Blue Dragon Crescent Blade

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The Green Dragon Crescent Blade (青龍偃月刀) was a weapon supposedly used by Guan Yu in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It was the traditional Kung Fu weapon, a Kwan Dao. The Kwan Dao may not have been very popular because of its heavy weight and difficulty in forging, though copies might have been made. This causes many to believe that it existed after Guan Yu because it wasn't used widely during the Song Dynasty.

It is also sometimes referred to as Blue Dragon, or Frost Blade. The latter originated from the idea that during a battle in the snow, the blade continuously had blood on it; the blood froze and made a layer of frost on the blade.

The story of the blade was that there was a blacksmith forging the blade when suddenly a green dragon passed by, The dragon was cut up and the body became part of the pieces therefore making the dao a magical weapon.

It is unsure whether Guan Yu actually wielded the Blue Dragon or it was merely part of the stories surrounding him. The story also says that he invented the kwan Dao. He had it forged after he met Liu Bei and Zhang Fei but before he made the Oath of the Peach Garden. It weighed about one hundred pounds, known because the weapon is on display at the Purple Cloud Temple in China today.

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