We know that in the Spring and Autumn Period, the sword casting technology of Wu and Yue could be described as the best in the world.
At that time, the Sword of Wu Yue was already a difficult thing to find.
For example, in the "Zhuangzi Outer Chapter, Deliberate", it is said: "Those who have the sword of the sword of the ganyue, but hide it, do not dare to use it, and the treasure is also the most precious." ”
This means that there are swords produced in Wuyue today, which are hidden in a box and dare not use them easily, because they are the most precious treasures.
Top 10 Famous Swords of Ancient China
Since modern times, with the development of archaeological work, a number of Wuyue bronze weapons have been unearthed, allowing us to witness the true appearance of Wuyue's divine soldiers.
Among them, especially the "Yue Wang Gou Jian Sword" excavated in Jiangling, Hubei Province in 1965 is the most famous.
The sword is 55.7 cm long, 4.6 cm wide, with a hilt length of 8.4 cm, and the lattice is inlaid with blue glazing on the front and turquoise on the back.
Near the front of the sword body, there is a bird seal inscription of "Yue Wang Dove (Hook) Shallow (Practice), Self-Acting Sword".
Most notably, the sword is covered with regular black diamond-shaped dark checkered ornaments.
The Yue King hooked the sword
Such ornaments also appeared on some other Wuyue bronze weapons.
For example, in 1983, the "Wu Wang Fu Cha Bronze Spear", also excavated in Jiangling, Hubei Province, was also covered with diamond-shaped geometric dark patterns.
These ornaments are simple and tough, very decorative, and no matter how they are wiped, they will not be erased, the adhesion is extremely strong, and it seems to be similar to the modern "electroplating" process, which has aroused widespread concern from the academic circles at home and abroad.
How are they made? What is the cultural significance? It has become an important topic for scholars at home and abroad.
Wu Wangfu sent a spear
According to the research findings of Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Institute of Materials Research, Fudan University and other institutions:
1. These diamond-shaped ornaments are formed after the completion of the sword casting.
2. From the perspective of chemical composition, the tin content of diamond-shaped ornaments is high, the copper content is low, and it contains a small amount of iron, which is called tin-based alloy by professional scholars;
The copper sword matrix is copper content higher than tin content, which is a copper-based alloy.
3. The degree of oxidative corrosion of diamond-shaped ornaments is much greater than that of the matrix part, and the main component of oxidative corrosion products is tin oxide.
4. The ornament is the same as the matrix structure, and all of them are branch crystal crystals, indicating that the formation of the ornamental area has a casting and solidification process from liquid to solid.
Yue Wang Gouge
Researchers believe that these diamond-shaped ornaments are cast in bronze swords, coated on the surface of the sword with a paste equipped with a natural binder and high tin alloy powder, and the alloy components are spread to the bronze sword matrix by heating.
The painted part is white, and the unpainted part is still yellow, thus forming a yellow-and-white, sparkling diamond-shaped ornament.
That is to say, the diamond-shaped ornaments on bronze weapons such as the Yue Wang Gou Jian Sword and the Wu Wang Fu Cha Spear were originally yellow and white as the main colors.
However, after thousands of years of soaking in humus acid aqueous solution in tombs, the bronze sword body and the diamond-shaped ornament have different corrosion resistance, thus forming the "diamond-shaped dark check" that we see today in black and white gray.
These diamond-shaped ornaments play a role in preserving and decorating the bronze sword body, indicating that China mastered the unique surface alloying technology of the metal coating process as early as 2500 years ago, which can be described as a major invention in the history of Chinese science and technology.
Sword casting master Ou Yezi
However, some scholars have put forward other views on this issue.
For example, some scholars believe that the diamond-shaped ornaments on such utensils are first tinned, and then special chemical treatment is done on the surface of the tin.
Some foreign scholars believe that after the weapon was cast, the surface of the sword body was etched with natural vegetable acid or natural acid salt, and may have used infiltration, glazing and sealing processes to make diamond-shaped ornaments.
So far, the mystery behind the "diamond-shaped dark lattice pattern" on the surface of these Wuyue Divine Soldiers has not yet been completely cracked, and further research is needed.
Reticulation on Neolithic Majiayao culture pottery
As for the cultural meaning of these diamond-shaped ornaments, it is even more difficult for us to understand because of their age.
In this regard, today's researchers have put forward a variety of various statements, such as -
Some people believe that the diamond-shaped ornamentation evolved from the fish pattern, like some polychrome pottery in the Neolithic period, there are similar reticulates, which actually reflect the ancient ancestors' worship of the exuberant reproductive ability of fish, that is, a kind of fertility worship.
Some people also believe that the diagonal shape of the diamond-shaped ornament represents the "place" in the concept of "heavenly round place" of the ancients, that is, the concept of expressing land, reflecting the worship of land by ancient ancestors.
Some people also believe that the diamond shape in ancient times represented the North Star, and the ancients had great respect for the North Star, believing that it was fixed and immovable, and all the stars revolved around it, which was a symbol of the emperor. Therefore, the diamond-shaped ornaments appear on the sword of the Yue King and the spear of the Wu King Fuchai, which actually reflects the worship of the North Star of the ancients.
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