Changdao

Common card · No. 436397

The changdao (traditional Chinese: 長刀; simplified Chinese: 长刀; pinyin: chángdāo; lit. 'long sword') was a two-handed, single-edged Chinese sword. The term changdao has been translated as "long saber," "saber-staff," or "long-handled saber." During the Ming dynasty, changdao was often used as a general term for two-handed swords and was used in the frequent raids along the coast. After Republican Era, the term miaodao is sometimes used to describe changdao due to similarity. Tang dynasty sources describe the changdao as being identical to the modao (Chinese: 陌刀), but the modao may have been a double-edged weapon like earlier zhanmajian. The changdao seems to have first appeared during the Tang dynasty as the preferred weapon choice for elite vanguard infantry units in the Tang army. It was described as having an overall length of seven feet, composed of a three-foot-long single-edged blade and a four-foot-long pole grip. Due to its considerable length and size, it became one of the hallmarks...

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