Sword is also the most common weapon in modern martial arts novels. In Mr. Jin Yong's works, there are famous swordsmanship, gentleman's sword, lady's sword, solitary nine swords, exorcism sword and Taiji sword. The swords of later generations are generally iron swords, but the swords of the pre-Qin period are mainly bronze swords.
The "soldier of the gentleman" actually came from abroad? ——
When did the sword originate? Sun Bin's Art of War, a bamboo slip in Songbaishan, says that "the Yellow Emperor casts swords" is of course only a legend. Although all kinds of daggers made of jade, stone and bone were unearthed all over the country in the Neolithic Age, there is still great controversy about whether this dagger is related to the bronze sword of Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Many scholars tend to think that daggers are not swords.
At present, the earliest bronze sword found in China is a ring-shaped "ring-headed sword", which was unearthed at Zhukaigou site in Ejinhoro Banner, Inner Mongolia, corresponding to the early Shang Dynasty. In the late Shang dynasty, bronze swords were widely distributed along the Great Wall and in the north, and the number increased greatly.
These bronze daggers can be roughly divided into straight knives and curved knives, and there are some differences in their heads. Many of them are carved into animal images, including sheep, deer, horses and eagles. , also known as the "beast sword"; Or bell shape, also known as "Zhong Jian"; They all present the cultural attributes of the northern grassland nationalities.
Although the Central Plains has entered the Bronze Age since Erlitou Culture, bronze knives, knives, spears, axes and cymbals have all competed. But surprisingly, bronze swords have never been seen before; It was not until the ruins of Yin Ruins where bronze culture was developed that a small number of bronze swords appeared. Judging from the shape of its animal head and bell head, it is very close to the bronze dagger in the northern region.
This shows that the bronze swords in the Central Plains of Shang Dynasty were influenced by the northern culture. Where did this bronze sword originate in the northern region? At present, there is no consistent conclusion, but it is generally considered to be closely related to Mongolian grassland and South Siberia.
Zhou people also began to use bronze swords before Shang Dynasty and early Zhou Dynasty. Unlike the beast sword and the clock sword, the Zhou people used to use a flat-stemmed willow-shaped bronze sword. This is a sword with a body and a handle, which is obviously different from the sword cast in Shang Dynasty. Some scholars think that it was developed from the stone-edged bone dagger in ancient Gan Qing, while others think that it should be developed from the willow-leaf jade sword of Bashu in Shang Dynasty.
Considering the long period from ancient times to the Western Zhou Dynasty, it seems that the latter is more appropriate. This kind of bronze sword was also found in Central Asia, West Asia, Eastern Europe and other places, earlier. There seems to be some kind of communication relationship.
"Historical Records of Zhou Benji" said that King Wu cut into the capital of Shang Dynasty to sing and set himself on fire and died. King Wu rode to Zhou Wang's body, shot three arrows at the body with a bow and arrow, then got off the bus, stabbed the body with a lightsaber a few times, and then cut off Zhou Wang's head with a yellow shovel and hung it on a big white flag.
Zhou Wang's favorite concubine also committed suicide. King Wu shot three arrows at the bodies with his bow and arrow, then stabbed them several times with his sword, cut off their heads with dark black grape-shot and hung them on a small white flag. Finally, King Wu returned to the army. It can be seen that Zhou people have mastered the use of bronze swords.
Many of these swords were found in tombs in the early Zhou Dynasty, and many of them also had matching scabbard. The front of the scabbard is decorated with hollow copper scabbard, and the back is nailed with wood or leather. Because Pimu had rotted when it was unearthed, only the copper sheath was left, and the main body was decorated with snakes, real phoenixes, real dragons, treachery and other patterns, which were very beautiful.
In the mid-Western Zhou Dynasty, bronze swords began to be decorated with facial makeup. This face, whether round or long, is not a China ethnic group, but a depiction of the surrounding ethnic groups. Carving their heads on swords should mean "headhunting".
