Related Collections

Dao SwordJian SwordOxtail DaoMiao DaoPu DaoSaber SwordChinese JianChinese Tai Chi SwordChinese Spear SwordChinese SpearChinese DaoAsian SwordChinese Kwan DaoChinese Lance Sword

Historically, a Chinese sword is classified into two types, jian and dao. Jians are double-edged straight swords while daos are single-edged, and mostly curved from the Song dynasty forward. Bronze jians appeared during the Western Zhou period and switched to wrought iron and steel during the late Warring States period.

Qin dynasty (221–206 BC)
Sword dances are first mentioned shortly after the end of the Qin dynasty. Swords up to 110 cm in length began to appear.

Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD)
The jian was mentioned as one of the "Five Weapons" during the Han dynasty, the other four being dao, spear, halberd, and staff. Another version of the Five Weapons lists the bow and crossbow as one weapon, the jian and dao as one weapon, in addition to halberd, shield, and armor.

Tang dynasty (618–907)
The dao was separated into four categories during the Tang dynasty. These were the Ceremonial Dao, Defense Dao, Cross Dao, and Divided Dao. The Ceremonial Dao was a court item usually decorated with gold and silver. It was also known as the "Imperial Sword". The Defense Dao does not have any specifications but its name is self-explanatory. The Cross Dao was a waist weapon worn on the belt, hence its older name, the Belt Dao. It was often carried as a sidearm by crossbowmen. The Divided Dao, also called a Long Dao (long saber), was a cross between a polearm and a saber. It consisted of a 91 cm blade fixed to a long 120 cm handle ending in an iron butt point, although exceptionally large weapons reaching 3 meters in length and weighing 10.2 kg have been mentioned. Divided daos were wielded by elite Tang vanguard forces and used to spearhead attacks.

Song dynasty (960–1279)
Some warriors and bandits duel wielded daos to break deadlocks in confined terrain during the late Song dynasty.
According to the Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian, written in 1183, the "Horse Beheading Dao" (zhanmadao) was a two handed saber with a 93.6 cm blade, 31.2 cm hilt, and ring pommel.

Yuan dynasty (1279–1368)
Under the Yuan dynasty, the jian experienced a resurgence and was used more often.

Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
The dao continued to fill the role of the basic close combat weapon. The jian fell out of favor again in the Ming era but saw limited use by a small number of arms specialists. It was otherwise known for its qualities as a marker of scholarly refinement.

The "Horse Beheading Dao" was described in Ming sources as a 96 cm blade attached to a 128 cm shaft, essentially a glaive. It's speculated that the Swede Frederick Coyett was talking about this weapon when he described Zheng Chenggong's troops wielding "with both hands a formidable battle-sword fixed to a stick half the length of a man".