• Source: Dadao (sword)

The dadao (Chinese: 大刀; pinyin: dàdāo; lit. 'large knife/sabre') was a type of Chinese saber (dao) of the late Qing dynasty which remained in use as a civilian and military sword through the end of World War 2. The term refers to a whole family of swords, which can vary in blade, guard, and grip configurations. Common elements include a grip long enough to accommodate 2 hands, but with a relatively short and wide blade. Ring pommels are very common, but not exclusively used at the end of the grip. Blade profiles often flare towards the foible and may have a clipped tip.




Origin of name


The term dadao has been in use since at least the Ming dynasty, where it was originally used to refer to large polearm mounted sabres. Although similar short and wide bladed dao are seen in Ming era artwork, the form of sword known today as dadao dating to the late Qing and the early 19th century. The term Kan Dao (砍刀, lit. Chopping knife) was also used to refer to these heavy bladed dao.




Use


The dadao is a hand-and-a-half sword, in that it can accommodate two handed use, but is still nimble enough for single handed use. Its clipped tip allows for stabbing actions while the broad thin blade allow it to excel at powerful sweeping cuts.
During the early 20th century the dadao was popular both with martial arts schools, militias, and the military. In the opening engagements with the Japanese during World War 2, soldiers armed with dadao famously defended Beijing in the Marco Polo bridge incident. Although writers during the 1930s do lay out specifications for a sword with a 23 inch blade, 3 inched clip back, and a weight of 3.5 lbs, decentralized production resulted in incredibly varied designs; even military examples show tremendous variety in styles of sword compared to other military pattern blades.




See also


Dao (Chinese sword)
Oxtail Dao
Yanmaodao
Liuyedao
The Sword March




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Dadao (sword)
• Dadao
• The Sword March
• Types of swords
• Dao (Chinese sword)
• Chinese sword
• Sword
• Knightly sword
• Bronze Age sword
• Jian