Two fierce warriors guard the entrance to many Chinese temples. Usually depicted in full armour and painted on the front doors, both spirits were generals who helped unite China under the Tang dynasty and take it to the peak of its power and glory 1,400 years ago.
One of them, Qin Qiong, lives on not just as a door god but as a patron saint of Chinese military strategy. Qin’s sleeve concealed a spear-like weapon, used to behead enemy soldiers with one surprise stroke.
Referred to in historical novels as an “assassin’s mace”, the weapon that can deal a fatal blow to otherwise superior enemies remains a core part of modern Chinese military doctrine.