Dao(刀)
History and Description
刀 is a category of single-edge chinese swords mainly used for slashing and chopping. It is often called a broadsword, or a Sabre, in english. Dao blades are moderately curved, which allows them to be reasonably effective in the thrust. The hilts are canted, curving in the opposite direction as it improves handling in some forms of cuts and thrusts.
The earliest 刀 date from the Shang Dynasty in China's Bronze Age, and are known as (直背刀) - straight backed knives. As the name implies, these were straight-bladed or slightly curved weapons with a single edge. Originally bronze, these would be made of iron or steel by the time of the late Warring States. Originally less common as a military weapon than the 箭 - the straight, double-edged blade of China - the 刀 became popular with cavalry during the Han dynasty due to its sturdiness and superiority as a chopping weapon. Soon after 刀 began to be issued to infantry, beginning the replacement of the 箭 as a standard-issue weapon.
During the Tang Dynasty, 刀 were exported to both Korea and Japan, influencing the sword smithing of both nations. The blades of Tang era 刀 are reminiscent of the Japanese chokuto or the popular image of the perhaps-mythical ninjato.
During the Song Dynasty, one form of infantry 刀 was the shoudao, a chopping weapon with a clip point. While some illustrations show them as straight, the 11th century Song military encyclopedia 武警重要 depicts them with curved blades - possibly an influence from the steppe tribes of Central Asia, who would conquer parts of China during the Song period. Also dating from the Song are the falchion-like dadao, the long, two-handed zhanmadao, and the long-handled, similarly two-handed 步战刀.
Some of the blades from the Qing Dynasty lived on and even had descendants see military action in the 20th century. The dadao was used by some Chinese militia units against Japanese invaders in the Second Sino-Japanese War, as was the miao dao, a descendant of the changdao. These were used during planned ambushes on Japanese troops because the Chinese military and patriotic resistance groups often had more willing soldiers than firearms.
Now, most Chinese martial arts schools still train extensively with the 刀, seeing it as a powerful conditioning tool and a versatile weapon, with self defense techniques transferable to similarly sized objects more commonly found in the modern world, such as canes, baseball or cricket bats. There are also schools that teach 雙刀, forms and fencing, one 刀 for each hand.
Information sourced from Wikipedia
Pictures sourced from:
swords-chinese-swords-wushu-t-sun-moon-qiankun-competition-broadsword-wushu-dao.jpg
Preston Ngoui Yong Zhau
Class 1-09