Another one of the 4 Great Weapons and holder of the title "General of Weapons" (百兵之帥)
Introduced to China by the Mongols or the Xiōngnú (匈奴) people during the Han dynasty.
The Chinese soon developed their own versions of this deadly weapon. The first versions were similar to the Chinese Jian, or straight, double edged sword. These were called "Straight Backed Sabers" or Zhí bèi dāo (直背刀). These are also sometimes called "Ring Pommel Sabers" Huán shǒu dāo (環首刀)
 |
| Straight backed Saber or "Ring Pommel Saber" of the Han dynasty |
Later they began to use broader, more curved Sabers. Today there are dozens of varieties of Chinese Saber.
A classic type of saber used in the Ming and Qing dynasties was the "Willow Leaf Saber" or Liǔyè dāo (柳葉刀)
 |
| A Qing dynasty Willow Leaf Saber |
Saber techniques were fairly straightforward, emphasizing powerful slashing cuts.
The type of saber used by most Chinese martial arts today is the "Oxtail Saber" or Niúwěi dāo (牛尾刀)
 |
| An Oxtail Saber |
No comments:
Post a Comment