In ancient poetry, the image of "Wu Gou" often appears. For example, Li He of the Tang Dynasty said, "Why not take Wu Gou as the fifty states of Guanshan?" Song Dynasty's "Water Climbs to See Kangyan Pavilion" said: "After reading, all the railings are photographed, and no one can reach its boundary." In this way, "Wu Gou" should be a weapon. The Romance of Sacrifice is even more obvious: "Mu Cha has two swords on his back, which are called' Wu Gou'. This sword belongs to Jiang Gan and Ye Yi, and it is divided into male and female. " Therefore, Wu Gou is a sword of Mu Cha. But why is the sword called a hook? It's really hard to understand.
What exactly is "Wu Gou"? Guo's Bi Tan has long explained: "There are many related words in Tang poetry. Wu Gou, the name of the knife, is also a machete. This is what Nanman used today. This is called Dang Ge Road. " At that time, Wu Gou was a curved sword-shaped weapon, also called "hook". Say "like a knife hook Qin" and walk side by side with the sword. When the weapon was correct, Yan Shigu explained in the Tang Dynasty: "Hooks are also weapons, such as folding knives, so hooks also kill people."
Among the "eighteen weapons" of later generations, there are indeed "iron hooks" and "relying on heaven to slay dragons", and Zhang Cuishan's weapon is "iron holding silver hooks". However, it is Wu's hook after all, not an ordinary hook. So, is there any record of "Wu Gou" in the history of Wu in the pre-Qin period?
There is such a story in Han Shu Han Yanshou Biography and Wu Yue Chun Qiu. According to legend, He Lv, the king of Wu, ordered craftsmen to make gold hooks after receiving the sword, and said, "Whoever can make gold hooks will be rewarded with 120 yuan." . There were many craftsmen in Wu, but only one man killed his two sons in order to get the king's reward, smeared their blood on metal and made two gold hooks. The man took the gold hook and went to find martial arts to reward. Wang and Lu said, "There are many people with golden hooks. Why do you ask for a reward separately? What's the difference between your hook and other hooks? "
The man was really not shy at all and told the prince what had happened. He Lu showed him many gold hooks: "Can you see which two are yours?" Wang has many gold hooks, which are very similar in shape and can't be seen at all on the surface. So the man called out the names of his two sons: "Wu Hong, Ji Hu, I'm here. The king doesn't know your elves! " Just as he finished this sentence, two golden hooks flew out and hung on his chest. He Lu was surprised and said, "Oh dear! I almost let you down! " He gave the man platinum and then put on a gold hook.
This is the end of the story. In this story, my father is too shameless and my brother is too pitiful. Of course, this kind of story will certainly not be completely true. Human blood is cast into a beautiful golden hook, and when you hear a person's name, you will fly. This story is somewhat similar to that of General and Mo Ye, which reflects the ancient people's worship of bronzes and primitive witchcraft thinking. This story is obviously the origin of "Wu Gou". However, there should be a large number of "kings with many similar hooks", but have you found this "weapon" in archaeology?
Among the unearthed Wu and Yue bronzes, there are ritual vessels, musical instruments, weapons, chariots and horses, farm tools and utensils. Moreover, most of the weapons embody the military traditions of wuyue and China. Among a large number of weapons, there are swords, spears, halberds, swords and arrow clusters, which are not hook weapons!
Then the problem comes. Since Wu Gou was very common in Wuyue Spring and Autumn Period, why were there no hook-shaped objects in the unearthed cultural relics? Therefore, the two bronzes unearthed in Pit 1 of Terracotta Warriors and Horses are considered to belong to Wu Gou. Official website of Qin Shihuang Museum holds this view. This bronze ware is rare. Shaped like a machete, it consists of two parts: the length is 65.2cm, the width is 2.2-3.5cm, the handle length is 1 1. 1cm, and the weight is 1.045kg. However, these two so-called "Wu Gou" have neither the positive features nor the center of the sword. It is not so much a weapon as a tool.
