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Qing dynasty hunter's powder flask

Qing dynasty hunter's powder flask

Introduction

The elite of the Qing dynasty was Manchu, who before taking over China from the Ming lived in th

Ming - Qing transition period saber

Early Qing saber

A rare Chinese officer's saber of the 17th century.
Jianruiying logo

Jianruiying (1); introduction

The Jianruiying were a small elite unit of specially selected Manchu soldiers under the Qing dynasty. They were trained to overcome rough terrain, obstacles, and rivers in order to commence special attacks towards fortifications. In some ways, they are comparable to today's special forces.
Chinese tiger fork

Chinese tiger fork

One of the classic weapons in Chinese martial arts.
Chinese encyclopedia

Illustrated Encyclopedia of Things Chinese, 1719

Description

A Japanese volume from the 唐土訓蒙圖彚 or "Illustrated Encyclopedia of Things Chinese", it was publi

Chinese sword breaker

Chinese sword breaker

With tapering blade, hollow ground on each side to make the edges slightly sharper.
Antique Chinese repeating crossbow logo

Chinese repeating crossbow

Perhaps one of the most famous and long-lived of Chinese weapons.
Liuyedao logo

Excellent Qing officer saber

Introduction

The yaodao, literally "waist saber" was the standard side-arm for the Qing dynas

Sirdan logo

A Sirdan, or Manchu war arrow

This large and imposing type of war arrow is often compared to a small spear.
Ming yanchidao saber blade

Ming dynasty saber blade

Introduction

The Chinese saber comes in a great variety of curvatures, profiles, and with different combina

18th-century peidao in iron fangshi mounts

Peidao in iron fangshi mounts

Introduction

The terms peidao or yaodao are synonyms that were in use simultaneously in Q

 A fine Chinese yanchidao

A fine Chinese yànchìdāo

It comes with its complete set of fittings in a thick gauge of báitóng.
Qianlong marked jian

Chinese sword with Qianlong reign mark

Often mistaken for true Qianlong work.
Chinese saber logo

Southern Chinese saber

Introduction

The yaodao, literally "waist saber" was the standard side-arm for the Qing dynas

Chinese guard logo

Converted Chinese guard

A purely Chinese guard and not a very ornate one, converted for Japanese use.
A Chinese sword breaker (jian) logo

A Chinese sword breaker (jian)

Introduction

In Chinese military culture, there has long been a distinction between two hea

Heavy Manchu war or strength bow

Heavy Manchu war or strength bow

With an estimated draw weight of 160-200 pounds.
Chinese pellet crossbow

Chinese pellet crossbow

Introduction

Pellet bows and crossbows have a long history in China.

Unusual zhibeidao

Zhibeidao with spectacular blade

Introduction to the type

This type of sword is referred to as zhibeidao 

Chinese hudiedao set logo

A good pair of butterfly swords

Introduction

The hudiedao (蝴蝶刀), are a type of double swords peculiar to

Chaoyang saber logo

Chinese saber of the Chaoyang army

Late 18th century, complete with its original scabbard.
19th century Qing military saber

19th century Qing military saber

With massive 10mm thick blade with strong distal taper.
18th century Chinese saber logo

18th century Chinese saber

With fine blade, of liuyedao form with a gentle curvature.
Qing edict box

Qing dynasty imperial edict box

Used to move imperial orders from the emperor’s quarters to the recipient.
A wide-bladed Chinese fighting knife

A wide Chinese fighting knife

With the relatively rare feature of a raised backedge.
 Qing Bannerman's helmet logo

Qing Bannerman's helmet

Of a type worn among others by the Valiant Cavalry.
Double sabers logo

Chinese shuangdao - double sabers

With narrow liuyedao blades of moderate curvature.
Chinese trousse

Chinese trousse set with glass trinkets

Introduction

Sets with a knife and chopsticks and sometimes some other utensils were common all over the Qi

Manchu knife

A large Manchu knife

Of a type also issued to the Qing Vanguard.
Shuangjian with ivory grips

Shuangjian with ivory grips

A deluxe set of double straightswords with carved ivory grips and gilt mounts.
Twist-core presentation saber

Chinese twistcore presentation saber

An unusually large presentation saber in the style of high-end Chinese military sabers.
Asian export sword guards logo

Nanban tsuba & Asian export sword guards

For long, "nanban tsuba" literally "Southern barbarian sword-guards" have been a catch-all classification for sword guards for Japanese swords (tsuba), that show foreign influence.
naginata-saber

Chinese saber with "naginata-hi"

A Chinese waist saber or yaodao / peidao of the first half of the 18th century.

Chinese scholar's sword

A Chinese scholar's sword

Introduction

The Chinese straightsword or jiàn (劍) was traditionally the

Ming militia jian

Ming militia sword

An honest, unpretentious fighting weapon of the Ming-Qing period.
U-turn twist-core saber

Chinese saber with U-grooves

With twist-core steel and of early liuyedao form. Probably 17th century.
Antique Chinese saber with segmented grooves

Chinese saber with segmented grooves

With openwork brass mounts in early imperial style.
Large daoist jian

Large Chinese Daoist sword

Chiseled in the blade is “勅今” which could either mean "imperial order" or "Daoist magic command".
Asian export sword guard

Chinese export sword guard

An iron openwork guard two dragons chasing a flaming pearl.

Chinese javelin logo

Chinese javelin head

Description

At first sight, this may look like a miniature version of a standard Qing spearhead.

Antique miaodao logo

Antique Miaodao

Miaodao simply being a more recent name for the wodao.
Chinese trousse set

Trousse with "horse-tooth" blade

Accomplished by bending the edge up and down alternately and polishing it smooth again.
Large jian with disc guard logo

Large jian with saber guard

Built around an excellent sanmei blade.
Of geese and willow logo

Of geese and willows

The differences between 雁毛刀 yanmaodao (goose-quill saber) and 柳葉刀 liuyedao&n

Qing saber mountings fangshi yuanshi logo

Qing dynasty saber mounts, fangshi & yuanshi

Among sabers of the Qing dynasty, we encounter two basic types of mountings:

A Chinese saber typology logo

A typology of Chinese sabers

Introduction

Historical references on Chinese saber types are scarce, and the information they provide scan

A Qing imperial quiver

A Qing imperial quiver

From my personal collection. A quiver that was once worn at court ceremonies by high ranked officers and imperial guardsman that protected the emperor of the Qing dynasty.
Antique Chinese practice sword logo

An antique Chinese practice sword

With Daoist talisman and Longquan markings.
Demon repeller

The Demon Repeller - Talisman sword

Introduction

The Chinese straightsword or jian (劍) was the side arm

Chinese iron ruler logo

Chinese iron ruler

Introduction

As a non-military weapon, not much was written about Chinese tiě chǐ