A Chinese straight-edged sword or saber with one or two cutting edges, used in martial arts and warfare.
From Mandarin Chinese 刀 (dāo), which has been used for this weapon for thousands of years. The character itself is pictographic, derived from earlier oracle bone script.
The dao appears in some of the oldest Chinese military texts, and kung fu traditions maintain distinct fighting styles for it—the single-edged dao versus double-edged forms are completely different martial arts. It's considered one of the 'four major weapons' of Chinese martial arts.
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