Unearthed in Hubei in 1965, the "Yue Wang Gou Jian Sword" shows the advanced technology and exquisite craftsmanship
The peculiar technology of ancient China has been forgotten for thousands of years in the historical years of smoke, and then, at the time of excavation, the spectacle is shocking and admirable, and excalibur is one of them. The Excalibur buried in the ancient tomb for more than 2,000 years, the brilliance of the ancient and modern times overwhelms the modern people's understanding of ancient Chinese science and technology.
After 2500 years of slumber, I saw the sky again
Late Spring and Autumn Period Yue Wang Sentence Practice (also known as "Gou Jian") (BC?) –465 BC) The sword lay dormant underground for 2,500 years until it was unearthed in 1965 in the Chu Tomb no. 1 of Wangshan, Jiangling County (present-day Jingzhou City), Hubei Province. The most shocking thing is that this sword was unearthed without rust, cold and radiant, sharp as new, sharp, and more than twenty layers of paper were scratched and broken, which also broke the backward concept of modern people on ancient Chinese technology - the original ancient technology was so superb that future generations could not reach it.
The "Yue Wang Sentence Jian Sword" is 55.7 cm long; the width of the sword is 4.6 cm; the length of the hilt is 8.4 cm; and the mass is 875 grams. The sword guard (separating the body and hilt) is set with blue glass on the front and turquoise on the back. Near the handguard of the sword body, there are eight elegant and gorgeous bird and insect book inscriptions engraved with "Yue Wang Dove Shallow Self-Use Hammer". The Bird and Worm Book was a script that flourished in Wuyue from the middle of the Spring and Autumn period to the Warring States period. The pronunciation of the word "鸠浅" in Cantonese is exactly the same as that of "sentence practice" - 鸠: Cantonese gau1 (1: Yinping), sentence (tick character): Cantonese gau1. Two-word pronunciation and tone; shallow: ""Ji Yun" is acting and cutting, and the sound is practiced." Scholars have examined this sword as "Yue Wang Sentence Self-Acting Sword".
The inscription on the sword body reads "Yue Wang Jiu Qian Zi Cha Yi Yi Shu
The two characteristics of "Yue Wang Sentence Jian Sword" are proud of the contemporary era
"Yue Wang Sentence Jian Sword" simultaneously shows the achievements of two major aspects: sophisticated and mysterious sword casting technology and exquisite and rich decorative craftsmanship. The five characteristics stand out from the contemporary level of science and technology.
First, the combination of alloy metal - how are different alloy ratios presented on the same sword?
Experts using proton X fluorescence non-vacuum analysis method to determine the found [1], the main component of this sword is copper, in addition to tin, lead, iron, sulfur and other components, and the alloy ratio of different parts of the sword is also different, such as the sword ridge part of the copper content of more than 80%, in the blade part of the tin composition is high. The sword ridge contains more copper, which can make the sword tough and not easy to break, and the blade contains tin with high hardness and sharper. This is a rare composite metal technique in modern times, and it has been used on this ancient sword from 2500 years ago. What kind of tools and processes were used at that time?
Second, in the underground coffin of the ancient tomb buried in the ancient sword sleeping for 2500 years, why not rust and corrosive, sharp as new?
The sword is not rusty and does not corrode, which is the most jaw-dropping and astonishing thing for posterity, and this phenomenon also appears on many bronzes that have been excavated later. What anti-rust technology and technology were used in ancient Chinese bronzes? To this day, half a century later, it still makes the Western scientific and technological community burn its brain.
The main components of the bronze sword are copper and tin. Tin ductility is very good, not easy to oxidize, if the surface of the bronze sword is fully applied to a thin layer of dense tin film, can produce a good anti-rust, anti-corrosion effect, if it is made well, the effect is straight up to two thousand years.
The other is the anti-rust method of chrome coating. In the 1970s, when the Qin Dynasty Terracotta Warriors and Horses tomb was discovered, many of the bronze swords unearthed were as bright as new as the Jurchen swords. Chinese scientists analyzed a layer of chromium on a small batch of bronze weapons. At that time, the academic community around the world generally accepted that the anti-rust technology of soaking chromium oxide solution was the reason for the perfect preservation of bronze weapons more than 2,000 years ago.
A paper published in the April 2019 issue of scientific reports[2] suggests that the ultra-good preservation of bronzes may be due to the corrosion protection of tin-rich surface dense layers. At the same time, this article rejects the generally accepted argument for soaking chromium oxide solutions for half a century to prevent rust, pointing out that raw lacquer is the source of chromium measured in earlier studies. That is to say, applying raw paint is the key process technology for rust prevention.
