The Modao Saber [Weapons of Ancient China] - China Documentary

In 757, An Lushan's rebel army swept down onto Xiangji Temple, the military headquarters of the Tang Dynasty. While many in the military were somewhat pessimistic about the situation, General Li Siyue and his 2,500 warriors exuded confidence. His soldiers were ready to face the rebels. They were armed with a special weapon called the Mordhau Sabre. The Mordhau Sabre was said to be the most bloody weapon in ancient China. Tai Baiyin Jing, a book on war strategy and skill, says the Mordhau Sabre was a stunningly powerful weapon, and one cut from its blade would cause a person or a horse to bleed to death. It was forbidden to bury a Mordhau Sabre with the dead, so no archaeological digs of ancient tombs have confirmed its existence. The descriptions of this weapon are very brief, mostly talking about how lethal it was instead of its structure or shape. It's not known exactly what a Mordhau Sabre looked like. Zhou Zhengwu is an expert on ancient swords and knives. He's also adept at making replicas of those legendary weapons. He's committed himself to making a Mordhau Sabre using ancient manufacturing technology. He has successfully made a hand sword, which is considered the best imitation of an ancient Chinese sword. To test the cutting power of the sabre, straw mats are commonly used as targets. The more mats it slices through, the greater its power. Multiple rolls of straw mats are laid in a row, each resembling the strength of an arm. They will test whether a hand sword can cut through them in one blow. With his skill at replicating ancient swords and knives, Zhou Zhengwu was the obvious choice to make a Mordhau Sabre. The invention of stirrups during the Southern and Northern Dynasties greatly enhanced the power of the cavalry. To curb the threat from the nomadic riders from the north, various weapons such as the Mordhau Sabre were created. The Mordhau Sabre was created during the Tang Dynasty, but no sufficient descriptions exist in ancient texts to show how it was manufactured or what it looked like. A brief account written about it mainly focused on its destructive power. In Wu Jing Zong Yao, a military book from the Northern Song Dynasty, there was an illustration of the Diao Dao Sabre, which was believed to be of similar design to the Mordhau Sabre. It takes Zhou Zhengwu a month to create a replica. It's based on all the historical records he had access to and his decades of experience in sword and knife making. According to the New Book of Tang, a Mordhau Sabre weighed nearly 11 kilograms. For a close-range weapon used in combat, the weight is about the limit a soldier could handle. It would be a heavy weapon to carry on the battlefield. Zhang Zijian is a professional martial arts athlete. He's skillful at wielding weapons and has strong arms. Standards from ancient stamina tests will be used here. If our martial arts expert can swing the Mordhau Sabre 50 times with no problem, it means the weight of the weapon is reasonable. Before the competition, the heart rate was 70 beats. After the competition, the maximum heart rate was 130 beats, which was increased by 60 beats. But for him, this is just the beginning of a medium-strength competition. He still has a long way to go. Mr. Xiao Chang has been practicing martial arts for a long time. His movements and power are well-coordinated, which means he can save energy. It's not surprising to us that he can meet this requirement. If he can't reach it, it means this sword is heavier than the ancient sword. The weight of the Mordhau Sabre is definitely a challenge. Those who carried it into battle must have been specially chosen warriors. As commander of the Mordhau Sabre Detachment, General Li Siyue was extremely skillful in the art of fighting with the weapon. In battle, he usually took the lead. At the critical moment when the rebel troop of cavalry broke into the formations of the Tong Army, General Li Siyue advanced toward the enemy, chopping down riders and horses in his path. It was due to his bravery, many believe that the Tong Dynasty army avoided a fatal defeat. But today, some military historians question whether it's an exaggeration to say that General Li Siyue used one blow of the Mordhau Sabre to crush both a rider and his horse. If this was true, it meant that metallurgy at that time had reached a very high level. