The ''yanlingdao'' () or ''yanmaodao'' () is a type of ''

dao The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...

'' used as a standard military weapon during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

and middle

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

(1368–1800). The

blade A blade is the Sharpness (cutting), sharp, cutting portion of a tool, weapon, or machine, specifically designed to puncture, chop, slice, or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they a ...

is straight until the curve begins around the center of percussion along the last 1/4 or so of the blade approaching the tip. The center of percussion is the point on the blade with the least vibration on hard contact, the spot on the blade that transmits the most power to the target in a hard chop. This allows for thrusting attacks and overall handling similar to that of the ''

jian The ''jian'' (Mandarin Chinese: , , English approximation: , Cantonese: ) is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the ''jian'' date to the 7th century BCE, during the S ...

'', while still preserving much of the ''daos strengths in cutting and slashing. This type of

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

seems to have lost its popularity with military and martial arts practitioners alike by the end of the 18th century, being eclipsed by the more curved liuyedao in the military, and the more broad Oxtail Dao in civilian and martial art settings. ''Yanmaodao'' almost invariably have straight grips, although downward-curved handles are depicted in Ming artwork. During the last century of Qing rule, curved grips became far more prevalent than straight.

Terminology

Yanmaodao is a modern term, which appears to have been coined by antique collectors to help classify this distinct shape of military sabre blade. It does not appear to have been used in classical texts. Yanlingdao (雁翎刀) or "goose-feather sabre" is another term used at least since the Song dynasty, which is at times use interchangeably with yanmaodao. No period depictions of yanlingdao exist, so it remains unclear if this was an entirely different type of sabre, or just another name for the same type of sword.

Notes and references

*Tom, Philip with Scott M. Rodell (February 2005). "An Introduction to Chinese Single-Edged Hilt Weapons (Dao) and Their Use in the Ming and Qing Dynasties". Kung Fu Tai Chi, pp. 76–85

External links

*http://www.mandarinmansion.com/content/geese-and-willows-yanmaodao-and-liuyedao {{Swords by region Chinese swords

Terminology

See also

Notes and references

External links