As a defending weapon, the shield has many different names, depending on the shapes and the material which the shield is made of, such as aipai, yuanpai, tengpai,and pipai.

       The earliest shield was possibly made to defend against the shooting weapons, such as arrows, stones and other sharp objects. The different sized wood shields found in the relics of the Shang Dynasty, must not only have been made for the infantry but also for the battle chariots. A story in the ancient mythology book, Shanhaijing, says that during the war between Huangdi and Chihyou, a General called Singtian on Chihyou's side was decapitated but he still waved a shield in one hand and a battle-ax in the other. In the bronze inscriptions, Jhongdingwen, graphs of the shield paralleling the spear are common. The leader of the Jhao, Jhao Jianzih, stood behind a shield made of the rhinoceros skin to direct his army in the Warring State Period. All the evidence shows that the shield was an essential defending weapon in the ancient time.

       The other story about the shield is that a shield played an important role in the feast of the Hongmenyan. In the feast, Siang Yu, King of the Western Chu, had an opportunity to kill Liu Bang when his subordinate Siang Jhuang held a sword and pretended to dance. Fan Kui, one of Liu Bang's generals heard about this situation and ran into the scene although there were soldiers guarding at the gate. Fan used his shield to knock down the soldiers and so he could accompany Liu, otherwise Liu might have suffered.

       In the Three Kingdoms Period, the chief of the Wuge Kingdom in the southern barbarian area used rattan, which had been immersed in a special oil, to make shields and armor. The products were very tough and could protect the users from being attacked by sharp weapons, and still the user kept their mobility, because the rattan was light.