When I was in high school, there was a literary text in the textbook "Jing Ke's Assassination of the King of Qin", selected from "Warring States Policy Yance III", the article is very long and wonderful, and the narrative is very loud and colorful.
"Jing Ke's Assassination of the King of Qin" in the middle school Chinese textbook
Especially at the moment of "See the Dagger of Tuqiong", it is even more thrillingly written, although there are not many words, but every word can firmly grasp the reader's heart: "(Jing Ke) holds the sleeve of the King of Qin with his left hand, and holds the dagger in his right hand." Before he arrived, King Qin was shocked, and he rose from his own lead. Draw the sword, the sword is long, its room. When the time is urgent, the sword is strong, so it cannot be pulled out. ”
The text says that Jing Ke's left hand grabbed King Qin's left sleeve, and raised a dagger with his right hand to stab directly. King Qin was quite agile, and a series of avoidance movements were as fast as flowing water, in one go: he jumped up, ripped off his sleeves, and drew his sword to fight back. However, because of the "sword strength", the sword did not come out.
Jing Ke's assassination of the King of Qin
Just as King Qin was fleeing around the pillar and "panicked and did not know what to do," "the left and right said: 'The king bears the sword! Wang negative sword! Then he struck Jing Ke, cutting off his left strand. ”
When the teacher was lecturing, he explained this as follows: King Qin's sword was too long, and he couldn't pull it out after several times. At this critical juncture, the left and right attendants repeatedly reminded King Qin to carry the sword on his back, and finally the long sword was successfully unsheathed.
Jing Ke's assassination of the King of Qin
In the article, "draw the sword, the sword is long", this is easy to understand, but the two sentences "its room" and "sword strength" are a little puzzling, and what makes people scratch their heads is what kind of action this "negative sword" is, and how can it make the "long" and "strong" sword easily pull out of the scabbard?
How long is King Qin's sword
The story of Jing Ke's assassination of Qin is also recorded in detail in the "History of the Assassins", but the "History", like the "Warring States Policy", only says "sword chief", how long it is, did not say.
Statue of Qin Shi Huang
According to the Western Han literature "Salt and Iron Treatise on Bravery", it is recorded: "The doctor said: 'Jing Ke's plan for several years and does not succeed, the shakuhachi dagger is not enough. The King of Qin was unconcerned, and he was a seven-foot profiter." ”
The doctor in the text refers to Sang Hongyang, the imperial master of the Western Han Dynasty. Sang Hongyang came from a merchant family, and at the age of thirteen, he entered the palace with his mental calculations, and gradually became a minister and financial expert of Emperor Wudi of Han.
Portrait of Qin Shi Huang
In the sixth year of the first century (81 BC), Sang Hongyang told the sixty sages who debated with him at the Yantie Conference that Jing Ke's attempt to assassinate the King of Qin had failed because the dagger in his hand was too short. Not to mention Jing Ke, even world-famous warriors such as Meng Ban and Xia Yu would die under King Qin's seven-foot long sword.
This document clearly records that the sword of the King of Qin is seven feet long, according to archaeologist Sun Ji's "Han Dynasty Material Culture Data Map", one foot in the Han Dynasty is about 23.1 cm, and the seven feet is about 161.7 cm, which is almost as long as Sun Wukong's golden hoop rod on the stage.
Unearthed Qin Han long sword
In addition to the long sword worn by the King of Qin, there are many records in the literature about the seven-foot sword of the Qin and Han dynasties.
"Hanshu Jing 13 Kings Biography": "There is a painting of Chengqing at the gate of his temple, a short coat and a long sword, go to Haozhi, make a seven-foot-five-inch sword, and be obeyed." ”
"Chengqing" in the text, Jin Dynasty Shang Shulang Jin Zhuo said that it was Jing Ke, and the Sui Dynasty scholar Yan Shigu believed that it was not Jing Ke, but a warrior in ancient times. "Go" means Liu Go, the King of Guangchuan, who was the great-grandson of Liu Qi, the emperor of Hanjing.
The image of the warrior Chengqing in the Han dynasty portrait brick
On the door of the main hall where Liu went hung a portrait of Cheng Qing wearing shorts and pants and wearing a long sword, Liu Qu admired it very much, so he also made a seven-foot-five inch long sword and shorts and trousers according to the appearance in the painting.
