Hanshi

Hanshi, originally, were the samurai in the service of han.

History
(The person who wrote this page has no idea what they're talking about. Hanshi were samurai during the Edo period who served a clan. )

The bushi, as samurai were originally known, didn't have Bushidō like those of the Heian period. Thus, they violated no code if they decided to serve chinese lords. In this time, the samurai samurai wrote in kanji (old mandarin), just like the chinese.

Even after the fall of the Han dynasty, those samurai who fought for the chinese were considered hanshi. Though hanshi have always been a rarity.

Weapons
The hanshi used any weapons commonly in china, with the exception of the katana.

The Qiang
One of the common weapons used by the hanshi was the qiang (chinese spear).Common features of the Chinese spear are the leaf shaped blade and red horse-hair tassel lashed just below.

When the spear is moving quickly, the addition of the tassel aids in blurring the vision of the opponent so that it is more difficult for them to grab the shaft of spear behind the head or tip. The tassel also prevents the blood from reaching the wooden shaft, making the qiang slippery.

The shaft varies in length commonly from 2 meters long (7 feet) to 4 meters (14 feet). The qiang is helpful in mounted combat, which the samurai were skilled in. The spear is made out of wax wood, which is strong and flexible. It bends preventing breakage upon impact.

The samurai practiced sōjutsu (the art of the spear), which was very silimilar to the chinese martial art, xingyiquan, which means "Form/Intention Boxing".