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, weapon maker Ji Wu Huai Wen refined metallurgy technology and found a method to mass-produce steel knives. Legend has it that they were able to cut through 30 pieces of armor. He was able to produce higher quality steel by melting cast iron into the molds filled with unforged wrought iron. This technology became mainstream during the Sui and Tong Dynasties. Apparently, high quality steel was a prerequisite for the manufacture of the Mordhau Sabre. Still, that alone would not be enough. The task would also require skillful knife makers. The Tai Bai Yin Jing says 12,500 troops were armed with 10,000 knives and 2,500 Mordhau Sabres. To arm an entire troop with such an expensive weapon meant a heavy financial burden that only the Tong Dynasty in its prime could afford. The Mordhau Sabre-wielding warriors would also need specialized training to maximize its deadly potential. Considering its unusually heavy weight, men with no special training would definitely have problems using it effectively. An account of a battle in the Old Book of Tong says while the rebel cavalry came close to crushing the Tong army, General Yi Se Ye stripped himself and advanced towards the enemy, shouting to raise the morale of his men. When he started attacking the enemy troops within his reach, the rider and horse he struck would be crushed. It's written that he killed dozens of enemy soldiers which inspired his men to move forward and that those formations were as strong as walls. Is it an accurate description of General Yi Se Ye's performance on the battlefield? To find out whether a Mordhau Sabre has such power, six rolls of hay mats are placed into a bundle to imitate the neck of a horse. Cheng Ze Jian, despite his many years of experience at martial arts, is not overly confident about the test. As Cheng Ze Jian expected, he failed to cut through the bundle completely. It only cut halfway through. The Mordhau Sabre fails to cut through the bundle completely, but the damage was more than enough to cause the death of a battle horse. Still, it doesn't seem powerful enough to be lethal to both the horse and rider. Zhou Zhengwu believes the way Cheng Ze Jian uses the Mordhau Sabre fails to maximize its deadly force. Zhou Zhengwu is not only an expert in ancient weapons, but also a champion of international cutting competitions. As a Mordhau Sabre maker, he wants to test the power of this legendary weapon himself. It has been demonstrated that a blow from the Mordhau Sabre is fatal. However, have the tests demonstrated the full killing force of the Mordhau Sabre? To find out, there will be another test. In addition to the bundle of straw mats, two layers of pork will be used to more accurately imitate the body of the horse. The target is now stronger than the body of a battle horse. It will be a huge challenge for both the Mordhau Sabre and its maker, Zhou Zhengwu. This is the key to authenticating the historical records. When Zhou Zhengwu chops with all his strength, the Mordhau Sabre cuts through both layers of pork and bone, but fails to cut through the straw mats. And there is such a thick piece of meat. If it were a horse, it would basically cut through the spine. It has been clearly demonstrated that the Mordhau Sabre is powerful enough to kill a battle horse. However, it needed much more than to be a powerful and lethal weapon wielded by a brave warrior to make it a myth. To maximize its power, the Mordhau Sabre units needed to cooperate seamlessly with other units on the battlefield. Some ancient military texts give indications of the battle formation of a 12,500 troop of the Tang Dynasty. At the head of the formation was the bow and crossbow units, followed by spear units with cavalry on both sides, and the Mordhau Sabre units in the rear. In the midst of battle, when the lines of archers and spear units were broken by the enemy cavalry, the Mordhau Sabre units would race forward to engage the riders. In the case of the battle at Xi'anji Temple, Li Siyue and his Mordhau Sabre warriors acted as a pillar of the Tang Dynasty army, and that their acts of bravery boosted morale and helped achieve victory. As deadly as it was, the Mordhau Sabre was rarely seen in battle after the Tang Dynasty. It's a mystery as to why it fell out of use. With the end of the Tang Dynasty, the expensive Mordhau Sabre was no longer used. Although the Mordhau Sabre casually In the Song Dynasty, long blades of various types became popular. As the Tang did not allow the Mordhau Saber to be buried with the dead, no archaeological evidence of this weapon has been found. For this reason, there is no way to know how truly powerful this weapon really was. Compared with the European knights, the Mongol cavalry wore very little protection on the battlefield and used weapons now more complex than bows. What made it possible for the Mongols to invade Europe? Please join us for part 4 of Weapons of Ancient China.