(ORDO NEWS) — The craftsmanship of the Goujian sword made it legendary. It is hard to imagine what knowledge the ancient Chinese masters had to forge a sword that could defy time. After all, this sword is over 2500 years old!
The Gujian ancient sword, discovered over 60 years ago, is perhaps one of the rarest and most unusual weapons found by archeology.
Its inexplicable workmanship and the state in which it was found 2,500 years after it was forged is the reason why today it is a national treasure of China and one of the most important discoveries of the Spring and Autumn period in Chinese history.
1. The sword is not damaged, there are no traces of rust on it.
The astonishing condition of the sword 2,500 years after it was forged is what made it such a significant discovery. How is it possible that there is not a single trace of rust on the blade after millennia spent in a wooden box?
2. The sword is razor sharp, like it’s brand new.
What is the probability that the blade will be sharp after thousands of years? Not much, especially if it has ever been in use. But the edges of the Gujian sword were so sharp that it cut the archaeologist who was checking the sharpness of its edges.
3. It is embellished with blue and turquoise crystals.
Aside from its apparent killing potential after thousands of years, the sword’s most striking feature is its decoration. It is obvious that the sword was made for the king, but historians wonder who possessed such wealth to commission such a masterpiece.
4. It is debatable which king it belonged to.
The markings on the sword showed that it was made by the King of Yue for his personal use, but the last two characters have been the subject of controversy. It took archaeologists months to come to an agreement on the most likely king of this period who could issue and wield a sword.
As a result, they came to the conclusion that this was one of the most famous rulers of Ancient China – Goujian.
5 A Worker Damaged His Sword In 1994.
As a historical artifact, the sword was loaned for exhibitions, and during one such exhibition in Singapore, a worker accidentally hit the sword and formed a small crack.
As you can probably guess, this caused great outrage in China and led to a final ban on the export of the sword from the country. Since then, it has not been loaned for exhibitions outside of China.
6. Its craftsmanship is much higher than most swords of later periods of history.
With the help of modern technology, the researchers were able to determine the combination of metals used in the forging of the sword.
It turns out that the ancient Chinese masters had incredible knowledge in the field of weapons and knew how to combine metals correctly to improve the properties of each part of the blade.
For example, they used copper to make the body of the sword, which made it stronger and less likely to break. The tin used for the edges is the main reason why the sword remained sharp, although this would be unlikely if it were used in combat.
And finally, the researchers found sulfur in the composition of the sword, which protected it from tarnishing and rust.
7. The condition of the sword indicates that it has never been used in combat.
Again, even the highest skill cannot protect the sword from damage during combat. It is enough to have at least the slightest idea of forging to understand that in most cases a few strong blows are enough to damage the edge of the sword.
Knowing that the sword is absolutely intact, it can be assumed that the king never used it in battle. Such a theory will never get a proper answer, but in general we can agree that it could have been ordered as a sign of power, and not as a weapon for battle.
8. Its length is shorter than most double-edged straight swords.
Most double-edged straight swords of this kind are longer than the Gujian sword. This may be because it was made for a king, or simply because it is one of the earliest swords of its kind.
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