Subject: qinjun ying imperial guard

Culture: Sino-Manchurian

Setting: Qing empire, China 18th-19thc

Object: 刀 dao sabers

Pei Dao

* Tom/Rodell 2005 p77

"The saber is perhaps the most important member of the dao family. It completely replaced the double-edged jian in the military by the mid-Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) [CONTRA Ho & Bronson 2004 p110], and it has been used in virtually all systems of Chinese weapons combat until the present day. The pei dao also held a revered position in the regalia of nobility and military officialdom during the Qing (Manchu) Dynasty, which reigned from 1644-1911."

Kouming Dao

* Ho/Bronson 2004 p111

"... the [Qianlong] emperor appears to have been quite fond of non-traditional curved sabers of the Indian and Middle Eastern type, often furnished with jade hilts carved in the Indian Mughal style. Some were imitations made in the imperial armory in Beijing."

* Ho/Bronson 2004 p114 f127

"Qianlong ordered a total of sixty ceremonial curved swords on five occasions, in 1748, 1757, 1779, 1793, and 1795. Each sword was named and numbered, and all were identical in length, weight, and basic design. The scabbards were made either of red or green stingray skin and or patterned bark. The swords differed in terms of their inlaid details and the style of the hilts. Hilts made after completion of the 1757 batch were mostly in Mughal style, often with gold and inlaid gems."