Graculus wrote:These claims are based on what the authors (i.e. Cheng Chongdou and Qi Jiguang) wrote themselves, so there is pretty clear evidence that there was a strong cross-cultural influence at that point. (Actually, I'm not sure if Cheng mentions a school, but Qi included the manual from the Kage Ryu in one of the editions of his works.)
Qi wrote that he was actually pretty impressed with the wokou sword use - and it seems that he started to equip his men with them as a direct result of what he saw on the battlefield and the deficiency of his own troops. However, as you note, this was principally on the NW frontier, rather than against the pirates.
Graculus
http://www.ichijoji.blogspot.com
That is true, but they still don't say: "I copied the Japanese techniques and this is what we used, in whole or in part". As far as we can tell they could have simply be making comparisons, or including that material so the Chinese soldiers would know what he's facing. This is why I have presented both sides of the coin in the article. We have to judge by the appearance of the closest thing we have today, which looks and feels distinctly Chinese. My miao dao can be traced back to at least the 18th century (without the later pigua influence), with Chen Chongdou being late 16th. Not too far.
kenneth fish wrote:Have you given any consideration to the influence of the Marmeluke sabre or the Mongol sabres of the 12th and 13th century? There were short and long handle versions of both, and the blades, although not quite as long as the Miao Dao, are very similar in design.
No I didn't. Thanks for the heads up. 12-13th centuries are still slightly far from the 16th century of Qi Jiguang and Cheng Chongdou, but perhaps there is a connection. Do you have links to good resources one could read about these? Has any of these fighting traditions been authentically preserved to modern times?