The other end of the blade remains dull. Showing 1–9 of 46 results. The jian first appeared in China during 13th century B.C., while the dao appeared during China's Song dynasty (960 to 1279). Another key difference between the Chinese dao and jian is that the former features a single-edged blade, whereas the latter features a double-edged blade. Katanas are much more famous than jian. To recap, there are two primary differences between the Chinese dao and jian. Initially, all Chinese swords, including the jian, were designed with a straight blade. There are many reasons for this, but from the perspective of popular media, Japan established itself as a relevant player in pop culture consciousness as early as the 50s. On one hand, we have the Chinese jian, imperial extraordinaire and comparable in many significant ways to European cruciform swords. This is one of the defining characteristics of this style of traditional Chinese swords. Rather than sharpening just one edge, warriors were forced to sharpen two edges. To this day, however, Japanese media exports have continued to be moderately relevant, moderately popular consumer goods in Western countries. In comparison, all or most dao have a curbed blade. That alienation is only really beginning to end, with China and the West at something of an economic understanding while remaining ideologically opposed. There are countless different types of jian and dao, but they all share these defining characteristics. Straight vs Curved Blade. Quite simply, fame. So, how exactly does the jian differ from the dao? Whether valid or invalid, that prominent political actors are still willing to bare their teeth against the now aged and feeble idea of communist assault on Western representative democracy and the capitalist system says a lot about the political and ideological gulfs that still exist. Between the nerd culture mainstays of anime and video games (and keeping in mind that post-70s video games almost completely owe their existence and shape to Japanese games), Japan has continued to remain relevant to at least a segment of modern culture -- people roughly yet to come to middle age, with "nerdy" interests. Can somebody explain to me why there are numerous questions about the katana, but not about the jian? For example, searching through askhistorians, there are several questions about the katana, but virtually zero when querying "jian". Press J to jump to the feed. Also, reddit is primarily an English website, frequented mainly by Americans, Europeans, Australians, Indians, etc. People are probably more interested in the katana because of its pushed reputation by way of Japanese enthusiasm and the Western disciples of that. On the other, we have the Japanese katana, which is both somewhat "alien" to the Western perception of swords (which are overwhelmingly cruciform or otherwise straight in pop culture) and highly praised by Eastern martial culture. On the other hand, China has media export to the West primarily through its martial arts cinema, reaching the apex of its fame during the 80s -- roughly the same time as Japanese media export reached the height of its popularity among mainstream Western audiences. Answers must be in-depth and comprehensive, or they will be removed. But while the share some common characteristics, the jian and dao are two unique types of swords. The very detailed Chinese lines consist of the Jian swords, Sabers, Dynasty swords, Dao’s and Tai Chi Jian swords and the highly functional Jian swords. With the dao, only a single end of the blade is sharpened. This means that Japan has had some degree of cultural influence over the Western arts since the 1950s, if not sooner, whereas China remained more culturally estranged from the West for a longer period of time. For the lover of European swords, there is also large range of sharp to blunt pracical European swords and historical replicas of the Viking period up to the late Renaissance. The Portal for Public History If Reddit was more famous amongst Chinese internet users, and had a thriving native Chinese community, there would be much more discussion about them. With two edges instead of one, the dao was more difficult to maintain. The threat of Communist China. As shown in the photo here, the jian features a straight blade. The reason they are more famous is because of the association of Katanas to the heavily romanticized Samurais. Kodachi vs Wakizashi: What's the Difference? In essence, what all this means is that Western people are more aware of some elements of Japanese culture when compared to Chinese culture, especially when it comes to popular media, niche media, and martial matters. In other words, both ends of the jian's blade are sharpened to a razor-sharp edge. Between the true failures of communist-monikered states, outright Anglophone propaganda, China's comparatively authoritarian position and Mao's brutal regime, China alienated itself from the West. Katanas are much more famous than jian. Traditional vs Modern Differential Hardening for Swords. Traditional Chinese swords are classified as either jian or dao. Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more …, The 4 Key Elements of a High-Quality Traditional Japanese Sword. However, as modern nerd culture expands (as evidenced by the overwhelming popularity of recent Marvel blockbusters, for instance), the influence of Japanese media culture and (to a more moderate degree) martial culture does the same. What does this all boil down to? Whereas the Chinese jian and its wielders do not have much modern represantation, espicially overseas. Films such as Seven Samurai and Gojira found relatively quick Western releases, and were praised worldwide for their sense of austere compassion; these were films that approached gross injustices with minimal restraint or fear, earning the respect of both critics and mainstream cinema audiences. And the jian's blade has two edges, whereas the dao's blade has a single edge. Japanese cultural influence on Western pop-culture reaches its relative apex in the likes of Seven Samurai directly and in Star Wars by a degree of separation. Add to cart Quick View. We all know what the katana is, so going into a discussion on it is kinda superfluous. All jians have a straight blade that runs vertically without curving to either side. Their reasoning? Let's come at this from a Western cultural background, as we're discussing the fame of various swords in context of an Anglophone message board. This promoted Chinese bladesmiths to invent the dao, which featured a single-edged blade. Japan's closer, more amiable relationship to Western powers assisted in establishing cultural export, which has over time expanded, contracted, and altered its demographics. I'm not well versed in either weapons, but at a cursory glance in wikipedia it seems like the jian is far older and has seen more military use than the katana, which has generally played second fiddle to the yari and other pole weapons. Had China and Japan been in reversed positions artistically and politically at the end of World War II, it might well be that Western people with an interest in exotic weapons would more often discuss the jian, dao, or variants thereof than the katana.
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