Long Pipe

The long-stemmed Chinese pipe is another example of an everyday-object-turned weapon. Popular from the late Ming dynasty to the early Republican period, the pipe consists of a small metal chamber, a hollow wooden or bamboo shank, a mouthpiece at the end and a tobacco bag hanging from the stem to hold extra tobacco. Wielded like a short staff, these piping weapons are normally used by elderly characters in films. The action choreography often takes inspiration from its real-life functions, such as inhaling and blowing out smoke in the heat of a combat to distract the enemy, or attacking with the scalding metal chamber. Lau Kar Wing uses the pipe when facing off against his enemies in Shaolin Mantis (1978) and Knockabout (1979).

Pipe with a tobacco bag (left) and long pipe with a silver mouthpiece (right)