Sword, the sacred product of ancient times, is supreme, noble and admirable. Sword, the ancestor of short soldiers, was once regarded as a sacred product by the ancients and respected by the monarch and ministers. With profound Taoism, enter the mysterious legend. In fact, because of its portability, admirable and rapid use, princes and emperors, literati and chivalrous people, businessmen and ordinary people are proud of it. Since ancient times, sword and art have always dominated the Wulin and founded the country as righteousness, so they have been passed down to this day and are still loved by the world. It is also deeply rooted in the hearts of the people because of its glorious history.

Sword originated in Xuanyuan Huangdi era. According to "The Yellow Emperor's Ji Yun", "The emperor used Shoushan bronze to cast swords and engraved astronomical ancient characters"; According to many records in Guanzi, "Tian Ge Luzhi Mountain used to make gold, and Chiyou used it as a sword armor". The above two statements, like Huangdi and Chiyou, are casting swords for soldiers.

Compared with the sword, the practical effect of the sword is obviously poor, but the sword does not represent a sharp weapon to kill people most of the time, but a symbol of elegant things and family status. Heroes use swords more than swords. There are more swords than knives in the study. Liangshan heroes gathered in the mountains, each with a ju at his waist, Li Kui jy holding two axes, and Song Wu wearing two Buddhist monk's knives on his boots. HuYan burning two dragons sublime GaoTangZhou, even eight hundred thousand imperial coach Lin Chong Liangshan never used a long sword. It is the peasant uprising that gathers righteousness, and the appearance of the sword is naturally somewhat inappropriate and embarrassing. Then he said to the messenger, "I have a cool breeze sword. Do you want to taste his sharpness with your neck! " In fact, if Chengqingtang is allowed to carry knives or other weapons, killing disobedient people will definitely be more exciting. Veterans who have been fighting for many years, as well as scholars of the Ministry of War in the military field of Colonel Chang, all know that among all the weapons that hurt people, only the pain of the hammer is unbearable for ordinary people and the most deadly. Therefore, Wang Wei's "risk plan" only chose to be injured by a hammer, and the truth of the matter virtually increased by an order of magnitude. All these prove that the sword used by the ancient public is not a sharp weapon to kill and hurt people, but a symbol and unity of elegance, status, power (such as Fang Shangjian), dignity and belief.

It is too early to research the origin of sword in historical records; Justice said: "Xuanyuan (Yellow Emperor, author's note) chose the date of death and the words of his ministers. Also buried in Qiao Shan, landslides, empty coffins, only swords in the coffins. " Although it is not credible, with the development of smelting technology in Yin Shang Dynasty, the appearance of bronze sword is reasonable. Xia Dynasty was the first dynasty in the history of China (2 1 year-BC16th century), and China entered the Bronze Age around this time. Yue Jue Shu says, "When you are in a cave, use copper as a soldier." With the ancestors becoming more and more proficient in bronze smelting and casting technology, it is a natural process to cast swords with bronze. Bronze, that is, the alloy of copper with chemical elements such as tin, lead and nickel, was also called auspicious gold in Shang and Zhou Dynasties. It has the advantages of low melting point, high hardness and stable chemical properties, and can be used for casting various utensils for production and life. Its appearance has played an epoch-making role in the development of human productive forces. From around 2000 BC, it went through Xia, Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties, and the Spring and Autumn Period, known as the Bronze Age, lasted for about fifteen centuries.

From the Yellow Emperor to the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, swords were mostly made of copper. The quality of swords was very good, and the refining technology was constantly explored and gradually improved. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the sword casting system and method were decided. According to Zhou Li; The swords of Kao and Zhou Guantao are two and a half inches long and two and a half apart, which are wide in wax. The stem ring is twice as long. Among its stems, the post-war body is extremely five stems, which is heavy [according to: Li Saturday and a half is one], which is called the above system, and the staff sergeant takes it. Four stems are seven Tang weights long, which is called neutralization system, and the sergeant takes it. Three stems are long and five are heavy, and the corporal takes it. "Another cloud said," Sword, an ancient name, has two edges and a ridge. From the back to the edge, it is called wax, or [the blade]. The back blade is separated from the handle below, which is called the head [sword board], and the grip below the head is called the handle [sword handle], and the rotation of the handle end means "grabbing".

