Clik here to view.
A Social and Visual History of the Dadao: The Chinese “Military Big-Saber.”
Nationalist troops in a trench, Dadaos at the ready. Photo was probably taken sometime in the 1930s. Rediscovering the Dadao: A Forgotten Legacy of the Chinese Martial Arts. Any review of the history...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Through a Lens Darkly (8): Butterfly Swords, Dadaos and the Local Militias of...
A studio image of two Chinese soldiers (local braves) produced probably in Hong Kong during the 1850s. Note the hudiedao (butterfly swords) carried by both individuals. The individual on the right...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Interview for the Hiyaa Martial Arts Podcast
Kung Fu Tea was recently interviewed on the Hiyaa Martial Arts Podcast. A Guest Appearance for Kung Fu Tea I recently had an opportunity to sit down and talk with Craig Kiessling and Dave Jones. These...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Through a Lens Darkly (13): The Dadao and the Militarization of the Chinese...
Two individuals with dadao posing for a photograph in the 1940s. Source: Original image. Photographer Unknown. Author’s Private Collection. Introduction It is dangerous to make sweeping statements...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bridges and Big Knives: The Use of the “Big Knife” saber in the Chinese...
By Brian L. Kennedy and Elizabeth Guo Brian L. Kennedy has been kind enough to kick off our “2013 Web Symposium on Chinese Martial Studies” with the following guest post. In this article he revisits...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Through a Lens Darkly (19): China’s other Swords during World War II.
An image of a Japanese soldier holding a Gunto in China during WWII. This image was in the photo album along with the record of confiscated weapons below. Source: Author’s personal collection....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Through a Lens Darkly (23): The Dadao and the Katana – Symbolic Echoes Within...
A Japanese private holding a captured Dadao sometime between 1931 and 1936. Source: Author’s Personal Collection. Introduction No topic within the study of the modern martial arts is more burdened with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Through a Lens Darkly (13): The Dadao and the Militarization of the Chinese...
Two individuals with dadao posing for a photograph in the 1940s. Source: Original image. Photographer Unknown. Author’s Private Collection. ***One of the questions that I have been attempting to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Through a Lens Darkly (24): Captured Chinese Swords and Traditional Weapons
A postcard showing Chinese weapons captured by the Japanese in Manchuria during WWII. Introduction Conflict seems to inspire trophy hunting. In the west this often takes the form of fading...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Through a Lens Darkly (25): A Sawback Dadao in Hangzhou
A captured Chinese dadao being held by a Japanese soldier. Note the unique sawback blade. Source: Author’s Personal Collection. The Album Recently I had the good fortune to come across a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Through a Lens Darkly (34): The Chinese and Japanese Martial Arts in WWII-era...
Kendo and Judo as part of life in the Japanese Navy. Source: Vintage Postcard. Author’s personal collection. Introduction The martial arts can speak to a number of important questions, but perhaps to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Through a Lens Darkly (35): Chinese Soldiers and the Ring Hilted Dao (Saber)
Chinese Officer and Soldier with Ring Hilted Sabers Today’s post is an early Christmas gift. When I first decided that it would be wise (for research purposes) to collect and catalog images of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Through a Lens Darkly (36): Swords, Lions and the Consumption of Chinese Culture
Lee Fung, “Director of Chinese Lion Dance.” January 23rd, 1941. Source: Vintage newspaper photo. Author’s personal collection. Introduction Happy Lunar New Year! In honor of the holiday I decided to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Research Notes: The Chinese and Japanese Martial Arts as Seen on Western...
“Chinese Reoccupy Great Wall Area.” 1933. Still taken from Vintage Newsreel. “In the west, Asian martial arts are everywhere. They are part of the texture of popular consciousness. Nonetheless I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Through a Lens Darkly (43): Chinese Amazons and the “Weapons of the Forefathers”
“Back to Weapons of Forefathers in War with Japanese.” Vintage newspaper photograph. June 1937. Source: Author’s private collection. Wonder Woman with a Dadao In China the realm of social...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Chinese Martial Arts in the News: May 22nd, 2017: Wing Chun, Missing Ninjas...
I love that it is the fans who are inside the ring, and the combatants who stand outside of it in this picture. Introduction Welcome to “Chinese Martial Arts in the News!” Its great to be back...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Research Notes: The Big Knife and Ma Liang’s Attempted Comeback
A captured Chinese dadao being held by a Japanese soldier. Note the unique saw back blade. Source: Author’s Personal Collection. Given that it is a holiday weekend, I will be keeping this research...
View ArticleThrough a Lens Darkly (53): Traditional Weapons in China’s 20th Century...
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If true this will be a weighty essay. Yet that was always the thing about Harrison Forman, the renowned photo-journalist, writer and explorer. As a...
View ArticleGeneral Zhang Zhijiang: Mixing Christianity and Kung Fu
A Different Take on an Old Debate If you study the traditional Chinese martial arts and have spent any time on the internet, you will have heard some variant of these debates before. Do I need...
View ArticleSwords, Visuality and the Construction of China
Deciphering an Icon Recently I came across a few of Harrison Forman’s wartime photos, probably taken in the early 1930s, but circulated to newspapers and (re)published in 1938. While his photos of...
View Article