Qiang Pikeman

The Qiang Pikeman is anti-cavalry infantry unit unique to the Chinese in Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties. They are the equivalent of the European Pikeman and the Aztec Puma Spearman.

Overview
The Qiang Pikemen are trained alongside Chu Ko Nu in the Old Han Army, or Keshik in the Ming Army from the War Academy, or can be sent from the Home City. They are the primary anti-cavalry unit in the Chinese army starting from the Colonial Age.

Home City cards
As the Qiang Pikeman is exclusive to the Chinese, only their Home City cards are shown in the following list.

History
"The qiang spear is often called the “King of Weapons” because of its ubiquitous role as one of the longest used and most reliable Chinese weapons. Its flexible wax wood shaft varied from 7 feet long (for infantry) to nearly 13 feet (for cavalry). The qiang spear was popularized during the Shang Dynasty (seventeenth century-eleventh century BCE) and was used up until the end of the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911 CE). In that time, it changed very little. The qiang spear featured a leaf-shaped blade atop a horse-hair tassel. When a spearman made a slashing motion, the tassel created a blur effect that kept the enemy from being able to effectively target and seize the weapon from its wielder. The hair tassel is said to have also served a secondary purpose, to stop the blood on the blade from flowing down onto the wooden shaft, which would leave the wood slippery or sticky and thus make it more difficult to handle."

Trivia

 * "Qiang" (槍) means "spear" in Chinese, referring primarily to the flexible-pole variant. Later, it gradually came to refer to personnel-based light firearms, such as arquebuses, muskets, and handguns; i.e., the way the word "gun" is used in English (excluding the meaning of "light cannon").