杖 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. Common compounds: 拐杖 (guǎizhàng, walking cane), 魔杖 (mózhàng, magic wand), 手杖 (shǒuzhàng, walking stick), 权杖 (quánzhàng, scepter).
history
杖刑 (zhàngxíng) was a form of corporal punishment in imperial China — beating with a heavy stick. It was one of the 'Five Punishments' (五刑) in the legal code.
