Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

BluErf · 3rd February 2007, 03:43 PM

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the info on the 7-stars. The 5 stars in the middle are nearly equi-distance while the one near the tip is very short, and the one nearest the guard is a wee bit shorter.

This is the first time that I've seen a pommel ring as well, but after removing the hilt (with great difficulty, as it is fixed through 2 holes in the tang, and I don't think the pegs can take another removal/reinsertion without breaking), I see that the ring is a continuation of the tang, with one end bent backwards and forged shut with the tang proper.

I understand that there is the 文剑 ("Wen Jian", or Scholar's sword) and the 武剑 ("Wu Jian", or fighter's/military sword) differentiation between Chinese swords. The latter being the side arms of military officers and more robustly built.

If a reference from a China-made movie is anything to go by (and I know movies can sometimes be terribly inaccurate), there is this film entitled "Heroes of Heaven & Earth" set in the Tang Dynasty. The protagonist was an officer in the Tang army based in the deserts on the Western frontier of the Tang empire. He refused an order from a superior officer to execute some Turkish or Uyghur female/children prisoners and the superior officer drew his sword to mete out punishment on the protagonist. Our hero drew his sword at about the same time, but because his was a short sword, he drew it faster and won the fight. He explained the phrase “短一寸，快三分” ("duan yi cun, kuai san fen" - shorter by an inch, faster by 3 short units of time) to his subordinates who fled with him after killing his superior. So if Chinese military officers could have used jian as side-arms, it could have been a short one, which could have been used more effectively in close quarter combat, much like the Roman gladius.

The other reason why I suspected the jian could have been a 'war sword' was because it was hefty, but not to the point of being unwieldy. The sword looks like it could take a lot of punishment with it's thick diamond cross section. A scholar's sword would presumably be lighter, thinner, more suited to a person who is not so strong (assuming Chinese scholars don't work out so much

).

You are right about the dao being the favourite Chinese weapon of all time, used by soldiers and brigands alike to chop up everybody.

The sword was purchased polished, by the seller himself; it's from Alex. I dare not let him know what has happened to the sword...

Meanwhile, I'll just keep polishing the sword daily until the last of the polishing marks are gone (I hope)...

3rd February 2007, 03:43 PM	#6
BluErf Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 1,180	Hi Bill, Thanks for the info on the 7-stars. The 5 stars in the middle are nearly equi-distance while the one near the tip is very short, and the one nearest the guard is a wee bit shorter. This is the first time that I've seen a pommel ring as well, but after removing the hilt (with great difficulty, as it is fixed through 2 holes in the tang, and I don't think the pegs can take another removal/reinsertion without breaking), I see that the ring is a continuation of the tang, with one end bent backwards and forged shut with the tang proper. I understand that there is the 文剑 ("Wen Jian", or Scholar's sword) and the 武剑 ("Wu Jian", or fighter's/military sword) differentiation between Chinese swords. The latter being the side arms of military officers and more robustly built. If a reference from a China-made movie is anything to go by (and I know movies can sometimes be terribly inaccurate), there is this film entitled "Heroes of Heaven & Earth" set in the Tang Dynasty. The protagonist was an officer in the Tang army based in the deserts on the Western frontier of the Tang empire. He refused an order from a superior officer to execute some Turkish or Uyghur female/children prisoners and the superior officer drew his sword to mete out punishment on the protagonist. Our hero drew his sword at about the same time, but because his was a short sword, he drew it faster and won the fight. He explained the phrase “短一寸，快三分” ("duan yi cun, kuai san fen" - shorter by an inch, faster by 3 short units of time) to his subordinates who fled with him after killing his superior. So if Chinese military officers could have used jian as side-arms, it could have been a short one, which could have been used more effectively in close quarter combat, much like the Roman gladius. The other reason why I suspected the jian could have been a 'war sword' was because it was hefty, but not to the point of being unwieldy. The sword looks like it could take a lot of punishment with it's thick diamond cross section. A scholar's sword would presumably be lighter, thinner, more suited to a person who is not so strong (assuming Chinese scholars don't work out so much ). You are right about the dao being the favourite Chinese weapon of all time, used by soldiers and brigands alike to chop up everybody. The sword was purchased polished, by the seller himself; it's from Alex. I dare not let him know what has happened to the sword... Meanwhile, I'll just keep polishing the sword daily until the last of the polishing marks are gone (I hope)...