Generally speaking, it is a bit rash to call the two bronze statues of the Qin Tombs "Wu Gou", so the evidence of the existence of Wu Gou is really weak. It is a unofficial history novel in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which contains many myths and legends. So, is this story completely fictional? This possibility does exist. However, as long as we change our thinking, it is easy to find another more reliable answer, that is, the so-called "Wu Gou" does exist, but it is not a weapon at all, but a hook!
What is a hook? As we all know, Guan Zhong shot Qi Huangong with a hook, while Qi Huangong pretended to be dead to deceive Guan Zhong. This kind of belt buckle is equivalent to today's belt buckle and belt buckle, and it is a daily appliance for tying the belt around the waist. This is very common in pre-Qin literature. For example, Lu Zhuan said that "the gentry had no hook belt." "Hook belt" is obviously a kind of clothes belt and a kind of clothes hook. Said: "whoever steals the hook will be punished;" Those who steal the country will be punished. " This sentence is also famous, but have you ever wondered why stealing "hooks" becomes a situation and whether stealing weapons becomes a common phenomenon? If theft is a daily use, it is obviously more convincing.
In fact, in Wu Yue Chun Qiu, the "golden hook" is not mentioned as a weapon, but is very similar to some daily necessities. For example, the double hooks "all flew to my dad's chest", and He Lv's "Show them all the hooks" and "Take them away and don't leave your body" are all different from the big articles. The description of the "double hook" in Xunzi Li Lun, immediately after the "double sword", also has an incredible color, so it gives the reader the impression that he is telling an article, and later people just have another weapon called "double hook", so they have a misunderstanding! This view is not only enlightened, but also proved by archaeology.
Wu Helu's name is about He Helu. This is just a name in the bronze inscription, which is usually called "Wu Wang". Wu has many hooks. In the article "Zizhu in Huang Zhuang", Mr. Cao published three new bronze hooks unearthed in Shaoxing Mountain in recent years. Three bronze hooks, one in Shaoxing Yue Culture Museum, one in Shaoxing Guyue Museum and one in the hands of a collector. The inscriptions on the three copper hooks are exactly the same. Content: The king got them and they voted. Obviously, these three hooks belong to He Lv, the king of Wu.
The Xishigou Mountain unearthed today is said to be the Yuejueshu and Tucheng in the Spring and Autumn Period of Wuyue. It is named after the beauty and beauty that Gou Jian cultivated here. However, archaeological findings show that Xishi Mountain should be the site of a bronze smelting workshop. 1959 Many bronze farm tools and weapons were unearthed, and then many bronze hooks were unearthed. However, most of them flow into people's bodies. Shaoxing Museum alone has collected as many as 45 pieces at a time. These hooks are usually about 2-8 cm long. Shaoxing was the capital of Yue in the Spring and Autumn Period. Wuyue and He Lv are sworn enemies. Gou Jian, the King of Yue, killed the King of Yue and Fu Cha. During this period, Gou Jian surrendered to Fu Cha.
Then, why did the three hooks Wu and Lu flow into the handicraft workshops in Vietnam? Judging from the fact that most of the bronzes of the State of Yue are from the State of Wu, these three hooks should not be tributes of the State of Yue, but samples of the State of Wu made by the State of Yue. As a tool of King Wu and He Lv, Fu Cha is unlikely to give samples to the Yue people, so it is most likely that Gou Jian destroyed the spoils of Wu. Its shape is completely consistent with the inscription, which can prove that the shape of the king hook is similar.
There is no title of "hook" or "golden hook" in the inscription, only a simple word "sentence". It can be seen that "hook" was the general name of hook at that time, but "hook" did not appear as a weapon at that time. It was not until the Western Han Dynasty that the weapon "hook" appeared, which was confused with the "hook" since the Zhou Dynasty. As a result, "Wu Gou" was misunderstood by the public as a weapon.