Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Cost of a saber.... back in Qing dynasty?

KuKulzA28 · 14th July 2010, 04:16 AM

I've been wondering, how much would it have costed the average Chinese bodyguard, in 1800, to buy/commission a dao or shuang dao? How much of his average earnings would that be? What would that be in today's US dollars?

Here is my thought process and how the question came to mind...

I have always wanted a dao or a shuang dao set... someday. For me, at this moment, I can have a quality plain dao made for maybe $400, but a double set of plain sabers would cost me almost $3000. That is because, since demand is low, making all the customized fittings would be costly. Let's suppose the average US citizen makes $30,000 USD a year. A single $400 dao is 1.3% of that American's yearly profit. A $3000 shuang dao would be 10% of their profit, which is HUGE. To be fair, most modern-day security guards and martial arts teachers in the USA don't make much more than $30-40k a year. I hope my math is correct. This got me thinking. How much did it cost a martial artist/combatant, back in the day, to get a quality dao, or quality shuang dao? I am assuming it is a plain, no-nonsense fighting weapon. Obviously different makers would have different prices. Cost of steel, number of apprentices, location, competition, etc all played a role, no bout. However, perhaps demand drove down costs? Also, since dao were being made regularly for self-defense and for battle, the price could not be too prohibitive. I understand many people did NOT own swords because they were peasants and money was better invested in land, irrigation, water buffalo, etc. but the price still had to be affordable for bodyguards and fighters. I'd need to know how much the average bodyguard earned in the 1800s... what would make it even harder to figure out would be if many people paid-in-kind. I know taxes were sometimes paid with rice. It can, perhaps be hard to put a value since the price of rice in 1800 may be very different from 1820 due to inflation or famine, or whatever....

Today, the modern USA bodyguard who is armed, is often issued or allowed to carry a handgun. These often range from $400 to $1000 USD. Understandably, the cost of the handgun affected by different variables such as mass-production. The sword would have been to the Chinese bodyguard as the handgun is today for the security guard, a weapon to save lives (and end lives) if need be. So this would have been a very important investment for the Chinese bodyguard - if he was intent on having a dao instead of some other weapon...

...

Thanks for reading this long winded post. If anyone has insight into this and can comment and add their knowledge, I'd be very appreciative.

14th July 2010, 04:16 AM	#1
KuKulzA28 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: between work and sleep Posts: 731	Cost of a saber.... back in Qing dynasty? I've been wondering, how much would it have costed the average Chinese bodyguard, in 1800, to buy/commission a dao or shuang dao? How much of his average earnings would that be? What would that be in today's US dollars? Here is my thought process and how the question came to mind... I have always wanted a dao or a shuang dao set... someday. For me, at this moment, I can have a quality plain dao made for maybe $400, but a double set of plain sabers would cost me almost $3000. That is because, since demand is low, making all the customized fittings would be costly. Let's suppose the average US citizen makes $30,000 USD a year. A single $400 dao is 1.3% of that American's yearly profit. A $3000 shuang dao would be 10% of their profit, which is HUGE. To be fair, most modern-day security guards and martial arts teachers in the USA don't make much more than $30-40k a year. I hope my math is correct. This got me thinking. How much did it cost a martial artist/combatant, back in the day, to get a quality dao, or quality shuang dao? I am assuming it is a plain, no-nonsense fighting weapon. Obviously different makers would have different prices. Cost of steel, number of apprentices, location, competition, etc all played a role, no bout. However, perhaps demand drove down costs? Also, since dao were being made regularly for self-defense and for battle, the price could not be too prohibitive. I understand many people did NOT own swords because they were peasants and money was better invested in land, irrigation, water buffalo, etc. but the price still had to be affordable for bodyguards and fighters. I'd need to know how much the average bodyguard earned in the 1800s... what would make it even harder to figure out would be if many people paid-in-kind. I know taxes were sometimes paid with rice. It can, perhaps be hard to put a value since the price of rice in 1800 may be very different from 1820 due to inflation or famine, or whatever.... Today, the modern USA bodyguard who is armed, is often issued or allowed to carry a handgun. These often range from $400 to $1000 USD. Understandably, the cost of the handgun affected by different variables such as mass-production. The sword would have been to the Chinese bodyguard as the handgun is today for the security guard, a weapon to save lives (and end lives) if need be. So this would have been a very important investment for the Chinese bodyguard - if he was intent on having a dao instead of some other weapon... ... Thanks for reading this long winded post. If anyone has insight into this and can comment and add their knowledge, I'd be very appreciative.