Overall length:148cm

Original case

After polishing



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Are you sure this is a Zhanmadao?

It looks a little more like a Changdao to me, it seems a little thin.

I think the Qing zhanmadao looked like this, although it could also be a Ming changdao.

See the pictures of Qing zhanmadao at Thomas Chen's page: http://thomaschen.freewebspace.com/photo5.html

It is quite likely to be a Qing zhanmadao, dating from the 18th cent. It corresponds exactly in length to the military regulations for zhanmadao in the 1759 Huangchao Liqi Tushi. It seems a little narrower than the regulations specify but it may well have lost some width due to repairs / polishing in its long life.

Many swords nowadays are dated Ming, but in reality there aren't so many Ming blades around anymore. The vast majority of what we find it 18th or 19th cent. with a couple of 17th cent. examples.

-Peter

Peter

Here is the pic of another antique zhanmadao, 1.5 meters long, belonging to a private collection in China...