Virtual Pole Press: Being bent is a gradual process and the result of cultural exchange between East and West.
Cultural inclusion refers to the internalization phenomenon that occurs when different cultures come into contact with each other, and this process includes many stages such as acceptance, synthesis, and creation, through which culture absorbs external factors to enrich itself. Cultural inclusion is different from both cultural confrontation and cultural assimilation, which is a process of systematic absorption, transformation and reconstruction of foreign cultures and heterogeneous cultures, and at the same time it is also a process of revaluation, reflection and transformation of local cultures. The artifacts depicted in his works by the Persian miniature painting Holy Hand Abasi in his works perfectly embody the fusion of Eastern and Western art.
▲ Reza Abbasil"Defender's Satchel Diagram"
1622-1624, watercolor on paper, gold miniature, 17.8 x 8.9 cm
Collection of the Detroit Museum of Art, USA
This "Defender's Shoulder Knife Diagram" recreates for us the majesty of the Damascus machete in the 17th century. In fact, the early Arabs did not use the crescent machete, but a straight sword similar to the common use of the Eastern Romans. Nor is the "Damascus knife" as we call it today produced in Damascus. The historical city of Damascus is a famous distribution center for world commodities, and the Damascus knife is one of the foreign goods that flow into the city of Damascus. In fact, the real origin of these knives is located in Persia, which is famous for its metalworking industry since ancient times, especially after the Arabs conquered the Sassanid Dynasty, they immediately caught the exquisite swords produced in Persia, and since then they have had another weapon to conquer the world. "Double-edged sword, single-edged knife, straight sword machete" seems to be a conclusive conclusion in ancient and modern China and abroad, but is the knife really curved since ancient times? Of course not, the bending of the knife is a gradual process, and it is also the result of the mutual connotation of heterogeneous cultures.
After the fall of Sassanid Persia, a large number of excellent Persian swordsmiths poured into China to avoid war, and they not only improved the production process of Tang knives, but also made Tang swords more western in decoration. The combination of Persian craftsmen who mastered advanced knife-making technology and the efficient official handicraft system of the Tang Dynasty laid the foundation for the development of Tang swords and even later Generations of Chinese swords.
▲ Sabre samurai in the mural of the tomb of Princess Changle of Tang in Xi'an
The Tang knife is divided into four forms: instrument knife - ceremonial knife, carved gorgeously, the handle end has a dragon and phoenix ring head, the length exceeds the general combat knife, when the sheath ends on the ground, the ring head can reach the jaw; horizontal knife - standing combat knife, the early Tang generals almost have a mouth, its length can reach one meter; strange knife - long handle long blade, large opening and closing, is the Tang Dynasty's premier supreme weapon; 鄣 (barrier) knife - self-defense short knife, portable and brisk, generally not suitable for insertion into the sheath to wear.
The forging of Tang knife absorbs the technology of the previous generation of hundred steelmaking and local quenching, and on this basis, in line with the concept of "good steel is used on the blade", new processes such as covering soil burning blade and steel sandwich steel have been developed, forming a new Type of Chinese combat knife that cuts iron like mud. Tang Dynasty knife makers had extremely high requirements for the quality of iron ore, and often chose Damascus steel as a material. Therefore, the Tang Dao, whether in terms of craftsmanship or material, is deservedly called the best killer in the Medieval World.
▲ The gold and silver tungsten tang knife of No. 38 North Warehouse in Shosoin
The main difference between the Tang horizontal knife and the Japanese sword is the "xín" (镡) ( handguard or sword grid). This is due to the different knife techniques of the two countries: the Japanese sword is dedicated to chopping, and in order to prevent the opponent's knife from hurting the hand holding the knife during the confrontation, a large hammer is needed to open the blade of the opponent's shunshi split.
▲ Japanese "Tai Dao" (i.e. long knife) Ming Zheng Heng with Chrysanthemum pattern loose silk roll Tai Dao made
The body of the knife was made in the 12th century and the sheath was made in the 18th century
Collection of the Tokyo National Museum, Japan
▲ Japanese "shoji" (i.e. short knife)
The knife body was made by Xiangzhou Fangzong from the second half of the 15th century to the first half of the 16th century
The sheath was made in the second half of the 18th century
Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
The use of the Tang knife is more like a sword, mainly used for stabbing, so the volume of the Tang knife is generally not large, and the main role is to prevent slipping, so as not to accidentally injure their hands. It is precisely because the stabbing function of the Tang knife is prominent, so the shape of the knife body usually tends to be straight, which is very different from the machete used for chopping.
For example, the "gold and silver tungsten Tang Big Knife" from China preserved in Shosoin, Japan, the handle is wrapped in white mackerel skin, the sheath of the knife is black paint, there are "last golden wisps" of flying clouds, walking beasts, flowers and Tang grass and other ornaments, equipped with silver bottom gilded, through-carved Tang grass pattern, inlaid with blue and green glass, crystal and jade, and the side decoration of the X-pattern of the knife is so small that it is easy to be ignored, which is different from the large Japanese sword hammer.
Japanese sword hammer is also known as "emu"
Next articleWe continue to talk about who broke the knife of the country...