Codex · Weapons
Guandao
关刀 / 偃月刀guāndāo / yǎnyuèdāo
A crescent-bladed polearm. S-GAME released an official guandao image on 17 Sep 2026, per Gamersky, and Soulframe Liang named the 偃月刀 among the new weapons given distinct move designs; its English in-game name is unconfirmed.
What the name means
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 关 | guān | Guan (Guan Yu’s surname); literally a pass or gate |
| 刀 | dāo | single-edged blade |
| 偃月 | yǎnyuè | reclining moon, i.e. crescent |
The real culture behind it
A guandao is a broad, curved, single-edged blade on a pole of roughly 1.5–1.8 m. Its period name, 偃月刀, means “reclining-moon blade”, for the crescent curve; the earliest record, the Song military compendium Wujing Zongyao (1040–1044), writes it 掩月刀.
Its fame is literary. In Romance of the Three Kingdoms (14th century) Guan Yu wields the 82-jin Green Dragon Crescent Blade, but the history written in his own century says only that he stabbed the general Yan Liang, naming no weapon, and the form is documented some eight centuries after his death. By the Qing it was a parade weapon and a strength test: military-exam candidates twirled iron blades of 80, 100 or 120 jin. Guan Yu himself became Guandi, god of war and loyalty.
Go deeper
- Guandao: Guan Yu's Crescent Blade, Myth vs HistoryWhat a guandao is: Guan Yu's legendary Green Dragon Crescent Blade, the 82-jin myth, its Song-dynasty origins, Qing exam blades and its place in Phantom Blade Zero.
- Phantom Blade Zero Weapons & Their Real Chinese OriginsEvery Phantom Blade Zero weapon named so far, from Sanguine to the Tiger Cannon, matched to its real Chinese counterpart: jian, dao, miao dao, guandao and more.
Sources & further reading
- Gamersky: new milestone and official guandao image (17 Sep 2026)
- Gamersky: pre-order screening Q&A with Soulframe Liang (12 Aug 2026)
- Records of the Three Kingdoms, “Biography of Guan Yu”
Game details come from official material and press coverage; names marked “fan reading” will be checked against the retail build. Anything labelled as our reading is interpretation, not a developer statement.