Chinese swords have captivated people all over the world for thousands of years. Legendary blades and their craftsmen appear at the core of countless Chinese folktales. Besides that, there are also numerous archaeological findings that constantly amaze us with real evidence of these Chinese weapons having been used in some of the most epic scenes from history. From the Bronze Age to the present day, swords have played an important role in China’s conflicts, commerce, and culture. 

Jian Vs Dao

Chinese swords fall into two distinct categories: jian and dao. Jians are straight swords with a double edge, while daos are single-edged swords that can be either straight or curved. Both jians and daos come in one-handed and two-handed varieties. While the jian started out as the preferred war sword, Chinese armies eventually transitioned to a much more widespread use of the dao due to the shorter training time required to learn its basic techniques. One popular saying was that the dao could be competently learned within a week, while the jian could take up to a year.

Jian: the “Gentleman of Weapons”

The Jian has a long history in China going back to the first dynasties and appearing throughout 2,500 years of Chinese history. It exhibits a double-edge, is straight and the thickness varies depending on time period and use, it can be a heavier war sword or a light, elegant and nimble civilian weapon. In Chinese folklore, it is known as "The Gentleman of Weapons" and is considered one of the four major weapons, along with the Gun(staff),Qiang(spear), and theDao(sabre), Having no unified name, it was meant to mean a sword, sometimes referred to as Wushu Jian(martial arts sword), Bao Jian, Longquan Jian, Taiji Jian(tai chi swords) etc., the name reflecting the martial art using the Jian.

As a sword designed for cutting, thrusting, and stabbing, the jian has traditionally required a high level of swordsmanship, earning it the nickname “Gentleman of Weapons” due to its frequent use by commanders and other high-ranking officials. While it fell out of favor as the go-to battlefield sword for this reason, it still remained a self-defense weapon for aristocrats for centuries, as well as a prestigious accessory for court dress.

The Sword of Goujian, dating back to the Zhou Spring and Autumn Period, is one of the most famous jian, due to its exquisite preservation, beautiful craftsmanship, and ownership by King Goujian, one of the period’s most prominent rulers.

Dao: the “General of Weapons”

By contrast, the dao or chinese broadsword bears the nickname “General of Weapons” due to its entry-level requirements. Upon entering the Chinese military, you would most likely be given a simple type of dao as your first weapon, due to its ease of mastery. As a single-edged blade designed primarily for slashing and chopping, its fighting styles were usually more limited than those of the jian. As such, most dao were never given the same level of ornate craftsmanship as jian, but were famous instead for the extent of their use throughout the ages, and their ability to get the job done in combat.

Bronze Jianswords are already well developed by the earlier Warring States Period. The earliest laminated bronze Jian utilize bronze with higher tin content for cutting edges and lower tin content for the spine, resulting in a sword with harder edges that can retain a sharp edge while obtaining a more flexible spine to absorb shock. Copper sulphides were used as coating for anti-corrosion, a reason why pristine examples still exist today.

The earliest iron and steel Jian begin to appear using most basic forging and folding techniques.

In the later stages of the Warring States Period Qin Dynasty bronze Jian blades became longer and the handle was extended enough for two-handed use. Chromium oxide as an anti-corrosion protective coating was used on the bronze on these blades and steel Jian/swordsof one meter or longer are made.

Increasingly iron steel began to be used in swords during this period. Differential heat-treating and forge-welding laminations were used while forging these blades. A higher carbon steel was used for the cutting edge and lower carbon steels for the core or sandwich plates, depending on the design. This became the standardized process for later Chinese blades for almost 2000 years.

The introduction of ring pommels on bronze and steel Jian and Dao was at this period. A typical style is Huan Shou Dao（Ring pommel swords), but varied with the polyhedron Jian,octahedrons, hexahedron and tetrahedral types.

It was also at this time Imperial Regulation introduced the use of white ray-skin on the handle-grips on the swords.

Swordmaking continued to progress in the Tan period, heralding the use of the earliest disc-shaped guards, displaced ring pommels to better protect the hand in the middleTang dynasty. Quality Chinese blades, forging techniques and skill were transmitted abroad. This included important sword smithing skills of forge-weldinglaminated construction, differential heat-treatment using clay, repeated forging and folding of sword blanks. These techniques enhanced the quality of the steel used in swords in Japan (tamahagane steel), ridged cross-sections consisting of two variants known to the Japanese as kiriha-zukuri and shinogi-zukuri), all owing to the the Middle Tang era.

The YanMao Dao or YanLing Dao, or "goose-quill saber", is a type of Dao made in large numbers as a standard military weapon from the late Ming through the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is similar to the earlier Zhibei Dao, is generally straight, with a curve appearing at the center of percussion near the blade tip. This allows for thrusting attacks and overall handling similar to that of the Jian, while still preserving much of the Dao’s strengths in cutting and slashing. This style sword originates from Yuan Dynasty of the Mongol Empire, it is the leading style sword in following the Ming and Qing Dynasty.

The LiuYe Dao, or "willow leaf saber” was commonly used as a military sidearm for both cavalry and infantry during the Ming and Qing dynasty. This weapon features a narrow, thick blade and a moderate curve along its length. Though still a fairly effective thrusting sword, the shape of the blade increased the cutting and slashing power. It evolved from the Yanling Dao, Liuye Dao and Yanling Dao and was the leading sword style in Qing Dynasty, so we call it the Qing Dao or QingYaoDao.

NiuWei Dao or oxtail Dao, is a type of late Qing Dynasty saber(Dao). It was primarily a civilian weapon as it was never issued to Imperial troops. The design incorporated a broad bladeso it is commonly referred to as a broadsword.

The Dadao means literally“Big Knife”. One of the varieties of Dao or Chinese saber, it is also known as the Chinese great sword. Based on an agricultural tool, Dadao have broad blades generally between two and three feet long. The hiltsdeveloped for use as a fighting sword, lengthening to up to a hand and a half hilt or longer for two-handed use,. The blade was generally weighted forward, balanced for chopping or slashing. In the past it was mass produced and provided to the Chinese Army during World War II, it emerged to be a simple but very practical sword.