Language: Mandarin Chinese
Source: Classical literature

Description

Dāoqiào dǐshù (刀鞘底束) are the fittings on either end of a saber scabbard.

They appear as such in a five language dictionary of 1766.

An earlier dictionary of 1702 calls all four scabbard mounts simply Dāoqiào shù (刀鞘束).2

And then finally a work on arms manufacture of 1815 differentiates three types of scabbard mounts: qiào kǒugū (鞘口箍) for the mouthpiece, yào zi (靿子) for the suspension bands and (depending on its shape) dāo dǐ yún (刀底雲) "saber bottom cloud" or dāo dǐ gū (刀底箍) "saber bottom loop" for the endpiece.3

During the Qing, the mounts were usually made of iron or one of several copper alloys, usually brass. They came in two main styles, rounded with cloud-shaped cutouts, and angular.

Qing military saberRound style mounts with "saber bottom cloud" on a 19th-century military saber.

 

 

18th century military saber

Angular mounts on an 18th-century military saber.

 

Also see

For a complete overview of saber terminology, see: A Chinese saber glossary.

References
1. Wuti Qingwen Jian (五體清文鑑) or "Five languages compendium", a Qing imperial dictionary in Manchu, Mongolian, Uighur, Tibetan, and Chinese of 1766. Published under the Qianlong emperor.
2. Tongwen Guanghui Quanshu (同文廣彙全書) or "Enlarged and complete dictionary" of 1702. A Qing imperial dictionary in Chinese and Manchu, each entry double-checked and approved by the Kangxi emperor.
3. Qinding Gongbu Junqi Zeli (欽定工部軍器則例) or "Imperial regulations and precedents on weapons and military equipment by the Ministry of Public Works", 1813. Chapter 36.

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