In ancient times, when science and technology had not yet developed at full speed and there was no mechanical thermal technology such as explosives, such as knives, swords, crossbows, and red guns were common weapons in fighting or on the battlefield.
Among them, the "sword" is the most familiar to the public, those handsome costumed male gods who do not hold a slender and sharp sword in their hands, who do not play a set of beautiful and sharp sword skills seem to be unworthy of the name...
Today we will talk about the little thing about the "sword", especially the protagonist mentioned this time, "The Sword of The Sword", a precious sword handed down from the Han Dynasty, which is said to be worth more than 1 billion.
The sword was snatched from the Yuanmingyuan, and the British refused to return it
The "Han Dynasty Sword" now treasured in the British Museum is the only sword that exists in the Han Dynasty at present, and it is cleverly designed and combines the characteristics of the Qin and Han Dynasties, which can be described as extremely precious and loved.
It is a pity that it is out there and not in our country.
Speaking of its "fall", we must also mention the history of humiliation that we do not want to look back on, which is a trauma remembered in the annals of domestic history!
In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded and occupied our Chinese land and swept away the world-famous imperial garden Yuanmingyuan, they not only snatched many treasures in the garden, including the sword hidden here, but also wantonly destroyed the exquisite facilities in the park, so that it was completely destroyed in a fire!
The reason why the British army in the Eight-Nation Alliance looked at the sword at a glance was nothing more than its "internal and external beauty" - in appearance, its decoration and carving were both exquisite and atmospheric; internally, it could be preserved as an iron material since the Han Dynasty, which was rare and precious!
Moreover, the sword has been forged very rarely in history, let alone existed in the world! Some professionals have valued this sword, and its value is more than 1 billion! Naturally, the British army took it back to England and placed it in the Museum of England.
In the change of time, more than a hundred years have passed and the British still occupy this sword that belongs to the mainland, although we have been asking each other for many years to return overseas cultural relics, but after many negotiations, the British side still refused to return the sword to its original owner.
The history of the forging of the sword bears witness to the wisdom of the ancients
Both China and Britain attach so much importance to this sword, and its cultural value is self-evident.
Looking at the archaeological community on the mainland, although many Han swords have been excavated before, most of them are rusty and incomplete, but this sword has been completely "passed down".
We also learned from the superb sword-making technology of the ancient Han Dynasty, below, we follow the footsteps of historical development to see the creation process of the "sword" necessary for weapons...
The sword is also known as the "king of the soldiers" and the "king of a hundred soldiers", which shows that the people who use the sword are mostly temperamental "gentlemen".
This "beautiful and dangerous" weapon dates back to the Shang Dynasty, when it also had the role of accessories, representing social status.
In addition, the bronze manufacturing industry during the Shang Dynasty was very prosperous, so most of the swords at that time were made of bronze materials, and it also had a name that we often hear of as "bronze sword".
Of course, in addition to its symbolic status, it can also be used as the main weapon of war to adapt to the turbulent Shang Dynasty.
How do you observe the quality of a sword? The key lies in its material and design, and the exquisite design of the precious sword is breathtaking, which brings us to the protagonist of this sword, "The Sword of the Sword".
The Bronze Age ended with the development of ancient technology, and we ushered in the "Iron Age" at this time.
Although the sword made of iron is harder than the bronze material, this obviously has the disadvantage that it is easy to rust, so it is extremely difficult to preserve the iron sword for a long time.
However, how did the sword that existed as a national treasure be passed down through the ages?
The iron smelting sword technology of the Han Dynasty was far more advanced than modern people thought, and the manufacturing process of the first sword was complex and unique in the world.
A piece of pig iron had to be constantly polished and heated, and it took many procedures to forge it into a world-class sword.
Therefore, the sword is not something that craftsmen can make casually, and in order to ensure that the iron does not rust and corrode, craftsmen have to spend more effort to "maintain" it, so its preciousness can be imagined.
The Han Dynasty fell but the sword survived, and to this day, we can still see the "ingenuity" of the ancient craftsmen through it: its sword head is engraved with a very three-dimensional carved dragon, and the shape is vivid as if it will soar out of the sword in an instant.
To this day, when we observe the sword stored in the British Museum, we can clearly see the obvious carved pattern on its body, which has not been washed by the years and is more delicate and beautiful, with a unique antique atmosphere.
We have never given up on the pursuit of heritage
Compared with the monetary value of the sword, it is obvious that its historical value is more precious, and the 2,000 years of wind and rain have not corroded and destroyed it, making it show the highest level of craftsmanship in ancient times on the mainland to the greatest extent, which is a powerful witness to the development of Chinese national civilization!
Although it is difficult to recover this lost priceless treasure from the British side, we have never given up on recovering it.
"Our country's scientific and technological development is also very strong, can't we make an exact same sword?"
Some people may ask such a question, but we should pay special attention to the Sword of the British Museum not because of how expensive it is, but because of its incomparable historical significance!
This is also the reason why we spare no effort to pursue those treasures that have been lost abroad, because only when they all "return home" is what everyone expects, can we truly show the brilliant historical glory of the Chinese nation in the motherland.
Only in this way can the people of the world learn from the wisdom and wisdom of the ancients and forge ahead, and jointly contribute to the prosperity of the motherland's cultural undertakings!
It is gratifying that we have also made some gratifying achievements in the search for cultural relics: for example, the seven bronze statues of the head of the ox, the head of the monkey, the head of the tiger, the head of the pig, the head of the rat, the head of the rabbit and the head of the horse in the bronze statues of the twelve zodiac animal heads that were lost overseas in the Yuanmingyuan have returned to the motherland in different ways.
I believe that in the near future, this Han Dynasty sword will also return to the embrace of the motherland!