Wonderful overview! These are awesome swords and the cultural exchange between Japan and China across the centuries (especially in the Ming) is huge topic and certainly impacts sword design. LKChen has done us all a huge favor by making such a large selection of dao to see the development of Sabres across the years. One minor note about Japanese swords: Chokutō (直刀) while it does have the *tō* character, is used to cover both single edged and double edged straight Japanese swords (in particular Nara and earlier). Double edged are Ken/Tsurugi. 剣 A straight single edged sword from this period would be Tachi (大刀 not to be confused with the later writing 太刀)
A few things, the “Chinese army” that was fighting the wokou before qi ji guang started commanding was far from battle ready, as there wasn’t much need for combat throughout the south, and they too didn’t have much armor either, as they were more like coast guards than actual armies like the ones on the northern borders.
Therefore these kinda sword with slender design or so called katana-ish is mainly equipped with coastal guard and southern infantry. Because southern infantry mainly only deal with Vietnamese and other savage tribes like the Hmong, Tai, and Miao which all are not wearing any armour, or thick armour at least.
These are wodao design that uses by special forces around coastal area. The actual Ming dao has broader width towards the tip but without yelman and not like the oxtail saber that comes 300 years later.
What I think is weird is that since disk guards and the sort of slim and curved blades do exist in earlier dynasties, but the Chinese never thought of putting these components together for a design of two handed waist sabers(dao), and actually needed to be inspired by Japanese swords in order to make something like what we’re looking at here.
The two handed saber is usually reserved for flat head cleavers. Main reason is that curved swords are usually used for cavalry and these two handed cleavers are used by the infantry.
Great video I love the history you put into it and the way you simply lay out the information, am I wrong or did I see you make a post showing some new LK chen swords??? I thought I peeked the Mongolian Saber in there now that blades review and history I'm PUMPED for been debating left and right on it for a while now.
@@huntergallatin6758The Mongols are a very young tribe, and their equipment basically comes from the Liao, Jin and Song empires, and the source is the Tang Empire!Han people learned some customs from nomadic people, but nomadic people basically came directly from China in terms of military equipment because of backward technology!😂
@@huntergallatin6758Mongolians failed to master smelting technology until 200 years ago.😅The Mongols formally established their country after their independence from China in 1206. Armor basically came from the reward and trade of the China government. Only a few members of the gold family had armor, and most of them wore animal skins! Wearing armor on a large scale was captured and made by Han craftsmen after destroying the Jin empire!So the Mongols don't have their own weapons, and the Mongols basically use the regional style weapons made by local craftsmen in the ruled areas.😂
Hi. Sifu ! Really appreciated your discussion of the Chinese blades covered here. I don't suppose you could do a video commenting on Chinese Ready Positions and Kata for these swords, could you ? I would really appreciate what you might have to say !
Right now I only have a couple videos, but there is more to come! czcams.com/video/EXez8DOanWE/video.htmlsi=0htS9Rn6yviAUkL8 czcams.com/video/P05s1UdoW6w/video.htmlsi=dT-OhjA-zsFFfxK2 czcams.com/users/shortsxXyD0Ckx7xs?si=X_OPn664nineDia0
The earliest predated Japanese swords were actually Chinese Jian called Ken followed by the Han and Tang dao known as Chokuto, and then the Kogarasu Maru, a precursor to the Tachi, was a slightly curved single edge Jian with a false edge on the other side. A few centuries later, the Tachi was their first true single-edge curved sword followed by the Uchigatana or Katana in its infancy. However, I would say that there's something about the Japanese swords that feels spiritual and aesthetically pleasing to look at compared to the rest of the world.
If you are going to draw comparisons, you need to reference similar artifacts. There is an almost "new age" tendency for hyperbole on Ming (Ching is not nationalistic enough) pride in production swords, and you need to be skeptical of source biases. Review the "Tatsu" by LK compared to Dynasty Forge or Huawei, maybe Hanwei, and maintain these premises. There is also a recurrent tendency for channels on CZcams to repeatedly cite verbal sources and not provide citations to the literature. For the better education of aspirants, please include text based sources for reference. You have unique potential to foster interest and encourage expansion of artistry, so endeavor to incorporate superior standards. Cheers, and happy hunting!
@@SifuKuttelYour videos are of very high quality and you are naturally charismatic. You have a unique opportunity to further public literacy on often overlooked/misunderstood historical topics. I recall once thinking that Chinese and Japanese cultures and armaments developed independently, which is silly as that is like saying the French and English never exchanged words (among other things). The cultural exchanges between these neighboring nations are very fascinating and often prone to distorted depictions based on any given zeitgeist of the moment. I should mention after these long-winded comments that I really enjoyed the video! I look forward to seeing what you produce next. Cheers.
I'm not going to engage with the content of the video before getting triggered by a thumbnail: BUT MY BROTHER IN CTHULHU DOS'T THOU EVEN KNOW HOW A MOTHER FATHERING MAP WORKS??? CHINA == HERE, JAPAN == HERE. CASE EFFING CLOSED!
@@SifuKuttel Good shit, any story with wakō in it is going to be fun. Of the four swords the one's I could vibe with most are the red and the green, they do fill roles kind of neglected in common Japanese designs, the red particularly seems to be the right size where nodaichi trend way too big for their own good.
Wonderful overview! These are awesome swords and the cultural exchange between Japan and China across the centuries (especially in the Ming) is huge topic and certainly impacts sword design.
LKChen has done us all a huge favor by making such a large selection of dao to see the development of Sabres across the years.
