Talk:Military history of the Three Kingdoms

editted crossbow section

The cho-ko-nu was a semi-automatic anti personel crossbow weapon. Also, I deleted "The military warfare of that time was more involved in melee and cavalry tactics. The secondary reason that archers were never massly deployed was to avoid friendly fire when enemies close in. Range killing was also considered a less and sometimes unchivalrous way of disposing enemies." because I have found numerous sources that said that Chinese armies placed emphasis on missle weapons. The part about "range killing being unchivalrous" applies more to European attitudes towards the crossbow during the medieval ages.

-intranetusa

    In the four volume novelisation, at least, it seemed like there was great emphasis placed on archery.  Some of the greatest generals excelled in marksmanship, such as Lu Bu for instance.  

So I would assume that there was significance attached to skill with a bow.Gorft--pael (talk)

More Appropriate Name

Shouldn't this be named something else? I can't think of a better title at the moment (It's quite late right now), but I don't think history fits with the spirit of this article. 66.176.244.196 06:31, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

The ji and the halberd.

The definition of the ji:

• http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?o=dcbdic&searchid=W00000005422

"【戟】…戈和矛的合體，…"("【the ji】…a combinenation of the ge and the spear,…")

The definition of the halberd:

• https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/halberd

"a weapon especially of the 15th and 16th centuries consisting typically of a battle-ax and pike mounted on a handle about six feet long"

• https://www.britannica.com/technology/halberd

"Halberd, also spelled halbert or halbard, weapon consisting of an ax blade balanced by a pick with an elongated pike head at the end of the staff."

These sources can prove the ji is not a halberd.They are different weapons.Ironbolt (talk) 21:57, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

That's why it's given as a translation, which is the academic convention used by the sources referenced in the article. None of the English sources mentioned ever just use ji in isolation, which is confusing and does not mean anything in the context of the text. Neither of the English sources even mention China or Chinese halberds. Furthermore they are not academic published sources or have any relation to the wikipedia article.Qiushufang (talk) 22:03, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

The "just use ji in isolation" source: https://www.history.com/shows/forged-in-fire/season-5/episode-26

The halberd is the Westen weapon, just like bardiche or bec de corbin.Those sources I posted are reliable sources for wikipedia. Academic published sources are not always all correct.Ironbolt (talk) 22:41, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

Not always is correct, but when literally every source gives the translation for ji as halberd, then it is likely correct. In this case, I have yet to see an official English source give it as anything other than a halberd. In some sources the Chinese transliteration is not even given and just called a halberd.Qiushufang (talk) 22:49, 3 January 2020 (UTC)

Some forms of ji are also very similar to some halberds, there isn't just one form of ji or halberd. People frequently get confused as to what a translation does - it uses the closest term that is understandable to the audience the translation is meant for. It is not always the exact same thing, for example, a dragon in China is different from a dragon in the West, but the word is still used and it is now conventionally used for translation (although they may be distinguished as Chinese dragon), ditto for phoenix. I have seen some Chinese people who wanted to use the word "long" for Chinese dragon, which is more confusing to an English reader, especially when many people in the West now understand what a Chinese dragon is and how they are different from a Western dragon. However, in this case, there is an article for Ji (polearm), you can therefore simply linked it as halberd (ji), or ji (halberd), or just halberd. You need to mention a term that is commonly used for the translation of the item to avoid confusion, but allow the reader to find out more about the weapon if they are interested. You only need to link it once, and once you've done that, you can write the rest as only as halberd for ease of reading (or indeed as ji, but personally I think an established western term is preferable). Hzh (talk)