Hi, I think the Chinese swords still in use today and used in the past are the best looking swords in the world and coolest. I don't have a picture yet I will try to get one. I'll describe it as being able to hold it with one hand(used most effectively), long, straight, unique beautiful handles, a tassle at the end and a greatly designed sheath. If you see Chinese movies you can see this sword in all the sword action movies Kung Fu movies yes. By the way does anybody have pictures and information about the history of that type of sword if anybody knows what I am talking about?

I believe you are referring to the Jian. The double-edged, single-handed sword popular among the Chinese elite.

Yeah I think that is it what a cool sword wish I had one. Thanks for the information.

You can purchase high-quality Jian here http://zheng-wu.com/.

Hey thanks for that link! I would like one with a jade handle and one that is ancient.

Not in this lifetime. Somebody would sell you a fake one if you asked for one.
Jade was used as fittings, not for 'handles' & if you saw an ancient sword with jade on it there is a good chance it was added in modern times to increase the price.
Do not take people at their word untill you know enough to pick the fraudsters.
Ancient swords (if you mean 'ancient' China instead of only a few hundred years ago) are typically in a very corroded condition.
Here is an example; http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=9583
John Piscopo said that with such swords you are lucky if the metal is in a fairly sound condition, but the appearance will always be corroded. This doesnt mean just a pock marked surface, but relic condition and requiring some care.

The true 'jian' has been around for about 2,500 years originally in bronze and the iron forms such as you see on this link for slightly less.
The earlier bronze versions looked like this; http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=13202

And using movies as a guide to what Chinese swords look like will do as much hard as good.
It's good if you get some enthusiasm but it is then time to sort fact from fiction.
These 'Kung-fu' movies are typically the later dynasty versions of which I don't know all the terminology.
I do know however that such movies can get the ancient swords terribly wrong, and all that wobble-bladed stuff is just a load of pig swill.

You should try googling out a dozen decent articles on jian, and steer clear of e-bay examples, and even if the articles are not all authoritiative you will end up knowing at least a little about the object of your interest.

Oh, I am not really planning anytime soon to buy a jian. Also one with a jade handle is something I dreamed up but that still would be cool. I haven't figured out the design yet though. I know that the swords wobbling are not true jian. However I do see jian in certain Cantonese dramas, Kung Fu movies, that look pretty real and I think resemble ancient jian pretty well. Especially if you hear them clink. Thanks for those extra links.

I should correct myself. Although jade fittings are typical when jade is used there is one very ancient sword with a handle of jade that I have in a text.
The blade is rusted and broken near the hilt and it is just over a foot long (12''). It is supposed to be late West Zhou in the labelling, about 7th-8th century BC presumably.
West Zhou 'swords' were short self defense stabbing weapons not often much larger than this. I don't consider them true swords although they are called 'jian'.
The grip and pommel are made from green (lime coloured) nephrite jade and it is called 'a bronze handle inlaid with turquoise and jade'. I haven't seen another like it. Below the crossgaurd it seems to be all jade.
It is likely unique and according to Donald Wagner "The earliest use of iron in China. 1999" means this is near the limits of the earliest possible wrought iron blades in China. Both the exotic iron and the jade suggest it was a very important persons weapon.
It was found in 1991 at Sanmenxia, yet Wagner makes no mention of it in 1999. He may consider it meteoric in origin (as in Shang Chinese worked meteoric iron instead of making iron) and hence unrelated to iron making or the iron age. The text I have is unclear on this.

I have seen a picture of it on the web which is the same item (blade is broken) but it doesn't show much detail. The label is;
The First Sword in the World, Western Zhou Dynasty (16th Century to 11th Century B.C.), unearthed in Sanmenxia City.
www.chinatoday.com/art/rel/b.htm

This is completely misleading though. The date is the wrong dynasty, and it is hardly the earliest sword (bronze or iron) in the world.


PS for more typical examples of the use of jade fitings in the Han dynasty period see this thread; http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?t=72303
You need to click on each picture to see the image though.

Gosh I miss this form! Yea its bin a long, long wile… Well bin busy with school, friends, work and yea I bin in the other forms as well… Yea me and some buddies went to go to visit are friend that just got out of basic training… And yes “it was hard as hell…”

Dang I got to go back on the Half-Life 2 as well…




I think I know what you talking about, but I bet the others gave you what you need.

Well I do not have one favorite sword but a group of them…

Personally I like the European Swords… But I do LOVE HISTORY STUFF!!

Yep mankind made fine swords and weapons allover the world…

Hear is one!
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/markpo...swiss-guard.jpg
http://www.thearma.org/essays/1.gif
It’s a Great German Landsknecht Sword! I think the Vatican guards still use it… I heard they not only learn how to shoot a gun and a rifle, but learn to fight with Swords and halberds… Any ways it looks heavy but its not that heavy apishly for a big sword like that! About 6 lbs! that’s very light! This sword was very strong as well this sword was used to mess up pike formations by smashing the pikes and then hitting the pikemen themselves (which was hard to do). This sword was also use as an ant cavalry sword…
I would think this sword can be used agents infantry as well will an unconventional fighting style witch uses armor or thick leather gloves.

Hears a another and I have this one!
http://www.iloveswords.com/ROM_armyS.html
This sword is so cool, I practice with it ones in a wile, but man its very easy to maneuver with it and can still fight in a very close area! Its also light too. It’s the Roman Gladius

“Dating back nearly 2,100 years this extraordinary blade represented the height of weaponry during Rome's barbaric fascination with gladiatorial combat.
According to Methos, its short broader based blade made it lighter and easier to maneuver which was key strategy when the fighting wore on. "The longer the battle, the worse it was," he said. "I watched men so crippled with fatigue that they could barely lift their swords from the ground. When that happened it was, of course, their death knell.”

This sword like most European swords, the Roman sword was good agents armor…

Those two swords sure are long! The Roman sword is decorated nicely. As for the jade handle sword, that design looks like a good design for the jian I think just missing the very top of the handle the hilt which is a critical part of design in a true jian in my opinion besides the rest.

Puerto Rican Legionary, please be reminded that this is a Chinese Arsenal forum and thus the main topic being discussed should evolve around Chinese military hardware.

While we welcome some comments about foreign weapons here and there, we would however prefer such comments are somehow related back to the main theme at hand and not just randomly posting material that is outside the area of this forum.

you have your broad sword (machete look alike), standard straight sword, and those martial arts/tai chi swords, etc

What's the difference between the straight sword and the martial arts/tai chi sword ??

martial arts/tai chi sword are flexible I believe. In the millitary, they would use regular straight swords.

There's no such thing as a sword that's flexible.

Those are movie and practice props. Not sword.

Technically, there isn't even actually a "Taichi" or "Martial Arts" sword, because there's no Jian or Dao specifically designed for the art.

check these Tang styled swords, they played a crucial role in the linege of Chinese swords family. They represented a new height in its time. Unfortunately, the tech had long lost since then.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Personally i think the design of these chinese sword is great. Any opinion?

Not really lost. The techniques still survived, but were simply passed up in favor of different ones. You can still see the same Tang style techniques being used to make Japanese swords and weaponry.

The art of swordmaking itself today is harder to come by though.

here is a site of a Chinese swords replication work shop:http://gu-yue.com/index.htm

don't mistook me, i m not advertising for it, those swords the shop sold are really cool. I just want them to be shared with u guys.

Nice looking Tang Styled swords. However I would like the point to double edged, and a nicer hilt would be cool. The other sword is great looking as well. One improvement would be a bigger hilt design.

what era is that, Han?

Han on the basic level. But more a fantasy sword than anything.