The Yongle Sword treasured by the Forbidden City was snatched away by the Eight-Nation Alliance and became the treasure of the British Museum
Daming Yongle sword, 903 mm long (blade length 76 cm), weighs 1.3 kg, contains 2 kg sheath. It was built under the supervision of the Iron-Blooded Emperor Zhu Di, who handed over the sword to the Buddha of Rulai in 1420. Therefore, the sword box is engraved with the Buddhist auspicious animal "Qiong". The hilt of this sword is cast iron and pit-shaped. This not only increases the feel, but also increases the friction, making the sword difficult to remove. The sword grid is engraved "Joan", the body of the sword is a curly wave relief, and the sheath is a misplaced relief pattern.
The sword was given to the Tibetan Living Buddha in order to strengthen Tibetan rule. You know, after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty retreated to the north of the desert to resist. At this time, the Ming Dynasty's border defense targets were mainly the "Nine Sides" area dominated by the Great Wall. At this time, whether Tibet could obtain the good rule of the Ming Dynasty was related to the security of the Ming Dynasty's border defenses.
Over time, Houjin began to rise slowly in this part of Jianzhou, burning the entire land of China like wildfire, and then other countries surrendered. Tibet is no exception. This Zhu Di sword was also enshrined as a tribute to the imperial court and was treasured by the Qing Dynasty in the Forbidden City.
However, the Opium War opened the door to China, and the Qing Dynasty gradually moved towards the abyss of extinction. In 1900, it was a good year for the Eight-Power Alliance to cross the century. They smashed open the gates of China with 20,000 people. At that time, there were 110,000 well-equipped Qing troops guarding the gates of China. Among them, Japan sent the most troops, and Italy sent the least troops, only a symbolic dispatch of 80 people. After occupying the Royal Palace, they openly plundered the treasures of our country in the name of visiting. Not only that, but a fire also burned down the "Yuanmingyuan". Countless treasures, including the Daming Yongle Sword, were left overseas.
91 years later, the sword was bought by the Royal Ordnance Department Museum for 100,000 swords. Since then, it has become a treasure of the museum's town hall. Through the comparison of Western European swords in the same period, we find that the Daming Yongle sword from the hilt to the sword body, from steel to style, reflects the advanced technology of Chinese ironmaking and the highest technical level of Chinese swords. This sword is also known as the first collection of ancient weapons in the Royal Ordnance Department Museum. But so far, there is still a lot of Chinese treasure flowing overseas. I hope that one day, these national treasures belong to us and can return to our homeland.