Chinese Bronze Sword
Nov 1, 2007 5:56:07 GMT
Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2007 5:56:07 GMT
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to post a picture and info on one of my favorite bronze swords of all time: the Sword of Gou Jian. I hope everyone finds it as fascinating as I do.
It really is an astonishing piece and I'd pay out my arse to get a replica of this baby. ;D
The Sword of Goujian, King of Yue
OuYezi was the most famous swordmaker in all of Chinese history. He was active during the Spring and Autumn Period. According to stories in the Yue Ju Shu he made a set of three swords for King Zhao of Chu (r.515-489 B.C.) and a set of five swords for King Goujian of Yue (r.496-465 B.C.).
The only extant weapon attributed to OuYezi is also the most famous and most thoroughly studied weapon in Chinese history, the sword of Goujian the King of Yue. Discovered in a Chu tomb in 1965 this bronze blade was in pristine condition which astonished the archaeologists who uncovered it. The bronze blade adorned with a diamond pattern was still razor sharp and shiny after being buried for nearly 2500 years. It's phenomenal condition lead to a great deal of scientific research into its metallurgy using state of the art technology and after nearly forty years it was finally determined how this incredible weapon was created. OuYezi recognized that the edge of the sword needed to be hard to hold a sharper edge and retain its cutting power while the body of the blade needed to be able to flex to prevent breakage. Thus the sword is a composite casting with the metal on the edge of the blade having higher tin content and a lighter color than the metal in the center of the blade with a softer core of higher copper content for increased tensile strength. This particular concept is normally associated with Japanese steel but clearly the Chinese smiths had discovered it over a thousand years earlier. The other part of this sword that fascinated scientists was the diamond pattern on the blade which it was determined after lengthly research to have been produced by the application of a tin rich paste to the surface that acted like an anticorrosive that was then scraped away in places so that the pattern on the blade oxidized at a different rate than the bronze around it hence producing a two tone effect.
attributed to sword smith OuYezi
55.6cm long, 4.6cm wide.
Unearthed at Jianglin county, Hubei Province, 1965
Hubei Provincial Museum
Source: www.universalswordsman.com/
Wikipedia has a decent article on it including a chemical composition test that reveals why it's still untarished despite being buried in a wet environment for about 2,500 years.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_of_Gou_Jian
I just wanted to post a picture and info on one of my favorite bronze swords of all time: the Sword of Gou Jian. I hope everyone finds it as fascinating as I do.
It really is an astonishing piece and I'd pay out my arse to get a replica of this baby. ;D
The Sword of Goujian, King of Yue
OuYezi was the most famous swordmaker in all of Chinese history. He was active during the Spring and Autumn Period. According to stories in the Yue Ju Shu he made a set of three swords for King Zhao of Chu (r.515-489 B.C.) and a set of five swords for King Goujian of Yue (r.496-465 B.C.).
The only extant weapon attributed to OuYezi is also the most famous and most thoroughly studied weapon in Chinese history, the sword of Goujian the King of Yue. Discovered in a Chu tomb in 1965 this bronze blade was in pristine condition which astonished the archaeologists who uncovered it. The bronze blade adorned with a diamond pattern was still razor sharp and shiny after being buried for nearly 2500 years. It's phenomenal condition lead to a great deal of scientific research into its metallurgy using state of the art technology and after nearly forty years it was finally determined how this incredible weapon was created. OuYezi recognized that the edge of the sword needed to be hard to hold a sharper edge and retain its cutting power while the body of the blade needed to be able to flex to prevent breakage. Thus the sword is a composite casting with the metal on the edge of the blade having higher tin content and a lighter color than the metal in the center of the blade with a softer core of higher copper content for increased tensile strength. This particular concept is normally associated with Japanese steel but clearly the Chinese smiths had discovered it over a thousand years earlier. The other part of this sword that fascinated scientists was the diamond pattern on the blade which it was determined after lengthly research to have been produced by the application of a tin rich paste to the surface that acted like an anticorrosive that was then scraped away in places so that the pattern on the blade oxidized at a different rate than the bronze around it hence producing a two tone effect.
attributed to sword smith OuYezi
55.6cm long, 4.6cm wide.
Unearthed at Jianglin county, Hubei Province, 1965
Hubei Provincial Museum
Source: www.universalswordsman.com/
Wikipedia has a decent article on it including a chemical composition test that reveals why it's still untarished despite being buried in a wet environment for about 2,500 years.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_of_Gou_Jian
