The dao refers to a category of Chinese swords that can vary greatly in length and width. They are single-edged, moderately curved, and are used chiefly to chop or slash at opponents. However, dao curves are moderate enough to allow thrusting as well. Daos are often referred to as “Chinese sabers”, or “Chinese broadswords” when they feature a wide blade.
“The General of Weapons”
In Chinese culture, the dao sword is considered one of the country’s four traditional weapons. It is often referred to as the “General of Weapons”. The other three are the jian, a double edged sword referred to as the “Gentleman of Weapons”, the qiang, or spear, the “King of Weapons”, and the bang, or staff, known as the “Grandfather of All Weapons”. Dao handles are traditionally wrapped in cord for a firmer grip. The hilts are sometimes slanted to improve handling for some cuts and thrusts.
The guards are often in the shape of a cup or disc, a design intended to keep rainwater out of the sword’s sheath. Dao swords date as far back as the Shang Dynasty, circa 1600 – 1046 BC, and were initially made of bronze. By the time of the Han Dynasty, 206 BC – 220 AD, iron had replaced bronze, and daos were in widespread use among Chinese cavalry. The horsemen preferred the dao for its sturdiness, its utility as a hacking and slashing weapon from horseback, and its simplicity and ease of use.
A No Nonsense Simple Sword that Got the Job Done
The dao’s simplicity was perhaps its greatest asset, and the reason for its widespread adoption. Ancient Chinese texts noted that it took only a week to make a new recruit proficient with a dao. A spear to a month to learn, and the straight-edged took a year before a new recruit mastered its basics. By the middle of the Han Dynasty, dao swords began to replace jians as the Chinese infantry’s standard issue sword. By the close of the Three Kingdom Period, 220 – 280 AD, daos had completely supplanted jians in the Chinese military. Jians were relegated to relatively niche roles, such as personal defense weapons of the Chinese nobility, and as accoutrements for ceremonial court dress.
Dao swords continued to serve Chinese soldiers for centuries, up to the modern era. Indeed, they were used in combat as recently as the Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937 – 1945, when a shortage of firearms forced some Chinese soldiers and militia to fight the Japanese with daos. That inspired “The Sword March”, a patriotic song of the era whose first line goes “’Our daos are raised over the devils’ heads! Hack them off!” As Japanese officers were commonly armed with katana swords, daos (and katanas) hold the distinction of probably being the last swords in history that were used in combat and sword versus sword duels during a war.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
History Halls – Swords Across the Millennia and Around the World
Werner, Edward Theodore Chalmers – Chinese Weapons (1986)
Zhang, Yun – The Art of Chinese Swordsmanship (1998)
