Chinese Katana Qing Wodao Chinese Swords and Swordsmanship Series , chinese sword

The Qing imperial regulations, the Huangchiao Liqi Tushi, lists no less than 7 types of Chinese twohanded sabers with long grips issued during the dynasty. In this episode, Scott M. Rodell looks at a rare variant, the Qing period Wōdāo (窩刀). This dao was issued to the Lùyíng (綠營), the Green Braves. The Lùyíng were the ethnically Han Army. Manchus, Mongols and some Chinese who joined the Qing cause early on formed the Eight Banners. With the majority of Han people being drafted into the Lùyíng or Green Braves. The Wō character used here is a homonym for the Wō in Wōkòu (倭寇). In that case it means Dwarf Bandit a derogatory term for the Japanese. Here is has the meaning of a small place, or a place where animals live, or a place where a group of bad people gather. So this sword is the Qing take on the Katana. The regulations stipulate that the blade be curved like a Lùyíng Piāndāo (