wodao

The wodao () is a Chinese sword from the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty. It is typically long and slender, but heavy, with a curved back and sharp blade. It bears a strong resemblance to the Tang sword, changdao, tachi or ōdachi in form. Extant examples show a handle approximately long, with a gently curved blade long. thumb|The Wodao sword (Japanese Pirate's sword) recorded in the "Jixiao Xinshu" written by the [[Ming dynasty general Qi Jiguang. It is a very long sword, with a blade length of 5 feet, similar to the Japanese odachi katana.]]

The Chinese word wo literally means "Japanese", so wodao literally means "Japanese sword". The term wodao sometimes refers to Japanese swords, but it mainly refers to similar swords developed in China with Japanese swords used as reference. Chinese wodao was developed based on the Japanese sword used by the wokou pirates, a mixed group of Japanese and Chinese who repeatedly looted on the Chinese coast. Qi Jiguang (1528-1588 AD), a general of the Ming Dynasty, studied wokou's tactics and Japanese swords to repel wokou pirates. General Qi also wrote a military book named Jixiao Xinshu which depicted, among other things, the detailed usage of the wodao. He also included a wodao branch in his army alongside branches of other weapons. Another Ming general Li Chengxun (李承勋), in his own revised edition of Jixiao Xinshu of 1588, quoted General Qi as saying that the long sword (believed to be referring to the ōdachi and tachi) was introduced into China during the wokou invasion of the Ming dynasty.