Thank you for the information. I agree that it could now be a repurposed farm implement, and in my opinion, more of a bush ax, rather than a hay knife, as the blade is too heavy in the reaping of wheat(more than .25" thick at the base and not scythe shaped as most of those implements are). Another thing that causes me hesitation is that even though I believe you to be correct that the rings are newer than the hand-forged loops for the hoops, they are original and would serve little purpose in an agricultural context.
The possibility that you mentioned as it belonging to a street performer is a very good one, except that it is razor sharp and with one false move, one could easily lose a hand. I also thought that martial arts were banned in China at that time; a billion people with these swords would cause any government concern. lol.
In conclusion, I am not doubting your assertions as I have never been to China, I am not an expert on Chinese swords(or any other weapons for that matter), and I am thankful for your input; the comments that I have made are based on the advantage of actually holding the item as opposed to my poor pictures.
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