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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.
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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).