Zheng Yi Sao Pirate Sword

[piratelady]

Hello; I am doing some research on Zheng Yi Sao (1775–1844), the famous Chinese female pirate. There is an actual picture of her that exists where she is holding a sword. Or at least that is the claim. For the life of me I cannot identify it. It looks like a 19th century rapier with the thin short blade. I have uploaded a picture of her with the sword and then a computer-generated picture that shows more detail in the hilt. Any ideas? Keep in mind that pirates stole swords they fancied off other ships, so it does not necessarily need to be Chinese.

[Ian]

Hello piratelady,

Welcome to the Forum! The short thin blade in the picture on the left looks like a British/European smallsword from the 18–19th C. These were shorter and thinner versions of the rapier, sometimes referred to as court swords. They were designed for thrusting, favored for duelling, and quite deadly in skilled hands. Some had no cutting edge and the blades were often triangular in cross-section. You will find other examples online if you search for "small sword."

Being in the hand of a known pirate, I imagine it was taken as booty from a wealthy westerner. It may have been a prized acquisition and that may explain why she posed with it. She probably had a more practical every-dayer for her pirateering.

Looking more closely at her right hand holding the sword, I think she may be wearing a glove. This was common for practicing and duelling in the European context, so maybe she liked to duel also.

[piratelady]

Ian; Thank you so much. That was a big help. Another question. The guard on the sword looks like it has 2 pieces. Like it is a split guard. Is there a term for that?

[Ian]

I think the sword has a single D-guard. The semi-circular dark "ring" to the left is, I think, part of the glove on her right hand. I don't think it is part of the sword.
.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by piratelady

Ian; Thank you so much. That was a big help. Another question. The guard on the sword looks like it has 2 pieces. Like it is a split guard. Is there a term for that?

Hi Pirate Lady,
I'd like to join Ian in welcoming you here! and am very thrilled to see you bring up this interesting area of piracy, and especially this particular female pirate.
She was apparently in control of a huge confederacy of pirates in the South China Sea, and they preyed on Portuguese, as well as Qing and Dutch East India Co. vessels.

As you note, the weapons used by pirates (as discussed in the thread concurrent here) varied profoundly and often included many captured arms which had many cultural and national sources.

A weapon as suggested in the image, if indeed an early photograph, may well have used a weapon other than her own. There may have been any number of these potential European weapons in circulation there and then.
Still, we are discussing what type of sword is depicted, whether used by Zheng Yi Sao or not. As Ian has noted, the blade in the orig. illustration seems very slender, pointed, and somewhat short.....recalling European small swords as he suggests, which were of the 18th century but extended into 19th in degree, typically as court swords.

It would be interesting to look into the actual weapons used by Chinese martial artists, who often became 'river pirates' as well, and the various dao and 'butterfly knives' along with other arms as well.

It seems that a number of Napoleonic French swords had a swing out knuckleguard which added extra hand protection as required. These were an innovation which precluded the eventual style of multi bar guards in the 1820s, until then most sabers had stirrup knuckle guards. As the French had notable colonial presence in the Indo-China regions etc. it seems quite possible this might be one of these.
The attached image of one of these French sabers (Cathey Brimage coll.) illustrates the concept, which was known simply as a folding guard in discussion, as far as local or actual term used on original examples it is uncertain what term might have been used.

[piratelady]

Thanks Gentlemen. I assume she carried a smallsword because the average height of a Chinese woman in the 19th century was 4'10" to 5'2"

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by piratelady

Thanks Gentlemen. I assume she carried a smallsword because the average height of a Chinese woman in the 19th century was 4'10" to 5'2"

That would be a good assumption, but it is most unlikely for anyone Chinese to be using a small sword (rapier type blade), and the hilt looks to me like the swing out knuckleguard I suggested. Many Chinese swords were short for use in close quarters..