Chinese sword (nji-110)

” THIS IS ONE OF A SERIES OF SWORDS THAT WILL BE FEATURED IN THE ” FEATURED WEAPON SECTION OF KUNG FU TAI CHI MAGAZINE.”

This sword is being offered for a short time only. As collectors of Chinese arms know most of these weapons from China were seized and or destroyed in the past and are becoming very hard to find. This sword in particular was acquired from a West coast dealer over 25 years ago. The blade is most likely from the late 18 Century to the late 19th Century, maybe older. It is very hard to date Chinese swords unless it still retains the original mountings. Most Chinese blades are not signed or dated and dating can be a task. Opinions can vary from the many experts.

The blade is hand forged and the laminating patterns and tempered edge are very beautiful to behold. The saya was made from rosewood we believe as well as the handle which is intricately hand carved with Dragon and Phoenix which was most likely made when restored. The fittings are most likely mid to late 19th century with Bat motif and found on many Chinese blades. We feel this blade was made for Tai Chi training as it is light and well balanced and creates a whistling like swishing sound when slashing through the air while performing the many Jian or Gim techniques.

the JIAN 剑;  劍; jiàn or Gim) 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 Autumn period, one of the earliest specimens being the Sword of Goujian. Historical one-handed versions have blades varying from 45 to 80 centimeters (18 to 31 inches) in length. The weight of an average sword of 70-centimetre (28-inch) blade-length would be in a range of approximately 700 to 900 grams (1.5 to 2 pounds).^[2] There are also larger two-handed versions used for training by many styles of Chinese martial arts.

Professional jian practitioners are referred to as jianke jiànkè; literally: “sword guests” or “swordsmen”; a term dating from the Han Dynasty

In Chinese folklore, it is known as “The Gentleman of Weapons” and is considered one of the four major weapons, along with the Gun, Staff or Spear, and the Dao (sabre).These swords are also sometimes referred to as Taijijian or  Tai chi swords”, reflecting their current use as training weapons for Taijiquan practitioners, though there were no historical jian types created specifically for taijiquan.