The Miao Dao is a Chinese two-handed dao

Dao (sword)

Daois a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping , often called a broadsword in English translation because some varieties have wide blades. In China, the dao is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the gun , qiang , and the jian , and referred...

 or saber of the Republican

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 era, with a narrow blade of up to 1.2 meters or more and a long hilt

Hilt

The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard,grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons. A ricasso may also be present, but this is rarely the case...

. The name means "sprout saber", presumably referring to a likeness between the weapon and a newly sprouted plant. While the miao dao is a recent weapon, the name has come to be applied to a variety of earlier Chinese long sabers, such as the zhanmadao

Zhanmadao

The zhanmadao was a single-bladed anti-cavalry Chinese sword of the Song Dynasty.- General characteristics :The zhanmadao is a sabre with a single long broad blade, and a long handle suitable for two-handed use....

 and changdao. Along with the dadao

Dadao

The dadao one of the varieties of dao or Chinese saber, is also known as the Chinese great sword. Based on agricultural knives, dadao have broad blades generally between two and three feet long, long hilts meant for "hand and a half" or two-handed use, and generally a weight-forward balance...

, miao dao were used by some Chinese troops during the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

.

While the miao dao is rarely practiced in modern Chinese martial arts, some schools of piguaquan

Piguaquan

Piguaquan , also known as Piguazhang due to its emphasis on palm techniques, is often practiced along with Bajiquan and is a style of wushu that features explosive, long-range power...

 and tongbeiquan

Tongbeiquan

Tongbeiquan is a school of martial arts popular in northern China. Tongbeiquan's basic precepts are Taoist in nature and many of the training methods in Tongbeiquan are similar to those of the internal styles...

 (in the Guo Changsheng lineage) and xingyiquan

Xingyiquan

Xingyiquan is one of the major "internal" or Wudang styles of Chinese martial arts. The word translates approximately to "Form/Intention Boxing", or "Shape/Will Boxing", and is characterized by aggressive, seemingly linear movements and explosive power...

 train with the weapon. The miao dao is also often mistakenly claimed to have been one of the weapons taught at the Central Military Academy in Nanjing; the weapon in question was actually a European style officer's saber, though some later schools may have based miao dao techniques on this form.

The "miao" of miao dao should not be confused with the Miao ethnic group

Miao people

The Miao or ม้ง ; ) is an ethnic group recognized by the government of the People's Republic of China as one of the 55 official minority groups. Miao is a Chinese term and does not reflect the self-designations of the component nations of people, which include Hmong, Hmu, A Hmao, and Kho Xiong...

, who are not associated with this weapon.

External links

• http://www.freewebs.com/jingangbashi/miaodaointro.htm