One minor note about Japanese swords: Chokutō (直刀) while it does have the *tō* character, is used to cover both single edged and double edged straight Japanese swords (in particular Nara and earlier). Double edged are Ken/Tsurugi. 剣
A straight single edged sword from this period would be Tachi (大刀 not to be confused with the later writing 太刀)
Thanks so much! I had no idea that 大刀 Tachi would've applied to straight swords, that's fascinating!
A few things, the “Chinese army” that was fighting the wokou before qi ji guang started commanding was far from battle ready, as there wasn’t much need for combat throughout the south, and they too didn’t have much armor either, as they were more like coast guards than actual armies like the ones on the northern borders.
Thanks for the correction and clarification!
Therefore these kinda sword with slender design or so called katana-ish is mainly equipped with coastal guard and southern infantry. Because southern infantry mainly only deal with Vietnamese and other savage tribes like the Hmong, Tai, and Miao which all are not wearing any armour, or thick armour at least.
Bonjour Sifu 🙏🏼
Merci pour cette vidéo et ces magnifiques armes 😊
These are wodao design that uses by special forces around coastal area. The actual Ming dao has broader width towards the tip but without yelman and not like the oxtail saber that comes 300 years later.
What I think is weird is that since disk guards and the sort of slim and curved blades do exist in earlier dynasties, but the Chinese never thought of putting these components together for a design of two handed waist sabers(dao), and actually needed to be inspired by Japanese swords in order to make something like what we’re looking at here.
The two handed saber is usually reserved for flat head cleavers. Main reason is that curved swords are usually used for cavalry and these two handed cleavers are used by the infantry.
disk guard exist in China all the back in Tang dynasty towards the late period. U would see straight single edge blade with disk guard.
Great video I love the history you put into it and the way you simply lay out the information, am I wrong or did I see you make a post showing some new LK chen swords??? I thought I peeked the Mongolian Saber in there now that blades review and history I'm PUMPED for been debating left and right on it for a while now.
I’m actually working on that review right now 😅 I will tell you that the Mongolian saber has exceeded my expectations!!!
@SifuKuttel that's awesome to hear. I couldn't imagine any less from LK chens take on one of the greatest military mights in human history.
@@huntergallatin6758The Mongols are a very young tribe, and their equipment basically comes from the Liao, Jin and Song empires, and the source is the Tang Empire!Han people learned some customs from nomadic people, but nomadic people basically came directly from China in terms of military equipment because of backward technology!😂
@@huntergallatin6758Mongolians failed to master smelting technology until 200 years ago.😅The Mongols formally established their country after their independence from China in 1206. Armor basically came from the reward and trade of the China government. Only a few members of the gold family had armor, and most of them wore animal skins! Wearing armor on a large scale was captured and made by Han craftsmen after destroying the Jin empire!So the Mongols don't have their own weapons, and the Mongols basically use the regional style weapons made by local craftsmen in the ruled areas.😂
😎👍🏾👍🏾 great purchase
Hi. Sifu ! Really appreciated your discussion of the Chinese blades covered here. I don't suppose you could do a video commenting on Chinese Ready Positions and Kata for these swords, could you ? I would really appreciate what you might have to say !
Right now I only have a couple videos, but there is more to come!
czcams.com/video/EXez8DOanWE/video.htmlsi=0htS9Rn6yviAUkL8
czcams.com/video/P05s1UdoW6w/video.htmlsi=dT-OhjA-zsFFfxK2
czcams.com/users/shortsxXyD0Ckx7xs?si=X_OPn664nineDia0
@@SifuKuttel Thanks for reply.
The earliest predated Japanese swords were actually Chinese Jian called Ken followed by the Han and Tang dao known as Chokuto, and then the Kogarasu Maru, a precursor to the Tachi, was a slightly curved single edge Jian with a false edge on the other side. A few centuries later, the Tachi was their first true single-edge curved sword followed by the Uchigatana or Katana in its infancy. However, I would say that there's something about the Japanese swords that feels spiritual and aesthetically pleasing to look at compared to the rest of the world.
If you are going to draw comparisons, you need to reference similar artifacts. There is an almost "new age" tendency for hyperbole on Ming (Ching is not nationalistic enough) pride in production swords, and you need to be skeptical of source biases. Review the "Tatsu" by LK compared to Dynasty Forge or Huawei, maybe Hanwei, and maintain these premises.
There is also a recurrent tendency for channels on CZcams to repeatedly cite verbal sources and not provide citations to the literature. For the better education of aspirants, please include text based sources for reference. You have unique potential to foster interest and encourage expansion of artistry, so endeavor to incorporate superior standards. Cheers, and happy hunting!
You bring up a great point, my original intention was to have an informal showcase, but even then I should include any source material referenced.
@@SifuKuttelYour videos are of very high quality and you are naturally charismatic. You have a unique opportunity to further public literacy on often overlooked/misunderstood historical topics. I recall once thinking that Chinese and Japanese cultures and armaments developed independently, which is silly as that is like saying the French and English never exchanged words (among other things). The cultural exchanges between these neighboring nations are very fascinating and often prone to distorted depictions based on any given zeitgeist of the moment.
I should mention after these long-winded comments that I really enjoyed the video! I look forward to seeing what you produce next. Cheers.
I'm not going to engage with the content of the video before getting triggered by a thumbnail: BUT MY BROTHER IN CTHULHU DOS'T THOU EVEN KNOW HOW A MOTHER FATHERING MAP WORKS??? CHINA == HERE, JAPAN == HERE. CASE EFFING CLOSED!
👏👏👏👏👏👏
Now that you’ve commented on the thumbnail, I look forward to seeing your comment after watching the actual video!
@@SifuKuttel Good shit, any story with wakō in it is going to be fun. Of the four swords the one's I could vibe with most are the red and the green, they do fill roles kind of neglected in common Japanese designs, the red particularly seems to be the right size where nodaichi trend way too big for their own good.