The ciang is about one meter long, which is one half shorter than the mao. There are many different kinds of ciang, such as changciang, chaciang, huociang, sheciang, biaociang, sianciang, shenciang, jiciang, goulianciang, jyumaciang, feiciang,and kanciang,

      A spear made of metal was produced in the Warring States Period. It evolved from the mao, because the mao being two meters long was less agile than other weapons. Emperor Yangti of the Sui gave ciang to his generals as a present, and the ciang he gave to them was called yijhangwei, literally meaning the powerful weapon one jhang long.?It was later developed to four different forms: ciciang for the cavalry, changciang for the infantry, baiganciang for the imperial guards, and puciang for the palace guards in the Tang Dynasty. As this weapon was popular, the masters who used it also increased, such as Cin Ciong, who was famous for being able to hold the spear forcefully and enter the enemy zone where no one could stop him. The person who uses this form pretends to be defeated by turning his back to the enemy, then he turns again and forcefully pierces the enemy. The one who uses this form always wins.

    The key point of using the ciang is to be fast and changeable. The user of the ciang has to make the head of his weapon to be flexible, so it can block, strike, pierce, stab and wave. The user needs to use his muscle as well as his brain. So the martial arts master who chose the ciang to be his weapon was always known to be both physically strong and mentally clever, such as Lin Chong in the famous vernacular novel, Shuihu Jhuan, and the Northern Song General Yang Ye, the father of the Yang military family, Yangjia Jiang.

     The ciang was particularly suitable to use on the battlefield, so this steel-shafted weapon developed many different shapes to adapt to different situations. Zeng Gongliang of the Song Dynasty listed 18 different ciang in his book, Wujing Zongyao, and the most popular ones are saomatociang, shuanggociang, huanzihciang, dangociang, guaiciang, guaituciang and jhuiciang. There are several famous forms for using the ciang, such as Yanshih Lihuaciang, Shandong Fanjiaciang, Shaolinciang and Emeiciang. Yangshih Lihuaciang, which was invented by the wife of the ciang master Li Cyuan, Madam Yang. This form is very fast like the peach blossoms being washed down by rain drops. It is also very powerful. The famous General of the Southern Song Dynasty, Yue Fei, learned the forms of ciang from master Chen Guang. Then he invented the goulianciang which defeated the invasion of the cavalry, lianghuanma, from the Northern Jin. One of Yue Fei subordinates Yang Zaising was famous for using the ciang. He was adopted in Jin Yong’s novel, Shediao Yinsyong Jhuan, to be the forefather of Yang Tiesin, and subsequently a story combining racial conflicts was created.

     A powerful weapon called bawangciang was invented in Gu Long’s seven-weapon serial novel. It is long and heavy. The owner of this weapon, Wang Wanwu, runs an escorting business, biaojyu. He was murdered, so his daughter carries this giang, to avenge him. Gu Long invented another ciang called jinciang. It is very light and its shaft is flexible. The owner of this weapon is a devious person, who never loses until he meets the grand sia Ding Si.