[ **up: [[Weaponry]]** ] --- # Swords ## Chinese Swords - [[2024-0724. The four major weapons in Chinese martial arts are the jian, the dao, the gun (staff), and the qiang (spear).]][^1] - [[2024-0724. Chinese swords are generally grouped into two categories, the double-edged jian and the curved, single-edged dao.]][^1] #### Jian - [[2024-0724. The jian, used by both warriors and martial artists, is known as the 'Gentleman of Weapons'.]][^1] --- ### Swords in Chinese folklore - [[2024-0724. An ordinary sword can become demon-repelling by smearing it with the bloom of a person pregnant with a male child, and uttering a magic formula over it.]][^2] --- ## Japanese Swords - [[2024-0724. The relationship between traditional Japanese swords and their Chinese heritage is close.]][^3] [^1]: David Mickov, ‘33 Chinese Sword Types: Design, Form, and Function’, edited by Juliana Cummings, last updated 19 March 2024, *swordis blog*, https://swordis.com/blog/types-of-chinese-swords/. [^2]: Wolfram Eberhard, *[[Eberhard. 'A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols', 1986.|A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols: Hidden Symbols in Chinese Life and Thought]]*, (London: Routledge, 1986), s.v. ‘Sword’. [^3]: “zhú dāo 太刀” \[tachi], last modified 12 April 2024, https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%A4%AA%E5%88%80/11031173.