Nonetheless, within Chinese martial arts and in military contexts, the larger "sword" versions of the dao are usually intended.

The earliest dao date from the Shang dynasty in China's Bronze Age, and are known as zhibeidao (直背刀) – straight-backed knives.

Originally bronze, these weapons were made of iron or steel by the time of the late Warring States period as metallurgical knowledge became sufficiently advanced to control the carbon content.

[1][2] Late Han dynasty dao had round grips and ring-shaped pommels, and ranged between 85 and 114 centimeters in length.

[4] The jian subsequently became known as a weapon of self-defense for the scholarly aristocratic class, worn as part of court dress.

With the Mongol invasion of China in the early 13th century and the formation of the Yuan dynasty, the curved steppe saber became a greater influence on Chinese sword designs.

[10] The four main types of peidao are:[11][12] The yanmaodao or "goose-quill saber" is largely straight like the earlier zhibeidao, with a curve appearing at the center of percussion near the blade's tip.

This weapon became the standard sidearm for cavalry and infantry, replacing the yanmaodao, and is the sort of saber used by many schools of Chinese martial arts.

[20] The dadao was used by some Chinese militia units against Japanese invaders in the Second Sino-Japanese War, occasioning "The Sword March".

These were used during planned ambushes on Japanese troops because the Chinese military and patriotic resistance groups often had a shortage of firearms.

[citation needed] Most Chinese martial arts schools still train extensively with the dao, seeing it as a powerful conditioning tool and a versatile weapon, with self-defense techniques transferable to similarly sized objects more commonly found in the modern world, such as canes, baseball or cricket bats, for example.

[citation needed] One measure of the proper length of the sword should be from the hilt in your hand, the tip of the blade at the brow, and, in some schools, the shoulder height.

'Broadsword Play') refers to the competitive event in modern wushu taolu where athletes utilize a dao in a routine.

The only exception to this trend was in 1997 when the Chinese Wushu Association for one year required all swords to have a stiff blade in domestic competition.

In older generations of modern wushu, broadsword flags were generally large, but over the years they have greatly reduced in size to allow for more speed and clarity of the movements.

As of the 2024 IWUF rules, broadsword blades should be no shorter than the top of a competitor's ear if held vertically beside the body with the left hand.