"Hou Hanshu Feng Yi Biography": "The car drove (Feng Yi) to Henan, and gave him a seven-foot sword." ”
Feng Yi, the founding general of the Eastern Han Dynasty, ranked seventh in the "Yuntai Twenty-Eight Generals". This passage says that when the Chimei army rebelled and the great Situ Deng Yu lost to Chimei, the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu sent Feng Yi to pacify Chimei, and before leaving, he gave him a carriage and a seven-foot sword, that is, a seven-foot sword decorated with precious jade. Feng Yi also did not live up to Liu Xiu's trust, defeated Chimei in the Battle of Xiandi, forced the landing of 80,000 Chimei, and made great battle achievements.
A nobleman wearing a long sword in an ancient painting
It can be seen from this that from the Warring States to the Two Han Dynasties, there has always been a seven-foot sword. Moreover, through these historical materials, it can be seen that the seven-foot sword was a treasure weapon at that time, and it was worn by emperors and princes.
So, why did the ancient dignitaries like to wear seven-foot long swords?
Why did the King of Qin wear a long sword
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the material for casting swords was bronze, but bronze was brittle and the sword was easy to break, so it was generally a short sword. For example, the world's first sword, Yue Wang Goujian Sword, is only 55.6 cm long. The Yue King Yue King in the collection of the Zhejiang Provincial Museum is 52.4 cm long.
Yue Wang Gou Jian sword
Later, due to the improvement of the casting level and the needs of military actual combat, from the Warring States period to the Qin and Han dynasties, the development trend of the sword was getting longer and longer. As the saying goes, an inch long, a point strong, the longer the weapon in hand, the wider the attack range, the greater the attack power.
In the Qin Warrior Pit, a total of 22 bronze swords have been unearthed so far, ranging in length, the longest 95 centimeters and the shortest 81 centimeters, nearly half longer than the Yue King sword in the Spring and Autumn period.
Han dynasty portrait of a long sword on a brick
King Huan of Qin was tall, strong, and dignified in appearance. The Northern Song Dynasty's "Taiping Yuyan" quoted the "River Map" and said: "Emperor Qin's famous government, Hukou, Rijiao, Damu, rhinlong, eight feet six inches long, seven encirclements, holding a soldier and holding an arrow, famous ancestral dragon." ”
Eight feet six inches, according to the current conversion, is equivalent to about 198.66 centimeters, nearly two meters, even today is a rare great husband.
In ancient times, the sword was not only a weapon, but also a ceremonial weapon, a symbol of social status and status.
Photocopy of the Taiping Palace
The Han Dynasty's "Jiazi" said: "The ancient Son of Heaven had a sword in his crown at twenty, the princes with a sword in his crown at thirty, a doctor with a sword in his crown at forty, and a man without a sword."
At the same time, the length and weight of the sword also vary according to the rank of the wearer.
The document "Kaogongji", which describes the specifications and manufacturing processes of various types of handicrafts in the official camp during the Warring States period, says this: "The length of the body is five and the stem is long, and the weight is nine pounds. The length is four and its stem is long, and it weighs seven pounds, which is called the middle system, and the sergeant's uniform. The length of the body is three and its stem is long, and it weighs five pounds, which is called the subordinate system, and the corporal wears. ”
The "stem" is the hilt of the sword, the part that is held with the hand. "The length of the body is five times the length of the stem", which means that the length of the sword body is five times that of the hilt. 锊, pronounced lüè (pronounced "slightly"), an ancient unit of weight, about six taels. The longer the sword, the higher the status of the wearer, the more prominent the status, and the more it can show his extraordinary grace and power.
Therefore, King Huanzheng of Qin wore a sword up to one meter and six two, not only for self-defense, but also to show the majesty of a great power.
Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of Qin
Although the long sword can enhance the power of the attack, its disadvantage is also obvious, that is, it is not very good to draw the sword, and in an emergency, it is necessary to use the "negative sword" method to successfully pull out the sword.
So, what kind of action is "negative sword"?
What is a "negative sword"
According to the explanation of the textbook of the People's Education Edition, a negative sword is "a negative sword on the back". This explanation is a bit ambiguous, whether to carry the sword on the back or push the sword to the back position, the textbook does not explicitly say, it is estimated that the author of the textbook has also noticed the great controversy about the "negative sword theory".
High School Chinese Textbook "Jing Ke's Assassination of the King of Qin"
King Qin negative sword said that for a long time, the widely accepted view is that King Qin's sword is too long, it is difficult to pull it out in a hurry, and only by "negative" can the sword be unsheathed.
