Guandao

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Guandao
Guandao, housed in the Inner Mongolia Museum
Traditional Chinese	關刀
Simplified Chinese	关刀
Literal meaning	blade of Guan Yu
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin guāndāo Yue: Cantonese Jyutping gwaan1 dou1 IPA [kʷáːn tóu]
Yanyuedao
Chinese	偃月刀
Literal meaning	reclining moon blade
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin yǎnyuèdāo Yue: Cantonese Jyutping jin2 jyut6 dou1 IPA [jǐːn jỳːt tóu]

A guandao is a type of Chinese polearm that is used in some forms of Chinese martial arts. In Chinese, it is properly called a yanyuedao (偃月刀; lit. "reclining moon blade"), the name under which it always appears^{[citation needed]} in texts from the Song to Qing dynasties such as the Wujing Zongyao and Huangchao Liqi Tushi. It is comparable to the Japanese naginata and the European fauchard or glaive and consists of a heavy blade with a spike at the back and sometimes also a notch at the spike's upper base that can catch an opponent's weapon. In addition, there are often irregular serrations that lead the back edge of the blade to the spike. The blade is mounted atop a 1.5 to 1.8 m (4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 11 in) long wooden or metal pole and a pointed metal counterweight on the opposite end, which is used to balance the heavy blade and for striking.

On modern versions, a red sash or tassel is attached at the joint of the pole and blade. Variations include rings along the length of the straight back edge as found in the nine-ring guandao, the tip curling into a rounded spiral as in the elephant guandao, or a more ornate design as exemplified by the dragon head guandao. However, apart from the "elephant guandao", none of these variations seem to have historical grounding.