The size of the sword depends on the human body and people. Zheng E's Interpretation of Zhou Li's Legacy said: "People have different shapes and sizes, so making swords for them is not just about beauty, but about making them suitable for their own use. So it is a third-class system, in order to treat third-class people and suit themselves. The hilt is five inches long. If the length of the blade is five times that of the hilt, the blade will be three feet long. If it's heavy, it's three catties and twelve liang. It is extremely long and heavy, so it is called Shangtong. Only those who are good-looking can win, so the staff sergeant is convinced. The sword has four stems, is two feet five inches long and weighs seven catties and fourteen liang, so it is called neutral. Only the person who gets the best is suitable to take it, so the sergeant took it. The sword is two feet long when it stops at three stems, and two pounds and one second and three minutes when it stops at five Tang Dynasties. It is light and short, so it is called the lower system. Short and weak, can be served. " Its meaning is to design the length of the sword according to the physical condition of the sword owner to facilitate its use.

Second, the sword takes the world.

Bronze is hard and brittle, and the sword is too long to break easily, so the bronze sword is only two feet long and only one foot short. From the Yellow Emperor to the Warring States, although it lasted for 2500 years, the size of the sword did not change much. During the Warring States period, the smelting technology of Qin State was advanced, and iron swords flourished. According to Jiang Yan's preface to praising the bronze sword, "The first emperor could not use iron walls because of the rebellion, so he replaced them with iron." Qin set up a special "iron officer" in Shaofu, and pioneered the technology of kneading steel: carburizing pure iron, then folding it in half and beating it in multiple layers. The blade is quenched, but the ridge is not quenched. And its process is divided into "30 refining", "50 refining", "100 refining" and other sword-casting techniques, which are continuously melted, forged and quenched, decarbonized and purified step by step, quite like kneading dough, making iron into steel. In the late Warring States period, Qin used both bronze swords and iron swords, and the length of the sword also changed, increasing to about three feet, the so-called "three-foot sword". Qin bronze sword, with a long and narrow body, carefully polished surface and a layer of chromium salt oxide, has a black luster and can resist corrosion and rust. Many long swords unearthed from the Qin Mausoleum in Shaanxi Province are as bright as new and more than three feet long. When Jing Ke stabbed the king of Qin, Ying Zheng drew his sword in self-defense and failed to pull it out, so the sword was long. After being reminded by the physician, he put the sword behind his back and pulled it out, breaking Jing Ke's arm. After the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, in order to show the lofty sentiments of "destroying six countries and expelling barbarians", the first emperor summoned the world's famous swords, which lasted for three years and cast a pair of swords, all three feet and six inches long. The word "Qin Ding" above is Li Si's seal cutting, which means "The world is decided by Qin". As the treasure of the town house, one handle was buried under the Epang Palace, and the other handle was used as a sword to dominate the world. Since then, it has created a precedent in the history of the sword of the Emperor of Heaven, making the sword a symbol of power, status, justice and strength. Qin Dingjian embodies the highest sword casting technology in the world during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It is a legend of the king, so it is praised as "the first sword in the world" by later generations. It was the "Qin Ding" sword that fixed the length of the sword in later generations, and created the precedent that China's sword was three feet six inches long. At that time, one of the reasons why Qin was able to destroy the six countries in just ten years was that its weapons were in an obvious leading position. It can be seen that Qin Shihuang not only expressed the disadvantages of iron casting swords, but also stipulated new norms for casting swords, just like unified weights and measures and standard writing.

Third, kendo is extensive and profound.

