In the pre-Qin period, the Central Plains people referred to the ethnic minorities living in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the southeast coastal area, the southern coastal area, and the southwest coastal area as "Yue". Depending on the region, these so-called Yue groups can be subdivided into different groups such as Wuyue (southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang), Minyue (Fujian), and Nanyue (Guangdong). At first glance, this Yue people seem to be a marginal ethnic group, and their strength is not strong. But in fact, it is not, the Yue kingdom in the Wuyue struggle for hegemony is a country with the Yue people as the main body, its territory is in the Wuyue region, and the Yue king is also one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period (a certain version), and no one can underestimate it.
▲ Although the Yue King Gou Jian Yue Wang Gou Jian is powerful, the Yue Kingdom did not last long. In 333 BC, the Chu army and the Vietnamese army engaged, the Vietnamese army was killed in a river of blood, and the Yue king Wujian was also killed by the Chu army. Since then, the Yue kingdom has been divided into two countries, East Vietnam and Ou Yue, and many Other Yue people have migrated to various parts of southern China. In the literature, these Yue people and Dongyue, Ouyue and other ethnic groups known as Yue are grouped together and collectively referred to as "Baiyue".
▲ The Baiyue region in the general sense of the Baiyue Warring States Short Sword mainly includes most of the four provinces of Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Jiangxi in modern China, parts of Zhejiang and Hunan provinces, and the northern parts of modern Vietnam. Both Wu and Yue were known for producing famous swords during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, and the shape of the typical sword type of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was derived from the Wuyue bronze sword. However, with the fusion of cultures, later, the Vietnamese bronze sword is no longer a regional specialty, first, this sword type has spread, since everyone makes it, it is not possible to say whose unique thing; second, later the Yueguo is gone, what do you say about the Yue national sword? However, the Baiyue region still has its own characteristic sword type, and a flat-stemmed short sword has been excavated from tombs everywhere, which is the unique sword type of Baiyue.
▲ Guangxi Museum, warring states round head flat stem copper short sword spring and autumn period, Baiyue area commonly used a kind of flat stem short sword (hereinafter referred to as Baiyue flat stem short sword). This kind of sword flat stem and oblique shoulders is similar to the willow leaf sword shape system used by the Zhou people, but the instrument type is relatively light and thin, and the process is relatively rough, which should be cast by the local residents imitating the shape of the Central Plains artifacts. Fujian, Hunan, Guangdong and other places have unearthed the Baiyue flat-stemmed short sword in the Spring and Autumn Period. Most of the Baiyue flat-stemmed short swords have a perforation on the stem, and some swords without perforations have a concave defect on both sides of the stem. Similar to the method of mounting the handle of the Western Zhou Willow Leaf Sword, when the Baiyue Flat Stem Short Sword is mounted, the sword stem is first clamped with two pieces of wood, and then the wooden strip and the sword stem are connected together with rivets, and if the sword stem is not perforated, the Baiyue Flat Stem Short Sword is tied together with a rope. The perforations and concave defects on the short sword of the Baiyue flat stem are used to thread rivets and bind ropes.
▲ Guangxi Museum Warring States Baiyue Zhongyuan style round head double hoop copper short sword, in 1974 Pingle County Yinshanling No. 106 tomb excavated during the Warring States period, Baiyue area in addition to the use of flat stem short swords, but also widely used the Central Plains style of the Zhou style sword. Under the influence of the Central Plains, the short sword system in the Baiyue area also changed. Liangguang and southern Hunan have unearthed many Baiyue flat-stemmed short swords from the Warring States period. Most of these swords are folded shoulders, only a few are oblique shoulders, the spine of the sword is obviously raised, the cross-section of the sword body is cross-shaped, and it is generally equipped with a disc-shaped sword head. Some of the short swords are equipped with sword grids, which are mainly concave sword grids, and a few are one-character grids. In addition to the short body of the sword, the shape of these swords is generally consistent with the flat-stemmed copper swords in the Central Plains, which should be the sword type evolved by the local flat-stemmed copper swords under the influence of the Central Plains copper swords.
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