Ming waist saber

Timeline

1. 1370–1410Nanjing · NanjingDuring the Hongwu reign, the court drew up armament regulations specifying the length, fittings, and method of carrying the waist saber; regional guards forged and issued them to standard, making the saber a standard close-combat weapon of the Ming army.
2. 1411–1420Beijing armament workshops · BeijingDuring this period, while the Yongle Emperor campaigned against the Mongols and built the Forbidden City, the court pressed regional guards to forge waist sabers to unified specifications; excavated sabers bearing Yongle era inscriptions show blade curvature, guards, and scabbard fittings tending toward standardization, and both the Shenji Camp (Divine Engine Division) and infantry and cavalry carried the saber as a close-combat sidearm.
3. 1500–1644Various places in China · ChinaIn the mid-to-late Ming, variants such as the yanchi dao and niuwei dao appeared; after the Wanli reign some sabers had lengthened blades, but the basic carrying and forging norms established under Yongle still influenced later Ming sword and saber production.