Chinese two-handed Swordsmanship has a history of over two thousand years, dating all the way back to the unifying emperor Qinshi Huangdi (秦始皇, 260–210 BC). In this course we are going to take an in-depth look at a system with its origins in the Qing dynasty, the Sì Lù Miáodāo (四路苗刀), or in English, the Four Roads Miaodao.
As the name implies, this Miáodāo form has four sections. In northern China, from the Qing period onwards, there existed many Sì Lù Miáodāo forms that varied quite a bit from each other. Some of these forms had eight or ten movements per road. The techniques represented in all of these forms were predominantly oriented toward two-hand use. Each was simple and practical, lacking superfluous movements.
The Miáodāo that Han Jingtan created was condensed from an earlier, longer Miáodāo form. Han acquired his skill with the Miáodāo from Guo Changshen while studying at the Central Goushu Academy in Nanjing. He went on to create this form for the Chinese Military during the early days of the Chinese Republicans for the training of soldiers. Later it was taught to Chinese troops during the Second World War. As such it retains its essential martial character and functionality, unlike later wushu forms that often stress more performance, acrobatic movements.
We will work through the entire system, beginning with the foundation basic cut, through the solo form demonstrating all the martial applications, to partner drills, all with a focus on preparing the practitioner for free swordplay.
Before we launch into the nuts and bolts of this Miáodāo system, let’s look at the history of Chinese Long Sabers from the late Ming period onwards. Today there is real confusion about different systems and types of Chinese two-handed sabers.
They are generally all lumped together under the name Miáodāo. The first thing we should take note of is that this term appears to be a fairly recent invention, perhaps dating from the Republican period. To my knowledge, no Qing period text has surfaced that uses the term Miáodāo.
The use of long swords wax and waned throughout Chinese history. While it never regained a dominance in the later dynasties, the use of twohanded swords and other weapons saw a resurgence during the late Ming period. These weapons included both single and double edged swords, and weapons such as the long handled axe. There was even an interest amongst the scholar class in the long sword, which was quite unusual. Exactly why there was this surge of interest in long swords and saber is not recorded. It was a period when the empire was under attack from the south by pirates, mostly of native Chinese origin with the aid of some Japanese, and in the north by Mongols and later Manchus. The Mongols were famously an entirely mounted, mobile army. And while the Manchu Banners made use of infantry, they also had a large, strong mounted contingent. It is likely that military strategists facing these mounted foes took a lesson from their Song predecessors and decided to arm some of their men with long weapons in place of the standard saber and shield combination.
Arming infantry with long two-handed Sabers and other similar weapons has several advantages, particularly when facing a mounted enemy. The first is quite obvious, reach. Simply put, a soldier armed with a typical Chinese Dao (saber) with a 28” blade just couldn’t reach a mounted opponent well enough to deliver an effective blow. He could cut at a rider’s leg, but in doing so, opens his head and upper body to attack. Being wielded by both hands, two-handed weapons are also more stable. They can not only strike with greater power than single handed weapons, they are stronger in deflections. This provides a foot soldier with a bit more protection and confidence when facing a mounted opponent. Many soldiers and local militiamen during this period had until recently been farmers, or fishermen. They weren’t professionally trained in arms since a young age. These men were used to tools like hoes, axes, shovels, all of which have long handles. So the transition to swinging a long two-handed weapon would have been a somewhat natural evolution for them. And again, there is a kind of confidence that a beginner swordsman can get from being able to hit hard if nothing else. So one can easily imagine the appeal of these long weapons for new recruits.
The late Ming general Qi Jiguang is often cited as the innovator who reintroduced the Miaodao to the Chinese military. This is a common misconception. General Qi did arm some of his troops with long sabers when he faced the Mongols along China’s northern border, but he referred to this weapon in his manuals as a “Chǎngdāo.” Chǎngdāo (長刀) literally means long saber. The Chǎngdāo form General Qi recorded is a very simple, linear form that employs only four basic cuts. Two of the techniques record in Qi’s Changdao form are only preformed once. One of these is the thrust. The other is the shi, or wipe movement, where the saber is wielded with a reverse grip, tip down. From this, we can see the common assertion that Qi was the father of the Miáodāo, or that he placed a great deal of emphasis on it, lacks a sound basis. So, while there is a physical resemblance between Qi’s Chǎngdāo and the later Miáodāo, the connection ends there.
Another long, two-handed saber system that appeared during the late Ming was the Dāndāo (單刀). This system is well documented in a manual that is actually quite significant in Chinese martial history as it was the first martial arts manual to be illustrated and provide step by step instruction. Previously, manuals focused on discussions of principles. Published in 1616, the manual, the Outer Watch Saber Posture (外看刀勢, Wài Kàn Dāo Shì) as illustrated in the Dāndāofǎ Xuǎn. Dāndāofǎ Xuǎn (單刀法選), records 34 techniques. Unique to this long saber manual is its focus on the weapon as an anti-spear weapon. Each technique is explained in relation to an attack from a spear. No other applications are presented in relation to another weapon type.
As such, the Dāndāo system contains many techniques not seen in other two-handed saber systems. The Manual’s author, Cheng Zong You (), does not explicitly state why he does not go into any detail for wielding the Dāndāo in circumstances other than facing a spear. But his reason was likely quite straight forward. He lived along the southern Chinese coast in an area plagued by pirates. These pirates were largely armed with spears. So it is only natural that he focused on fighting spears in his text. It should be noted that while these Dāndāo techniques are described answering a spear, most them can be applied equally as well facing other weapon types.
As noted above, there were a variety of other two-handed weapons on the field during the late Ming. Another two-handed saber that is fairly well know today is the Pudao. This term is applied to more than one weapon. During this period it referred to a two-handed saber with a clipped tip. Period manuals describe this saber as a civilian weapon and as such it did not conform to a set stand for length, weight, or curvature, as a military weapon did. Much later during the mid to late Qing, when the dynasty was wracked by a series of rebellions, and then revolution, there was once again a revival of twohanded saber. These farmers turned rebels no doubt chose two-handed swords for the same reasons peasants has earlier, the fighters in the front lines had until a short time before mostly been in the fields farming, so they understood tools with long handles. Though during this later period they tended to be of the shorter Dàdāo (大刀) variety with falchion length blade. Dàdāo were employed by Chinese soldiers right through the Second World War. Many of the techniques used in Dàdāo are similar to or the same as those of the earlier twohanded saber systems. And they were famously put to use by the Dàdāo Duì, Big Knife Unit (大刀隊), when they attacked encamped Japanese troops along the Great Wall, with little more than their saber. They heroically laid waste to the Japanese forces, perishing close to the last man. Moving forward, it should be understood that while the Miáodāo, Chǎngdāo, Dāndāo, Pudao, and other two-handed Sabers have a common resemblance, they are indeed different weapon systems. As there are a limited number of ways a sword can be effectively swung, they do have elements in common. Each was however a relatively unique development with separate origins and differing emphasis. With this clarified, moving forward, we can avoid the confusion of over simplification, replacing it with a sophisticated understanding of the art.
