I've heard several stories in kung fu schools.
The rings are meant to ring when you shake them, and I think the tradition of putting rings on swords goes back quite a ways. I remember seeing a description of a sword with something like three points, four rings, and five stars in the <i>Water Margin</i>. I don't know if that's in the original 16th Century version or if it is a more recent addition. I've also seen a description of a modern Miao or Hmong shaman using a sword shaped rattle in a ritual. There are similar traditions of gold coin swords in feng shui and peach wood swords in Taoist exorcisms.
The question for the nine rings is context, whether it's meant to be rung in religious dramas, or whether it's meant to be rung in a street performance to be more dramatic. My bet is both. Kungfu, like capoeira and Pentjak-Silat, has a performance branch (wushu) as well as a martial branch (guoshu), and I think the nine rings swords belong squarely in the performance arena.
Best,
F
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