Ji (polearm)

One of the earliest known appearances of the Ji in the historical record is the fangtian huaji (方天畫戟: "painted heavenly halberd") attributed to the warrior Lü Bu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

This would be comparable to the famous semi-mythological origin story of the yanyuedao (偃月刀; lit.

"reclining moon blade"), the weapon wielded by Guan Yu (關羽), another character from the novel and a real historical person.

The first historical or archaeological evidence of this polearm comes from an 11th-century illustration in the military manual Wujing Zongyao (武經總要).

[citation needed] The yanyuedao came to be known as the guandao after its invention was anachronistically attributed to Guan Yu himself, due to his wielding the weapon throughout the Romance.