So far, all the research findings have not been able to fully solve the mystery of ancient Chinese anti-rust technology, but instead highlight the advanced level of anti-rust technology on the bronze sword of ancient Chinese bronze.
The Yue Wang Sentence that shocked the modern scientific and technological world was a sword.
Third, how is the double-line diamond-shaped check decoration on both sides of the sword made?
The whole of the sword is decorated with a double-line diamond-shaped check, and the line is decorated with lightning clouds at the intersection of the lines, and the surface is flat as if it were formed as one. These regular check decorations seem to be etched, and modern scholars are still not very clear about the etching decoration techniques on ancient swords. Under the non-vacuum analysis of proton X fluorescence, it was found that the sulfur content of the lattice part was higher than that of the other parts. Vulcanization can maintain the bright and long-lasting pattern, and copper sulfide also has the effect of preventing rust.
4. How is the inscription on the sword carved?
The inscription on the sword body of the "Yue Wang Dove Shallow Self-Use Pick" eight-character bird and insect book is as good as new, how was it carved? The modern people who imitate ancient swords use the lost wax method, one of the ancient bronze casting methods, to make a model of the sword, and then insert gold wire by hand, complete the inscription, and then put on white paint, imitating the craftsmanship of 2,500 years ago. But that may not be the only answer.
5. There are 11 concentric circles next to each other on the bottom surface of the hoop-shaped sword head (base), how is it made?
The sword head (base) is hoop-shaped, and there are 11 concentric circles on the bottom surface, and its interval is only 0.2 mm, which is difficult to achieve under modern lathe mechanical technology, and the precision of ancient manual technology is ahead of the mechanical level.
The world's first sword aggregates the essence of heaven and earth
How the above outstanding performance of the world's first sword was achieved was difficult for modern people twenty-five hundred years later. In the records left in "Wu Yue Chunqiu", some wonderful mysteries of the Excalibur can be found, but few people now explore it, perhaps the people's hearts have changed, and the heavens and the earth have moved, so they cannot explore it.
The "Wu Yue Chunqiu" says that the famous sword of the world refined by Ou Yezi (Yizuo Ou Yezi) used the "essence of heaven and earth", and he collected the tin of Chiyan Mountain and the copper of Yexi. The components discovered by contemporary analytical assays are consistent with the records of ancient historical documents. The tin of the Akayo Mountain and the copper of Yesi are rare treasures in the ancient historical records, and presumably the materials in this place contain mysterious and excellent metal compositions. And the treasure mine seems to be opened for famous craftsmen. After Ou Yezi's death, the tin mine mouth of Chiyan Mountain was closed, the water of Yexi was flooded again, and the copper mine could not be recovered.
In fact, the mystery of the ancient Excalibur is not only limited to materials, but also the "Essence of Heaven and Earth" aggregated on top of a sword, which is the key. What does "Spirit of Heaven and Earth" mean? This is where Eastern science and Western empirical science diverge. Let's keep going.
The wonders of mythical culture
Chinese culture emphasizes the unity of heaven and man. "Heaven" is not only the heaven of matter and nature, but also the god and creator of the high realm. Chinese culture is a divine culture, and the gods passed on to Shenzhou Chinese all kinds of gods and creatures, casting an immortal superior culture. The "Wu Yue Chunqiu" records that after refining the copper, tin and other materials for casting swords, it is necessary to "choose an auspicious day and a good time"[3], sprinkled by the heavenly rain master, thunder gong to drum, dragon to hold the hammer, the emperor of heaven to add charcoal, and under the taiyi god to create the excalibur under the watchful eye.
History has come to the modern world, people's morality has generally declined, and many people who do not worship God are even anti-God, so they cannot get God's grace, they have not seen God's guidance for a long time, and miracles have not reappeared. Many people may regard miracles as nonsense. However, in the face of the unearthed ancient Excalibur, modern people cannot solve the mysteries and subtleties of it, and if we do not trace the original source from the root of culture, we will never be able to solve it.
The development of Eastern and Western cultures takes two different paths, two different systems. Ancient Chinese science is to put human life and the universe in a system corresponding to each other, go straight to the mysteries of the universe to explore the road of life, so there are many manifestations of connection with the divine world, which is converted to spiritual belief, manifested in moral cultivation, and also shown in the development and achievement of material civilization. This world's first sword is also one of the manifestations.