More than 50 years ago, namely in 1965, Chinese archaeologists excavated a burial ground of the 5th century BC. in the Jingzhou city district, which is located in the Hubei province of Central China. The burials, and about 50 of them were opened, turned out to be quite rich in finds, and in general, scientists found more than 2 thousand items.
One unique item caused a particular stir. It was a bronze sword of the type common in China known as the jian. Weapons of this type appeared in the XI-X centuries BC. and existed almost until the XX century A. D. Even now, jian swords are used to teach martial arts (usually lighter blades are used).
At the very beginning of their use, they were made from bronze with the addition of other metals. Then they began to make of steel. In the first jian, the length was usually about half a meter, but over time it reached a meter. The sword technique allowed the use of both piercing and cutting-chopping blows.
So what is the uniqueness of the sword found in the Jingzhou District.
First, it is perfectly preserved. Not good and not great, but perfect. There was no patina or rust on it, and its blades were as sharp as 2500 thousand years ago. They even say that one of the archaeologists, touching the blade inadvertently, cut himself to blood. Further experiments showed that the sword could cut a 20-sheet stack of paper.
Such safety, as the researchers explain, is associated with the conditions of sealed storage, as it lay in a scabbard and a wooden box.
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This weapon is forged from high copper, low iron and low lead bronze. The edges are made of tin. Research carried out later was aimed at elucidating the reasons for the resistance of the alloy from which the sword is made to oxidation: its age is about 2500 years. Moreover, the proportion of sulfur contained, as was assumed, reduces the likelihood of tarnishing the pattern, since it has anti-corrosion properties.
Secondly, the sword blade covered the ornament and ancient Chinese hieroglyphs in the amount of eight pieces. The ornament is a symmetrical rhombus. It was also decorated with glaze and turquoise. Scientists managed to read six hieroglyphs, which meant the following:
"The ruler of the Yue kingdom made this sword for personal use."
The kingdom of Yue is known to have originated in 510 BC. It lasted until 334. BC e. and during this time nine kings were replaced in it. A heated debate erupted over who the sword belonged to. After a while, scientists, for the most part, came to the conclusion that the weapon was made for the ruler of Goujian, who ruled in 496-465. BC. Goujian was a fairly famous person whose reign fell on the Chunqiu period or the Spring and Autumn period.
What are the parameters of the sword of Goujian? It is almost 56 centimeters long, which is not so much, and its width is 4.6 centimeters. The sword weighs 875 grams. The blade of the sword has no valleys, but on the contrary has a pronounced rib of stiffness.
This sword is considered not only rare or unique (and not only in the history of China), it is a real heritage and cultural value of the Chinese people. In this regard, it can be compared, for example, with the sword of King Arthur, if it were really kept in one of the museums in England.