This weapon reminds a lot of a tribute present to emperor Kangxi. The resemblance to the dadao is certainly there:josh stout wrote:Here is an example of how I, and probably others, get confused.
http://sword.tacomall.com.tw/product/index.htm
If you go to the bottom link you will see several contemporary reproductions including what I think is a dadao that is listed as a zhanmadao. The handle is a bit longer than most dadao, so one person proposed that it was a podao. To me it still looks like it is on the dadao side of things.
http://forums.swordforum.com/attachment ... 1084046721
Unfortunately, if there is one source of misinformation on Chinese swords, it's in China itself. I've met numerous people that were in the business for many many years but who only based their knowledge on assumptions and hearsay. As a result, you find the same misinformation in the many books and websites on the subject. The face system where people are generally not pointed at their mistakes publicly doesn't make it any better either in Chinese academia. Sometimes as in the case of antique dealers they are deliberately lying, but I've also met quite a few honest people that just didn't seem to know anything substantial while their business card said: "expert".
Large sabers and pole arms alike also frequently called zhanmadao, the rationale probably being: "if it's big, it probably can cut a horse"
I got to think that dandao, "single saber" above all differentiates it from saber shield combinations as were very common in the military at that time.josh stout wrote: Other confusing names for long handled blades include the dandao. In martial arts parlance, that would be a single sword used in a movement as opposed to the double sabers (shuangdao).
What is your source for wodao? Can you provide the character for wo?
It's pretty hard to trace back the miaodao as several long swords have been used in conjunction in many periods. I'm not sure what exactly would differentiate them from miaodao as we are not sure what the exact historical properties of miaodao are. Perhaps miaodao is just a general late term for one or more of these long two handers. For example, the Qing military changrendadao is an extremely long double handed sword (160 cm long!) that existed next to other long cutters like zhanmadao. All attributed to the Han "Green Standard Army" and not the Manchu banners, they might be a legacy left from Qi Jiguang's teachings.josh stout wrote:This would then perhaps be the ancestor of the miaodao, which I understand from previous threads we have no pictures of. The mioadao may be an ancestor of the Qing zhanmadao, which then becomes confused with other long handled weapons.
Josh
-Peter