SST Wushu
The Blog for SST's wushu CCA
Friday, September 17, 2010
Sword (剑)
GENERAL INFORMATION
The jian is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the jian date to the 7th century BCE during the Spring and Autum period, one of the earliest specimens being the Sword of Guojian. Historical one-handed versions have blades varying from 45 to 80 centimeters (17.7 to 31.5 inches) in length. The weight of an average sword of 70-centimeter (28-inch) blade-length would be in a range of approximately 700 to 900 grams (1.5 to 2 pounds). There are also larger two-handed versions used for training by many styles of Chinese Martial Arts.
HISTORY
Jian were originally made from bronze, then steel as metal technology advanced. There are some, perhaps ceremonial, jian which are carved from a single solid piece of jade. The sword smiths of China are often credited with the forging technologies that traveled to Korea and Japan to allow sword smiths there to create such weapons as the katana. These technologies include folding, inserted alloys, and differential hardening of the edge. While the Japanese would be more influenced by the Chinese dao (single-edged swords of various forms), the early Japanese swords known as ken are often based on jian. The Korean version of the jian is known as the geom or gum, and these swords often preserve features found in Ming-era jian, such as openwork pommels and sharply angled tips.
HISTORICAL USE
The first jian used in China were little more than bronze double-edged daggers primarily created for close fighting in closed packed environments such as small towns and cities where spears and polearms might prove inconvenient. By that time, jian swords were made from varying lengths to modern lengths by roughly 500 BCE. Though there is significant variation in length, balance, and weight of the jian from different periods, within any given period the general purpose of the jian is to be a multipurpose cut and thrust weapon capable of stabbing, as well as making both precise cuts and slashes, as opposed to specializing in one form of use. Although the many forms and schools of swordsmanship with the jian vary as well, the general purpose and use is still not lost.
Goh Chin Fan
S1-07
*Pictures from http://www.uswushuacademy.com/gallery/pei_sisters_Wushu_pictures.html
**Information from Wikipedia.com
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