Butterfly Swords in Southern China

There was a pretty good article at Crane in the Tiger's Shadow blog regarding the history of butterfly swords throughout Southern China. Below is an excerpt. The full post may be read here. At the end of the post are many YouTube links which you may find interesting.

When you ask a modern Wushu athlete about weapons of the southern Wushu styles, he will answer you: Nandao and Nangun. That’s not even half of the truth. While Nangun has indeed some references to southern staff techniques, Nandao is newly created weapon for modern Wushu which has some resemblance to a true southern blade, the Butterfly Swords or in cantonese Wu Dip Dou.This is just one of many names these blades have. Other names are Zi Mou Soeng Dou, Wu Saau Soeng Dou or Baat Zaam Dou. The Wu Dip Dou usually come as a pair and are shorter than usual swords or sabres with a length of about 50 cm. While other short weapons like Daan Dou or Daan Gim (Dan Dao or Dan Jian) are seen in whole China, the Wu Dip Soeng Dou are a typically southern weapon, nowadays only seen in southern traditional Gong Fu styles.

Early recordings about the Wu Dip Soeng Dou can be traced back to the early 19th Century. Although not known under todays common names, this double weapon was mentioned also in western magazines in England and the United States. A Captain Bingham who was involved in the first Opium War mentioned in an article from 1842 that a part of Lins troops (Lin Zexu, Governor and General in Guangdong) were trained in double swords:

“March the 21st, Lin was busy drilling 3,000 troops, a third portion of which was to consist of double-sworded men. These twin swords, when in scabbard, appear as one thick clumsy weapon, about two feet in length; the guard for the hand continuing straight, rather beyond the “fort” of the sword turns toward the point, forming a hook about two inches long.»

Records in the US show that the Wu Dip Soeng Dou were used by gang members in San Francisco and other Chinatowns throughout the country. There are pictures of confiscated weapons oft he Tong Wars in the 30ies as well as a picture of Gong Boss Eddie Gong with Wu Dip Soeng Dou in his hands.

Although mentioned by Captain Bingham that the Wu Dip Soeng Dou were used by Lin Zexus troops, they were never an official military weapon. It must have been in the 2nd half of the 19th Century that they found their way into southern Chinese Martial Arts Systems like Hung Kyun, Wing Ceon and Coi Li Fat.

Unlike regular swords and sabres the Wu Dip Soeng Dou were easy to hide under the long robes the people were wearing during the Qing Dynasty. This was quite an important fact as it was usually forbidden for common people to have acompanying weapons in the streets. Therefore it was a perfect weapon for secret societies like Hongmen/Tiandihui. And this may have been also the reason why the Wu Dip Soeng Dou were used by the Gangs in the Chinatowns of San Francisco, New York and other cities.