Language: Vietnamese
Source: Primary reference
Description
The gươm truòng (鎌長) is a large Vietnamese saber with a long handle that requires two hands to wield. They are similar to the Chinese long saber, chángdāo (長刀) or Japanese nodachi (野太刀).
A classic brass-mounted example, with swollen ferrule. 143 cm overall, blade 87 cm.
Sold by Mandarin Mansion in 2017.
A Vietnamese two-handed saber with iron guard. The other fittings are, curiously, of lead.
Sold by Mandarin Mansion in 2017.
In the Nguyễn dynasty, large ceremonial examples were worn during official assemblies. From old photos, it is easy to assume these are real sabers, but extant examples suggest that many were made entirely of wood.1
A wooden ceremonial gươm truòng. 154 cm, "scabbard" 97.5 cm.
Sold by Mandarin Mansion in 2019.
Ceremonial gươm truòng in the Trung Sister’s Temple, Hanoi. Probably wood, like our example here.
Photo politely borrowed from Seven Mountains Kung Fu, Philadelphia.
Nguyen imperial guardsmen with gươm truòng. Probably from an old postcard.
Photo from votran-daiviet.org. Photo credit: Nguyễn Khắc Ngữ.
