In China, the dao is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the gun (staff), qiang (spear), and the jian (sword), and referred to as "The General of All Weapons". Dao is actually a generic word used to denote any member of a family of single-edged, broad-bladed cutting or slicing tools, but in common, everyday usage means knife. The weapon, also known as dan dao (single knife) when just one is used.