Weapons of the Chinese Green Standard Army

[Peter Dekker]

Originally Posted by josh stout

Great job Peter!

There are so many vague names out there; it is nice to see names, illustrations, and specifications from a primary text. The piandao looking like a naganata, rather than a single-handed curved saber, was a surprise. Handle length does not matter nearly as much as blade shape.
Thanks

Thanks!

And yes, a lot of vagueness is involved. Sometimes even in official texts! For one it seems that the Huangchao Liqi Tushi, a standard work on ceremonial regalia and arms, used some nonstandard language that you don't see in the operational texts.

The piandao for example indeed comes in several forms. There is mention of a saber shaped piandao (㓲刀) in the 1759 Huangchao Liqi Tushi that is used by rattan shield troops.

Regulations on manufacture and repair of military equipment for the provinces consistently mention rattan shields in conjunction with paidao or shield-saber. A look into the instructions for craftsmen to produce these, we find that at least in 1770, these were just another name for the piandao in the Huangchao Liqi Tushi.

And then of course my above list shows two more piandao, one quite like a large dadao and another of a naginata-type. They use a different character for pian but both with the same meaning.


As for the jian (劍) / dao (刀) classification, interesting how countries near China were not as strict. Kendo also comes to mind, which is clearly focused around the practice of the Japanese katana (刀) yet calls itself the way of the 剣, which is a Japanese simplification of 劍 (jian).

[josh stout]

The piandao seems to have substantial documentation but very few examples. I once owned one of utilitarian manufacture with a medium length blade (60-62cm), very thick at the guard (~1cm) that was clearly meant to be used one handed. It was a smooth curve to an acute point with a typical village made disk guard and Chinese elm handle. The blade was excellent steel but had a crack in the edge from heavy use. It seemed appropriate for the “tiger men” who supposedly used such things.

There is also a rare giant two-handed version that I suppose would also be called a piandao (shuangshu piandao?). I have an example of somewhat rustic manufacture but very heavily built. I have a feeling the front lines didn’t spend too much on weapon decoration. There is supposedly a much nicer version in a Russian museum listed as a “Chinese Cavalry saber”, but I think these were exclusively the weapons of foot soldiers. As a mutual friend said, “these were used under horses, not on top of them.”

[josh stout]

It's interesting to see where the words go. I think "ken" in Japanese is a sort of generic word for sword, despite it still being understood as a double edged temple sword. My teacher, speaking Hakka Chinese pronounces dadao like the Japanese daito. Double sabers are “shangto”. A sword is, of course, a “gim”.