Chinese Dao

David R · 4th April 2020, 10:04 PM

Nice one.

drac2k · 5th April 2020, 12:42 AM

Thanks, it is the only one that I have with a scabbard.

Kubur · 5th April 2020, 06:38 AM

Very nice!
and how to carry it.

ariel · 5th April 2020, 08:10 AM

The fourth pic from the top shows some inscriptions.
The upper on “191..” . May it be part of the date “ 191(0...9)”?
The lower on hieroglyphs . Perhaps RenRen can decipher them.

Ren Ren · 5th April 2020, 02:48 PM

Photo is turned upside down. I see the numbers "151" and the family character 謝 Xie (means "Gratitude"). The arsenals built by Europeans in China and Japan sometimes continued to use European numbers for marking.
I also really liked the scabbard. I think the buttons can tell you something about production time.

drac2k · 5th April 2020, 03:13 PM

Great picture!
Ren Ren, once again thank you for your translations and insight!
One might wonder how an archaic weapon would fare in 20th-century warfare?
Were they issued to boost the soldiers' confidence or a romantic holdover and as effective as lancers going against tanks, barb wire, and machinegun nests?
I have never heard of any encounters of these being used in battle, however, I have seen some eerie and gruesome actual pictures of a post battlefield in the Pacific where American and Japanese soldiers were frozen in numerous death embraces; they were interlocked, with knives, swords, spades and anything else that could render harm. The hand to hand combat must have been ferocious based on the number of bodies and their agonized and contorted expressions; it looked like a scene out of Dante's Inferno. I am sure that in such close quarters, these dao could be effective.

josh stout · 13th April 2020, 04:18 PM

Below are are quotes taken from Peter's Mandarin Mansion site. The dadao was specifically made with the warfare of the 20th century in mind. It is designed to be effective against unarmored opponents, and also to be hefty enough that it can easily be turned out in large numbers without worry about small forging flaws or other small imperfections lowering its combat ability.

"When the Central Martial Arts Institute was established, those in the intellectual class each had their doubts, considering this to be an era of firearm warfare and that there is no necessity to encourage this antique and obsolete learning. But fortunately, due to many years of effort, Chinese martial arts has spread throughout the army so much that large saber units can be seen fighting the enemy. They charge right in, unstoppably advancing with bold shouts, like thunderclaps in the midst of a hurricane, causing the enemy to not be able to turn his horses around fast enough or have a chance to fire his guns. The blades rip open skin and sever fingers, hack off arms and pierce through chests, and within a mere ten paces, blood is already flowing enough to make a river." 1

-Zhang Zhijiang, Shanghai, Oct, 1932

One of the most famous uses of the dadao was during the so-called Marco Polo incident. It was in July of 1937 that the 29th Route Army lead by colonel Jí Xīngwén (吉星文) faced a Japanese troop force of 5600 men on the Marco Polo Bridge or Lúgōuqiáo (盧溝橋) in Northern China.

Jí Xīngwén's men numbered about 100, carrying their dàdāo alongside modern rifles and grenades. Among the Japanese were cavalry armed with katana. The Japanese crossed the bridge without permission to look for a soldier that had apparently gone missing on the other side.

Soldiers of the ROC raided the bridge, dàdāo in hand, and repulsed the Japanese losing all but four men. Casualties on the Japanese side are unknown but were high enough for them to retreat. This went into history as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident which in turn is seen as the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The event was a huge boost to the Chinese soldier's morale. The victory of the simple dàdāo over the mighty katana had great symbolic value.

5th April 2020, 06:38 AM	#3
Kubur Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 2,145	Very nice! and how to carry it. Attached Images

4th April 2020, 10:04 PM	#1
David R Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 1,123	Nice one.

5th April 2020, 12:42 AM	#2
drac2k Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,269	Thanks, it is the only one that I have with a scabbard.

5th April 2020, 08:10 AM	#4
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	The fourth pic from the top shows some inscriptions. The upper on “191..” . May it be part of the date “ 191(0...9)”? The lower on hieroglyphs . Perhaps RenRen can decipher them.

5th April 2020, 02:48 PM	#5
Ren Ren Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Russia, Moscow Posts: 379	Photo is turned upside down. I see the numbers "151" and the family character 謝 Xie (means "Gratitude"). The arsenals built by Europeans in China and Japan sometimes continued to use European numbers for marking. I also really liked the scabbard. I think the buttons can tell you something about production time.

5th April 2020, 03:13 PM	#6
drac2k Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,269	Great picture! Ren Ren, once again thank you for your translations and insight! One might wonder how an archaic weapon would fare in 20th-century warfare? Were they issued to boost the soldiers' confidence or a romantic holdover and as effective as lancers going against tanks, barb wire, and machinegun nests? I have never heard of any encounters of these being used in battle, however, I have seen some eerie and gruesome actual pictures of a post battlefield in the Pacific where American and Japanese soldiers were frozen in numerous death embraces; they were interlocked, with knives, swords, spades and anything else that could render harm. The hand to hand combat must have been ferocious based on the number of bodies and their agonized and contorted expressions; it looked like a scene out of Dante's Inferno. I am sure that in such close quarters, these dao could be effective.

13th April 2020, 04:18 PM	#7
josh stout Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 407	Below are are quotes taken from Peter's Mandarin Mansion site. The dadao was specifically made with the warfare of the 20th century in mind. It is designed to be effective against unarmored opponents, and also to be hefty enough that it can easily be turned out in large numbers without worry about small forging flaws or other small imperfections lowering its combat ability. "When the Central Martial Arts Institute was established, those in the intellectual class each had their doubts, considering this to be an era of firearm warfare and that there is no necessity to encourage this antique and obsolete learning. But fortunately, due to many years of effort, Chinese martial arts has spread throughout the army so much that large saber units can be seen fighting the enemy. They charge right in, unstoppably advancing with bold shouts, like thunderclaps in the midst of a hurricane, causing the enemy to not be able to turn his horses around fast enough or have a chance to fire his guns. The blades rip open skin and sever fingers, hack off arms and pierce through chests, and within a mere ten paces, blood is already flowing enough to make a river." 1 -Zhang Zhijiang, Shanghai, Oct, 1932 One of the most famous uses of the dadao was during the so-called Marco Polo incident. It was in July of 1937 that the 29th Route Army lead by colonel Jí Xīngwén (吉星文) faced a Japanese troop force of 5600 men on the Marco Polo Bridge or Lúgōuqiáo (盧溝橋) in Northern China. Jí Xīngwén's men numbered about 100, carrying their dàdāo alongside modern rifles and grenades. Among the Japanese were cavalry armed with katana. The Japanese crossed the bridge without permission to look for a soldier that had apparently gone missing on the other side. Soldiers of the ROC raided the bridge, dàdāo in hand, and repulsed the Japanese losing all but four men. Casualties on the Japanese side are unknown but were high enough for them to retreat. This went into history as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident which in turn is seen as the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The event was a huge boost to the Chinese soldier's morale. The victory of the simple dàdāo over the mighty katana had great symbolic value.