Bronze swords in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period include both the cylinder and the cylinder handle invented by wuyue and the flat handle sword inherited from the willow-shaped copper dagger in the Western Zhou Dynasty of the Central Plains. How to use the flat-handled sword in your hand? It is necessary to install sawdust to form the hilt, and some of them are wrapped with silk rope, hemp rope and hemp strip outside the hilt, which is also called "wrapping"; Jianyue Wu's words can generally be directly wrapped around the hilt, but some are only clamped with arc sawdust.
A sword also needs a sheath. The scabbard in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period is usually made of two pieces of wood, wrapped with silk thread and painted with black and red. Others use animal bones or ivory. The best preserved scabbard pattern is a lacquerware wood blade unearthed from the tomb in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period in Jing 'an, Jiangxi. But the body and scabbard of this sword are integrated, which is not a practical sword. The scabbard is painted with black paint on one side and decorated with red, yellow and bright colors on the other. The cross section of the hilt is round, with silk thread wound on it, and the head of the sword is flat and nail-shaped, with a total length of 47.6 cm.
The end of the scabbard is equipped with wooden or jade ornaments called "whiskers" or "bottles"; A wooden or jade ornament called "Ling" or "Sword Nose" is also embedded in the lower third of the scabbard. The roe deer is usually used to pass through the hole of the sword belt; There are also several holes for the rapier to pass through, usually made of leather or ribbon.
When the sword is not used, it is put in the scabbard and sword box. Sword case, also known as "country" or "letter", was unearthed in the Chu tomb during the Warring States period. They are made of wood, with a rectangular cover and a slightly arched arch, and a snap button on the cover. The ancients also had anti-rust methods. There is a kind of waterfowl called Grebes, which looks a bit like a duck. The ancients painted swords with its fat. Su Dongpo's poem "Xie Cao Zi Fang Hui Xin Tea" says that "the capsule is hidden for a long time in short, and the blade is new and bright", and "paste" is used to wipe the sword.
The legend of Jianyue Wu-
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, wuyue's swords were famous all over the country. Although wuyue itself is a marginal ethnic group, it is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River with dense water networks. Chezhan is difficult to display here. Infantry and sailors are the main fighting forces, so bronze swords are promising, which promoted the development of bronze sword smelting in wuyue and left many well-known stories in later generations.
"Zhou Li Kao Gong Ji" said that "Zheng Zhi's knife, Song Zhi's knife, Lu Zhi's sword and wuyue's sword were moved to their positions, which was good and natural", and that Zheng Guo's knife, Guo Song's axe, Lu's knife and Wu Yue's sword were not excellent when they left here, because of the climate and soil here.
"Warring States Policy" says that "the sword of martial arts, the meat test will break the cattle and horses, and the golden test will cut the plate", saying that the sword of martial arts, aimed at the body, can break the cattle and horses; For metal chop, you can cut off the metal utensils for washing your hands-plates and cards. According to Zuo Zhuan, at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu's son wanted to kill his cousin and usurp the throne, so he invited him to his house for dinner. Wu Wangliao is very vigilant. Although invited, there were many military personnel from the gate to the ladder to the dining table.
When he sends a chef to offer food, he must first change his clothes at the door. Then, under the hostage of the Beryllium Army leader, he slowly kneels down and walks to the table to offer food. Therefore, Wu Wangliao believes that this can be foolproof. At this time, the son pretended that his feet hurt and ran to the basement to rest. He also ambushed many soldiers in the basement.
At the banquet, chef Qiu Shezhu came in with a fish. In Wu Wangliao, when the fish was served on the table, Qiu Shezhu suddenly drew a sword from the belly of the fish and quickly inserted it into Wu Wangliao's body. Although all the people on board were killed by our troops, Sun Guangguang took the opportunity to lead the army into battle, was killed, and his entourage was in chaos, all of which were wiped out by Sun Guangguang. He Lv, the king of Wu, ascended the throne alone. Zhuan Xu, a famous assassin in Records of the Historian and Biographies of Assassins, used this sword to assassinate Wu Wangliao, which was later called "Fishbone Sword".