In a hierarchical traditional society, you can't wear a sword at will. According to the Book of Beginners compiled by Xu Jian and others in the Tang Dynasty. Department of Military Affairs "; Sword "says:" The ancient emperor was crowned with a sword at the age of twenty; Princes were crowned with swords at the age of thirty; The doctor is forty years old and wears a sword; Servants cannot be crowned. Shu Ren has something to bring a sword, and nothing can't bring a sword. " Looking back at the development history of fencing, there was once a strange girl who was famous for his mastery of fencing. "Wu Yue Chun Qiu" recorded the story of "Yue Nv on the sword": she was an unknown girl who lived in the deep mountains and forests during Gou Jian's period. She loved fencing since she was a child, and she developed a unique fencing technique by her own feelings. Fan Li heard his name and invited him to be a military master in Beijing. On the way to Beijing, I met Yuan Gong, an old swordsman, and wanted to learn from Yue Nv. The two men broke a bamboo branch in the competition, and the girl was hit after three strokes. Yuan Gong lost to the tree in the flight. The girl and Gou Jian, the King of Yue, talked about kendo, put forward lofty theories such as "correspondence between form and spirit, dynamic and static interaction, and amazing fickleness", and then performed live. Sure enough, Gou Jian named it "Yue Nv" and taught his swordsmanship to Yue generals. Jin Yong's novel sword of the yue maiden was written according to this allusion.

Fencing is also related to strategy. At the Hongmen Banquet, there is a secret code of "Xiang Zhuang dances sword, which is intended to pay tribute to the public". Fan Zeng, the counselor of Xiang Yu, secretly asked Xiang Zhuang to dance the sword, so as to kill Liu Bang during the dinner. And Xiang Bo also danced to protect Liu Bang with his body. Sean noticed that today's "Xiang Zhuang is dancing, and his intentions are often repeated". He invited Fan Heng in to buy time, but repeatedly excused himself from meeting him, which saved him from this robbery. After "commonly used to describe some people plot, ulterior motives.

In the Han Dynasty, swordsmanship was well prepared, and all literati warriors liked to wield swords to show their skills. Cao Pi's Dian Lun; Self-report: "I learned fencing again and saw many teachers." There are different methods in all directions, only the capital is good. Between Huan and Ling, there is a samurai whose skill is called Wang Yueshansi, which is called Shi Jing. Ayan used to learn from the history of Henan. After tasting Liu Xun, the general of Pinglu, Deng Zhan, the general of Wei Fen, etc., Su Wenzhan is good at fighting and knows five soldiers, which means that he can enter the white blade empty-handed. Yu Yu talked about swords for a long time, saying that generals were illegal. Taste its taste, get its skills, and ask for it. " This record reflects the superb fencing and the prosperity of the sword fight at that time. Since the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism, immortals, evil spirits, ghosts and other theories have prevailed, and the sword has become a tool to suppress evil spirits. Once a few feet of iron is cast into the shape of a sword, it has supreme magic. So I hung a sword at home and thought it was auspicious, thinking that I could defeat the enemy without practicing fencing. So since the Tang Dynasty, many sword-shaped short soldiers have been used in Buddhism. However, the enlisted sergeant used more knives than swords, and more and more people wore swords, so the development of fencing stagnated.

In the Song Dynasty, fencing was revived. According to Tang Shunzhi's "Wu Bian" in the Ming Dynasty, Song Taizong "selected hundreds of warriors from various armies and taught them to dance swords. All of them could throw their swords into the air and leap over their backs, which was wonderful. Huibei Rong left an envoy to repair tribute and hosted a banquet in the temple. Because the swordsmen showed it, they took a bath, waved their blades, jumped up and threw them, and the frost front and snow blades flew all over the sky. " These superb skills have a great influence on the development of fencing routines and performance skills, which have been seen in many martial arts routines practiced so far.

By the Ming Dynasty, various martial arts schools had created many precious swordsmanship based on the application of swordsmanship. How to make good use of the words "Bian Zhuangzi's winding method, Wang Juzhi's lifting method, Liu's willing response method, his lightning method and the horse's lifting method" in "Market Town" provides useful materials for the development of fencing in later generations.

The Qing Dynasty was a period of great achievements in fencing. Song Zai Feng wrote A Record of Swordsmanship, summarizing the swordsmanship of past dynasties. So far, according to the practice methods, fencing can be divided into line sword, potential sword, two-handed sword, long thorn sword, double sword and backhand sword. The types of swords can be divided into Qingping Sword, Wudang Sword, Sancai Sword, Sanhe Sword, Yunlong Sword, Bagua Sword, Taiji Sword, Mantis Sword, Tongbei Sword, Drunken Sword, Metaphysical Sword, Seventy-three Sword, Dragon Sword, Qimen Thirteen Sword, Bai Hongjian, Pure Yang Sword, Seven Star Sword and so on, which can be described as profound.

