I am currently in Manila on business. I happened to come across an antiques dealer who had a supposedly "ancient" Chinese sword on display. I am interested in swords, and have some knowledge of European blades, but know very little about Chinese swords, and am wishing to determine if it is authentic. I did not have time to examine it in much detail, and did not take pictures, but will visit the dealer later this week for that purpose.

From my brief examination, it is clearly a two-handed sword, the blade being almost 1.5 metres in length, and the grip at least 30 cm long. I am uncertain of the material of the grip, but it was black and did not appear to be a wrapped material. Midway along the length of the grip it flares out and then back in again, which I believe indicates beyond doubt it was intended as a two-handed weapon.

The blade itself is perhaps 5 cm wide at the base, seemed to be nearly 1 cm thick, is double-edged, and comes to a distinct point. There were some large chinese characters at the base of the blade, and a lacquered(?) wood scabbard was included with the sword. The metal appeared to be in excellent shape, but I am honeslty uncertainly as to whether it is steel, iron, or bronze (rememeber, I had perhaps 2 minutes to examine it, and it was high on the wall) and if anythign but the last I cannot believe it could possibly be more than 150 years old. The given price, P25,000 (roughly 500USD), is impractical for most Filipinos, so if nothing else I am sure it is not a cheap knockoff.

When I return, can anyone suggest details I should consider and particular components of the sword I may wish to photograph for reference? Are there any reccomended resources I might look over?

You should actually visit swordforum for this kind of info, I remember there was a rather good post on IDing fakes.

I might dig it up for you if I have time.

Thank you. I've registered there and will see if I can find the thread you're referring to.

I assume that, like the maker's seal on a rapier and the hammon on a katana, there are aspects of a chinese sword that a skilled person can readily recognize to differentiate between porrly-made fakes and, well, convincingly "authentic" pieces. However, I don't know enough about Chinese pieces to even guess where to start. While most areas I've studied tend to settle on a few particular types fo swords - styles vary, but a rapier is still a rapier, a yataghan is a yataghan - I've seen no such stability in Chinese swords. In fact, I've not seen any classification on their types. All I can say is that the Chinese swords I've noticed tend to be straight and have either a small guard or none at all. THat's not really much to go on.


I accept, as a casual collector, that I'm goign to get forgeries. I'm unwilling to invest the time and money necessary to *prove* that I've got anything else. I'd rather not be taken for a ride, though. If I can avoid common forgeries and obvious mistakes, I'll be happy with it.

Update: I managed to take a closer look at the sword today, and was able to determine that it is definitely a replica.

I'd like to say I determined this due to my keen knowledge of swords and metallurgy.... but the reality is that I managed to talk to the buyer for the shop, and he outright admitted it to be a fake.

Check Thomas Chen's site on Chinese swords for a complete chronology of the development and evolution of chinese swords over the last two millenia.

That's not strictly true. By far the most common design for Chinese swords was the curved, single edged, one handed sabre, usually with a circular guard. Double edged swords were not used by the military, and are comparitively rare.

If you are a betting man and see a Chinese sword in any antique shop or market then I give you 9 to 1 it is fake/modern. If it had characters inscribed on the antique blade and it sells for $500 then perhaps 99% it is fake.
If you dont know the dealer well and dont look at the WHOLE shop to see if he is for real/honest...and if you havent spent a lot of time learning what period/style and what sort of appearance the sword should have then in turn the chances of finding a real old sword are inversely about 1%.
Harsh reality...but it will save you money next time.
Where & who you buy it from is half of the puzzle. Familiarity with the swords is the other half. There is still a chance to land a fake anyway as even honest dealers are fooled.
Buying Chinese antiques is a complex business.