Dao

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Base Info
Moe Point	Dao (刀)
Moe Point Synonyms	Chinese single-edged sword
Type	Weapon-sword
Related Moe Points	sword, katana, jian

Dao is a generic term for all styles of Chinese sharp-edged swords, and also a common equipment in ACG works.

When talking about Chinese swords, the word dao is used.

Introduction

The original shape of the dao was very close to a battleaxe. It had a short handle, a tilted head, an undercoated spine, and a long blade. By the Chunqiu and Warring States periods, the shape of the dao changed drastically, during the two Han dynasties, the dao gradually evolved into one of the main combat weapons for infantry, one example is the huanshoudao (the blade is straight, with an inner curve). There are not that many tongdao in existence, their body and shape are light and thin, only 0.35 cm at its thickest point. According to their rough shape, the dao are divided into short-handle xiaoshoudao, long-handle xuanshoudao, flat-blade pingrendao, or curved blade qurendao.

Types

Wodao (陌刀)

The wodao was a long sword held by Tang infantrymen, it is speculated to have been derived from the Han Dynasty's zhanmajian. After the Tang Dynasty, there was little trace of the wodao in history. Since wodao are not present in burials, the are not many wodao that have been unearthed today. All of the restored illustrations of wodao from the web are actually conjectures of later generations.

Pudao (朴刀)

It is the existence of a wavering between a sword and a broadsword, it is similar to the German Zweihänder.

Pudao appeared during the Song dynasty. In Water Margin, depictions of various heroes using the pudao can be seen. In terms of its origin, rather than shortening the handle of a broadsword, to adapt to the needs of close combat, it is more historically accurate to say that the long dao was shortened into a short-handled plain sword, to cope with the fact that civilians were not allowed to use long weapons. Although the pudao was a civilian defense weapon by nature, in the Qing dynasty, the pudao was included in the designated weaponry of armies and began to be used on a large scale.

Zhanmadao (斩马刀)

A weapon of the Han dynasty, cast by the Shang Fang order, for the use of the royal family, that is, the Shang Fang Bao Jian.

Huanshoudao (环首刀)

The huanshoudao is arguably the most common form of dao, it is also the most iconic and one of the most-used types of dao. Usually, a huanshoudao has a long, straight, or slightly inverted blade, no handguard, the tip of the blade is a round ring (the so-called huanshou, "ring head"). The appearance of the huanshou is supposed to be for both practical and aesthetic reasons.

Yanlingdao (雁翎刀)

As an ancient Chinese military sword, the yanlingdao evolved from a ring-head dao to a horizontal sword. It can be traced back to Wu Daozi's painting "The Changing Face of Hell" in the Tang Dynasty, but it wasn't until the first year of the Song Dynasty's qiandao (1165 AD) that the Southern Song Military Weapons Superintendent decided to make a new weapon. Because its shape resembled a goose's plume, the sword finally had an official name--yanlingdao.

Xiuchundao (绣春刀)

The xiuchundao is a sword of the conceptual nature of the Ming Dynasty's secret organization, Jinyiwei, and the Imperial Guard. The shape of the xiuchundao combines the characteristics of Japanese swords introduced in China during the Kamikaze period. The mid-to-late Ming Dynasty was more inclined towards the specially customized gongbuyaodao.

Liuyedao (柳叶刀)

The liuyedao refers to one of the swords used in Chinese martial arts. It was named as such because the shape of the dao resembled a willow leaf. It is mostly used in cavalry and infantry, the Ming army was heavily equipped with this sword. This weapon has a gentle curve along the blade, reducing the liuyedao's offensive capacity (although still quite effective), also increasing its sharpening power. As opposed to the katana, the width of this dao is also very wide.

Differences between liuyedao and yanlingdao: The blade that begins to curve at the base belongs to a liuyedao, the blade with a straight edge that curves upward from two-thirds of the way up belongs to a yanlingdao. Liuyedao have a large curvature, with a wide tip section, a yanlingdao's curvature is small, the tip of the blade is narrow and slightly upturned.

Others

There are also a few lesser mainstream dao, mainly popular in folklore, or as emergency equipment for special times, or maybe exist as executioner weapons. Examples include the niuweidao that was the standard for beheadings in the Qing Dynasty. In fact, what is known as "anti-Japanese dao / anti-Japanese kan" is probably a niuweidao.

Appearing in ACGN works

Dao in various works

• Gudingdao (Romance of the Three Kingdoms)
• Wodao (Soul Knight)
• Zhixiao (Arknights)

Dao wielders

Unlike katana, which are "noble weapons", dao are often regarded as a weapon class with strong military overtones. Therefore, it is often used by professional soldiers, and of course chivalrous types of characters will be glad to use them.

• Wang Hu, Liu Yunfei (Samurai Shodown)