Fourth, inner timidity.

As early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, swords were very popular, and all literati warriors carried them with them. Even people like Feng Xuan, who are short of food and clothing, will never leave their swords. The famous swords at that time were Ganjiang, Mo Xie, Longquan, Taiya, Chunjun, Zhan Lu, Yuchang and Juque. They are priceless, and Longquan sword is even more rare. According to legend, Ou Yezi was ordered by the King of Chu to cast swords, traveled around famous mountains and rivers, and found Longquan in Zhejiang. When he saw the towering old trees at the foot of Xiqin Mountain, the iron eagle was nearby, and the cold spring was cold, so he decided to cast a sword here. Ou Yezi created Excalibur such as Long Yuan, Taiya, Chungou, Zhan Lu, Fish Intestine and Giant Sparrow here, and Longquan Sword was born. This sword is famous all over the world for its four characteristics: being strong and sharp, cutting copper like mud, combining rigidity with softness, bending and stretching like light, pressing cold light, exquisite decoration, elegance and beauty. In addition, the patterns on Longquan sword are like water waves and white clouds in the sky, giving people a sense of flashing and flowing, which is called "firm but gentle". According to legend, even if the Longquan sword is buried four feet underground, its "different light lines" can also rush out of the ground and go straight into the sky. It is said that "there is always purple gas between bullfights".

Related to the sword, there is also a beautiful love carol. According to Wu Yue Chun Qiu, Fu Cha, the king of Wu, ordered a general to cast a sword, but the iron juice could not be kept. His wife, Mo Xie, threw herself into the furnace, and the iron juice came out, so she became two swords. The male sword is called General, and the female sword is called Mo Xie. General Gan put the male sword in the King of Wu, but hid the female sword. The male sword misses the female sword and often mourns. So there is the code name "the sword rings at night". Sword is also a world-famous work of art, so it became a work of art. At first, it was carved and carved on the body of the sword, then its shape was beautified on the hilt, and accessories were attached, and then the scabbard was gilded with jade, each with its own ingenuity. The most attractive thing is fencing. Fencing is generally divided into "standing sword" and "walking sword". "Standing sword" generally means that the sword holder stands in one place, as calm as a sculpture, and at the same time moves quickly and agilely; On the other hand, "sword walking" seems to have relatively few pauses, and its movements are continuous, even and flexible. At the same time, the sword also has a knife with long nails and short nails, which is also called a nail robe. Its role is to confuse the enemy with dance, and it looks like a dragon and phoenix dance when practicing, with beautiful image. Especially the spike, dancing with the sword, is even more wonderful.

The way of sword dancing requires the unity of body and sword, and the unity of sword and god. "Miscellaneous Knowledge of Green Water Pavilion" written by Nalan Xingde in Qing Dynasty says: The sword is "sharp as a blade, and its handle is as light as an ape bird, that is, fencing." What we are talking about here is "taking the handle", that is, leading the sword with your own body, which is the key to practicing the sword. Generally speaking, fencing moves can be divided into more than ten kinds, such as chopping, chopping, stabbing, pointing, pulling, collapsing, cutting, rubbing, piercing, picking, lifting, twisting, sweeping, pressing, hanging and stopping. It is characterized by combining rigidity with softness, easy to control, light and smart. Swords often appear in ancient poems. For example, Li Bai's melancholy "I left my food bar and cup, I couldn't eat or drink, I pulled out my dagger, and I peeped in four directions in vain"; Xin Qiji has a dream of "watching swords after drinking". Eight hundred miles under the Lord, fifty strings across the Great Wall, autumn soldiers on the battlefield ". Scholars and poets in the past were all heroes.

The ancients emphasized both civil and military skills, that is, the so-called piano, heart and sword. Qin Xin refers to the insight and understanding of the connotation of music, which shows the delicacy and profundity of China's traditional culture, while Jian Dan is the interpretation of heroic spirit, representing the tenacity and courage of China's traditional cultural system. China sword culture bears the ancient people's yearning for the ideal realm and the pursuit of broad weather; It also contains the moral expectation that justice will win and the romantic and elegant martial arts aesthetics.