Extant Ming Dynasty Yan Ling Dao

Extant mid Qing Dynasty Yan Mao Dao. Note the rounder point (Click to enlarge).

A short Liu Ye Dao. Note the gentle curvature of the blade.

A Qi Jia Dao. Private collection.

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Extant mid to late Qing Dynasty Yan Chi Dao.

Extant late Qing Dynasty Yu Tou Dao.

Extant Ming Dynasty Zhi Dao that is reminiscent of Tibetan dpa'dam and Bhutanese patag.

Extant Ming Dynasty Zhi Dao that is almost indistinguishable from a double-edged jian.

Extant mid Ming Dynasty jian. This sword has a blade length of 32 inches and hilt length of 7 inches.

UPDATE

Yan Ling Dao is one of the more recognisable Chinese sabre of the Ming Dynasty. The blade of Yan Ling Dao is mostly straight, with a slight curve near the tip. Yan Ling Dao has a knife point or trailing point blade, which resemble a(翎毛), the feather at the tip of a bird's wing (i.e. a pointer feather/primary remex).Yan Ling Dao is commonly known as "yanmaodao" in the West (not to say they are wrong, but this does deviate from the definition agreed upon by Chinese collectors. On top of that, Yan Ling Dao is a historical term while Yan Mao Dao isn't).Yan Mao Dao is a relatively uncommon subtype of Yan Ling Dao. It is identical to Yan Ling Dao in most respect, except for the rounder drop point. Some Yan Mao Dao are modified from Yan Ling Dao with damaged tip.Liu Ye Dao is another type of common Chinese sabre of the Ming Dynasty. Whereas the blade of Yan Ling Dao is mostly straight but with a slight curve towards the tip, the blade of Liu Ye Dao is curved along its entire length.It is commonly believed that curved sabre, based on Central Asian prototypes, was introduced to China in the wake of Mongol conquest. In actual fact, warriors of Khitan Liao Dynasty and Jurchen Jin Dynasty were using curved sabres nearly identical to Ming and Qing sabres centuries before the rise of the Mongols, although the Mongol conquest did help to spread the popularity of curved sabre to the rest of China.A rather unique sabre that combines a Japanese sword blade with a Chinese style one-handed hilt. The blade could be local manufacture in imitation of the Japanese sword blade or imported directly from Japan. Although commonly attributed to general Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光), he did not actually design the sword (in fact, Qi Jia Dao predated him by many years). Qi Jia Dao is similarKorean(환도 or 環刀), as both are one-handed sabres with Japanese-style blades, although Qi Jia Dao tend to be slightly longer.Other names for this type of sabre are(倭腰刀, lit. 'Japanese waist sabre'),(倭式腰刀, lit. 'Japanese-style waist sabre') and(仿倭刀, lit 'Imitation Japanese sabre'). It should not be confused with, which is a very large two-handed sword.For those interested, here is a very good article on this specific kind of sabre:A generic term that is used to describe any Chinese swords or polearms with a very steep clip point. The clip is usually straight or slightly concave, but scalloped, wing-like or serrated clips are also common. Almost allandfeature a blade of this type, although not all Yan Chi Dao are Zhan Ma Dao or Po Dao.More properly known as, this is a generic term that can be used describe any Chinese swords or polearms with a long and gradual concave clip point (a.l.a. Bowie knife). Yu Tou Dao of the Ming period almost inevitably have octagonal guard.Also know as(直背刀, lit. 'Straight-backed sabre'), this is a generic term that can be used to describe any straight single-edged swords. There are many variations of Zhi Dao — some are just straighter-than-normal sabres, while others are almost indistinguishable from double-edgedAlthough single-edgedbecame the mainstay weapon of Chinese troops since the Han Dynasty, double-edgeddid not simply disappear from the battlefield. Unlike the long and slender (sometimes even floppy) "Wushu straight sword" that most people associate with Chinese, Ming military swords are broad and sturdy, with relatively simple guards and large pommels. The edges of most Ming swords run nearly parallel until tapering to a round or triangular point, making them more suitable for hacking and slashing.After careful consideration, I omitted the entries for(牛尾刀, lit. 'Oxtail sabre'),(㓲刀) and(順刀), which were developed during the Qing period, thus fall outside the scope of this article. I also omitted the entries of(鬼頭刀, lit. 'Ghost/Demon head sabre'),(雲頭刀, lit. 'Cloud head sabre') and(鵝頭刀, lit. 'Goose head sabre') which are extremely uncommon.Peter Dekker from Mandarin Mansion had wrote an extremely comprehensive article on the typology of Chinese sabre. In my opinion his typology should hereby be used as the standard typology from now on. Link below:Note that there's a slight difference between us on the interpretation of Yan Ling Dao and Yan Mao Dao. Mr. Peter's interpretation reflected the consensus among Western collectors, while my interpretation, borrowed heavily from a well-researched collector's reference book known as, reflected the consensus among Chinese collectors.