Niuweidao

Quick Facts

OriginChina

Weapon typeSabre

How it worksCutting

MaterialSteel

Period of use19th century, 20th century, Present day

Original purposeCivilian self-defence and duelling

Designed againstAgainst the unarmoured

Length83–86 cm

Weight686–872 g

About the weapon

Niuweidao (Chinese 牛尾刀, literally oxtail saber) is a late type of Chinese single-edged dao saber. It is first recorded in the 19th century, in the second half of the Qing dynasty, and only as a civilian weapon; there is no evidence of it being issued to the army. The antique-weapons dealer Mandarin Mansion places its origin in a civilian setting in northern China around the mid-19th century. According to the same source, the name niuweidao itself is absent from period texts (including Jin Yiming's 1932 combat manual) and may be a modern coinage. The blade is thin and wide and, at the point of heaviest impact, widens and flattens markedly, producing a thin edge on a broadly curved arc. Two surviving pieces from the late Qing and early Republic measure 83 and 86 cm, with a blade over 66 cm, and weigh 686 and 872 grams without scabbard. They have a fullered steel blade and iron fittings. It suited deep cuts against unarmored targets and reflected an age in which firearms had pushed armor off the battlefield. It was very popular among rebels and their opponents alike before the fall of the Qing dynasty and during the warlord era of the early 20th century. Today it is the archetypal "Chinese broadsword" of kung fu films. In films and modern fiction set in earlier eras, it is therefore often an anachronism.

Parts of the weapon

• Blade
• Fuller

Related weapons

• Variant of: Dao

Care and maintenance

• Caring for steel and iron blades