Sword, dao, with a wooden grip surmounted with a metal ring pommel, and with a brass guard in four-lobed shape. The hilt is bound with interwoven red and black cotton cord, part of which is broken, with unbleached cotton cord exposed underneath. Both sides of the steel blade have two grooves near the back, and are inlaid with copper designs depicting the seven stars, qi xing.
In China the seven stars constellation, known in the west as the Big Dipper, were referred to as the Northern Ladle. These seven stars were said to represent the Emperor's carriage rotating around the centre of the universe. The constellation was said to govern the Four Directions, and to divide Yin from Yang. It determined the Four Seasons, balanced the Five Elements, regulated the divisions of time and so on.
fighting