Liu Xiang's New Preface in the Western Han Dynasty recorded a story about Ji Zha hanging a sword. Ji Zha is the youngest son of King Shoumeng of Wu and He Lv's uncle. 544 years ago, Ji Zha was ordered to be a northern vassal. When passing by, Xu saw the sword and was very envious.
When he traveled around the world and returned to Xu, the monarch had already passed away. Ji Zha wanted to give the sword to the heir, but his entourage stopped him and said, "This is not a gift from the country!" " But Ji Zha said: "I made a wish in my heart at that time and gave him the sword after returning to China;" If you don't send it because of his death, isn't that sorry for your conscience? "
Heijun also thinks that he has no predecessor's legacy, so he refuses to accept it. So Ji Zha took off his sword and hung it on the tree in front of Heo Yun's tomb. In order to praise the noble quality, many people wrote a song saying: "Swallows don't forget their old friends, take off their thousand knives and take their tombs."
In Yuejueshu written by unofficial history in the Eastern Han Dynasty, He Lv, the king of Wu, had famous swords such as Yu Chang and Zhan Lu, and Gou Jian, Ju Que and Tsunku, the five swords of Yu Chang, Zhan Lu, Ju Que and Tsunku were cast by swordsman Ou Yezi, and Yue occupied (Europe) land, so "European system" should be adopted.
Another book, The Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu Yue by unofficial history in the Eastern Han Dynasty, also records the tragic legend that the swordsmen and their couples cast swordsmen and double swords for He Lv, the king of Wu, and devoted themselves to refining swords in the sword furnace. Wu has a dry land, and "swordsman" is also the name of the swordsman of Wu. This name of sword has existed since the Warring States period. Xunzi said, "The green onion of Huan Gong, the queer of Tai Gong, the record of Wang Wen, the stay of Zhuang Jun, the lieutenant of He Lv, Mo Xie, the queer and the green are all good swords in ancient times".
But judging from the bronze swords unearthed in wuyue, these swords have no names, only the inscriptions of their owners, such as the swords of Wu (He Lv) and Fu Cha. Many swords were unearthed, but no names were mentioned. The inscription "Wu Wang Yumeijian" was written by Uncle Yumei of He Lv, with a length of 75 words. It is the longest sword weapon inscription in the pre-Qin period and introduces the war against Chu waged by Yumei.
The State of Yue inherited the bronze smelting technology of the State of Wu, but it was also better than blue in shine on you, so the world-famous sword of Gou Jian, the King of Yue, came into being. The sword of Gou Jian, King of Yue, was unearthed in the Chu Tomb of the Warring States Period in Wangshan, Jingzhou, Hubei. The sword is 45.6 cm long, 55.6 cm in total length, 4.6 cm in width, 5 cm in grid, 7.9 cm in stem length and 4.3 cm in head diameter. Both sides of the sword body are covered with black diamond patterns, and there are two lines of bird print inscriptions near the grid: "Gou Jian, King of Yue, acts as a sword". After identification, its main components are copper, tin, lead, iron and sulfur.
A large number of bronze swords also appeared in the pit of terracotta warriors and horses in the Qin tomb. The bronze sword of Qin dynasty was also developed from the bronze sword of the Central Plains in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, but the body of the sword was obviously lengthened and shrunk, and the hat-shaped sword head and cylindrical ornamentation were used at the same time. This kind of sword may not be a practical sword, but the iron sword should still be the main battle during the Warring States period. Because bronze material is brittle and its length is limited; The strength and toughness of steel are good, so the blade is lengthened.
Although the bronze sword left many touching stories and legends in the pre-Qin period, it will eventually become a masterpiece with the development and popularization of iron smelting technology.