu the crossbow, ciang the spear, pai the shield, ge the spear, mao the lance, the jian sword, ji the halberd, bian the whip, lian the chain, tang the long handle knife, chui the hammer. These items are different from those described in Shuihu Jhuan, which are mao the lance, chui the hammer, gong the bow, nu the crossbow, chung the firearm, bian the whip, jiaan the non-blade sword, the jian sword, lian the chain, jhua the pen-brush shaped mace, fu the ax, yue the yue ax, ji the halberd, pai the shield, bang the stick, ciang the spear and pa the rake.

      The items listed in the chapter of weapons, bingci, in Yongtong Siaopin are (1) gong (2) nu (3)ciang (4)dao (5)jian (6)mao (7)dun (8)fu (9)yue (10)ji (11)bian (12)lin the artillery shells in ancient warfare (13)jhua (14)shu (15)cha (16)pa tou the rake (17)miansheng taosuo the lasso (18) baida boxing. Besides this book, by Jhu Guojhen in the Wanli year of Shenzong's reign in the Ming Dynasty, there are five to six different lists of the eighteen weapons written in the books of the Yuan, Ming and Cing dynasties.

      As a result, it is comprehensible that there is not a clear explanation about the "The Eighteen Weapons" broadly recognized in historical texts. We already have collected 30 items listed among the18 weapons. If we combine the rare weapons and the concealed weapons appearing in ancient books, the number of weapons will reach fifty to sixty. Thus, we shall read "the Eighteen Weapons" as a general term and no not argue over the items.