Zhanmadao

Zhanmadao (斬馬刀)
A zhanmadao "horse butchering dao" from a Qing dynasty illustration, 1766
Type	Infantry anti-cavalry saber
Place of origin	Han dynasty, China
Production history
Variants	Possible changdao, miaodao, wodao, zanbatō
Specifications
Length	Approx 200 cm (79 in)+
Blade length	Approx 150 cm (59 in)+
Blade type	Single edged, straight for most of the length, curving in the last third.
Hilt type	Two handed

The zhanmadao (Chinese: 斬馬刀; pinyin: zhǎnmǎdāo; Jyutping: zaam2 maa5 dou1; lit. 'horse chopping saber') was a single-bladed anti-cavalry Chinese sword. It originated during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) and was especially common in Song China (960–1279).

General characteristics

The zhanmadao is a single-edged sabre with a long broad blade, and a long handle suitable for two-handed use. It was used as an anti-cavalry weapon, dating from Emperor Cheng of Han, made to slice through a horse's legs.^[1] This is mentioned in the Wujing Zongyao, a Song Military Manual from 1072.^[2] It featured prominently against the Jin armies in campaigns between 1129 and 1141.^[3]

The earliest variant of the zhanmadao is called zhanmajian (pinyin: Zhǎn mǎ jiàn), literally "horse beheading jian". Zhanmajian existed during the Han dynasty, so called because it was supposedly able to cut off a horse's head.^[4] The difference between the two is that zhanmajian is double-edged whereas the zhanmadao is single-edged, which persists with the meaning of jian and dao. Another suggestion is that the zhanmajian was an execution tool used on special occasions rather than a military weapon.^[5]

Surviving examples include a sword that might resemble a nagamaki in construction; it had a wrapped handle 37 cm (15 in) long making it easy to grip with two hands with a blade that was 114 cm (45 in) long and straight, with a slight curve in the last half.^[6]

Similar weapons

Possible variations of these Chinese swords were the changdao of Tang dynasty and Ming dynasty, wodao of Qing dynasty, as well as miaodao of the Republican Era.^[7]

See also

• Changdao
• Dao (sword)
• Ōdachi
• Messer (weapon)
• Zweihänder

References

Bibliography

• Lorge, Peter A. (2011), Chinese Martial Arts: From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-87881-4

This article relating to swords is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

This article related to the history of China is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e