zhanmadao
{{Short description|Single-bladed anti-cavalry Chinese sword}}
{{Italic title|reason=:Category:Chinese words and phrases}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox weapon
|name=Zhanmadao (斬馬刀)
|image=File:Luyingzhanmadao.jpg
|caption=A zhanmadao "horse butchering dao" from a Qing dynasty illustration, 1766
|origin=Han dynasty, China
|type=Infantry anti-cavalry saber
|is_bladed=yes
|service=
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|designer=
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|variants=Possible changdao, miaodao, wodao, zanbatō
|weight=
|length= Approx {{convert|200|cm|abbr=on}}+
|part_length= Approx {{convert|150|cm|abbr=on}}+
|width=
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|blade_type=Single edged, straight for most of the length, curving in the last third.
|hilt_type=Two handed
|head_type=
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}}
The zhanmadao ({{zh|c=斬馬刀|p=zhǎnmǎdāo|l=horse chopping 'sabre'/'dao'/'single-edged blade'|j=zaam2 maa5 dou1}}) was a single-bladed anti-cavalry Chinese sword. It originated during the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) and was especially common in Song China (960–1279).
General characteristics
The zhanmadao is a single-edged sabre with a long broad blade, and a long handle suitable for two-handed use. It was used as an anti-cavalry weapon, dating from Emperor Cheng of Han, made to slice through a horse's legs.{{cite book|last=Yang|first=Jwing-Ming|title=Ancient Chinese Weapons: A Martial Artist's Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SBENHIwJshMC&pg=PA65|access-date=27 January 2013|date=1 March 1999|publisher=YMAA Publication Center Inc|isbn=978-1-886969-67-4|page=65}} This is mentioned in the Wujing Zongyao, a Song military manual from 1072.{{cite web|url=http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/articles/hanson.htm|title=The Mongol Siege of Xiangyang and Fan-ch'eng and the Song military |publisher=deremilitari.org |access-date=6 November 2010}} It featured prominently against the Jin armies in campaigns between 1129 and 1141.{{cite book|last1=Scott|first1=Richard Bodley|last2=Gaukroger|first2=Nik|title=Empires of the Dragon: The Far East at War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LEXX_qRpJr8C&pg=PA107|access-date=27 January 2013|date=22 September 2009|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84603-690-3|page=107}}
The earliest variant of the zhanmadao is called zhanmajian ({{zh||p=zhǎnmǎjiàn|s=斬馬劍}}), literally "horse beheading jian". The zhanmajian existed during the Han dynasty, so called because it was supposedly able to cut off a horse's head.{{sfn|Lorge|2011|p=103}} The difference between the two is that zhanmajian is double-edged whereas the zhanmadao is single-edged, which persists with the meaning of jian and dao. Another suggestion is that the zhanmajian was an execution tool used on special occasions rather than a military weapon.{{citation |url=http://greatmingmilitary.blogspot.com/2015/04/zhan-ma-dao.html|title=Zhan Ma Dao (斬馬刀)|date=7 April 2015 |access-date=15 April 2018}}
Surviving examples include a sword that might resemble a nagamaki in construction; it had a wrapped handle {{convert|37|cm|abbr=on}} long making it easy to grip with two hands with a blade that was {{convert|114|cm|abbr=on}} long and straight, with a slight curve in the last half.{{cite book|last=Jarymowycz|first=Roman Johann|title=Cavalry from Hoof to Track|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nQDBUgwGae4C&pg=PA31|year=2008|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-98726-8|page=31}}
Similar weapons
Possible variations of these Chinese swords were the changdao of Tang dynasty and Ming dynasty, wodao of Qing dynasty, as well as miaodao of the Republican Era.{{cite book|last=Breverton|first=Terry|author-link=Terry Breverton|title=Breverton's Encyclopedia of Inventions: A Compendium of Technological Leaps, Groundbreaking Discoveries and Scientific Breakthroughs that Changed the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N_XEdH37b2QC&pg=PT18|access-date=27 January 2013|date=26 April 2012|publisher=Quercus Publishing|isbn=978-1-78087-340-4|page=18}}
See also
References
= Citations =
{{Reflist}}
= General and cited references =
- {{Cite book
| last = Lorge
| first = Peter A.
| title = Chinese Martial Arts: From Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| location = Cambridge
| year = 2011
| isbn = 978-0-521-87881-4
}}
{{Chinese weapons}}
{{Swords by region}}