However, what kind of action this "negative" is, people today argue a lot about this.
According to relevant information, when a famous director was filming the movie "Jing Ke's Assassination of the King of Qin", he once asked the actor to carry the sword on his back, and then pulled the sword from the upper part of the shoulder, but he couldn't pull it out. Even if it is barely pulled out, in a panic run, the sharp blade is very likely to hurt the neck, which is very dangerous.
Negative sword
Regardless of whether this information is true or not, anyway, we don't see the plot of "negative sword" in this movie, but this picture: Above the main hall, all the attendants loudly remind "Wang negative sword!" Wang negative sword! ”。 In a panic, King Qin fled around the pillar, and the long sword was very obstructive in front of him. At this time, a royal medical medicine sac threw Jing Ke, a courtier took the opportunity to run forward, grabbed the scabbard with both hands, King Qin grabbed the hilt, with the help of the attendant, King Qin finally pulled out his long sword and stabbed Jing Ke in one fell swoop.
King Qin said that there has been no controversy in ancient times. Sima Zhen of the Tang Dynasty's "Shiji Suoyin" quotes the Eastern Jin Dynasty king's saying: "The ancients took the sword long, and they couldn't pull it out of the room, and they wanted the king to push it on his back, so that the former was short and easy to pull, so the king of Yun bore the sword." ”
Jing Ke's assassination of the King of Qin
The meaning of this passage is that the so-called "negative sword" is actually to "push the sword on the back", that is, to pan along the belt to the back position, so that the difficulty of drawing the sword can be greatly reduced, and the long sword can be drawn smoothly.
Sima Zhen's "Suoyin" quotes "Yan Danzi": "The sword of Lulu can be pulled out of bearing." According to Guo Moruo's research, the King of Qin defeated Jing Ke with the Lulu sword, so the "negative" in the sentence and the "negative" of the "Wang negative sword" have the same meaning.
Wang Shao's explanation of the "Wang Negative Sword" of the Eastern Jin Dynasty has been widely recognized by ancient and modern scholars.
The royal man in the bronze carriage of Qin Shi Huang
For example, Zhang Qingchang and Wang Yandong's "Warring States Policy Note" believes: "King Yan pushes the sword behind his back. Note: The sword is too long to pull out, so let the King of Qin push the sword behind his back in order to pull it out. ”
Xiong Xianguang's "Warring States Policy Research and Selected Translation" Yiyun: "It means pushing the sword behind the back so that it can be drawn." In ancient times, the sword was long and not easy to draw, and pushed to the back was short and easy to draw. ”
Xiong Xianguang even put the "Jing Ke's Assassination of the King of Qin" in "Left and right: 'The king bears the sword!'" Wang negative sword! This sentence directly translates to: "The people on both sides shouted: 'The king quickly pushes the sword behind his back!'" The king is quick to push the sword behind his back! ’”
The royal man in the bronze carriage of Qin Shi Huang
So why do you have to push the sword down on your back in order to pull it out of its scabbard? This involves an ancient saber method: "Juan-style saber method".
What is "Juan"
璏, pronounced zhì (pronounced "zhi"), Eastern Han Xu Shen's "Say Wen Jie Zi": "璏, sword-nosed jade ornament." "It is a method of bonding with glue or binding with fine silk thread, which is installed on the shell of the scabbard and used to fix the nose button of the scabbard, mostly jade, but also copper, but relatively rare. Its position is about a third below the sheath, while the whole sword is located exactly in the middle.
Jian Juan
The sword is rectangular in shape, with a frame at the bottom for easy passage of the belt, and the sword can be fixed to the belt.
Spring and Autumn Warring States, Qin and Han period swords, the sword body is generally relatively long, when worn around the waist must be tightened, otherwise it will shake left and right, bump, hinder people's actions, more importantly, for the nobles of the Spring and Autumn Warring States, saber is a ritual that must be fully valued, so people invented the Juan-style saber method.
Yu Juan
The so-called "saber method" is to use a thin leather or silk belt to pass through the square hole at the bottom of the sword, and then tie the belt around the waist.
Ancient sword
In this way, the sword body is close to the waist, and the sword Juan is shown outward, so people decorate the surface of the sword Juan with various patterns, such as cloud patterns, animal face patterns, tiger patterns, valley patterns, cloud patterns, nipple patterns, etc., which are very gorgeous, to show the etiquette level and aesthetic taste of the nobility.
Yu Juan
In general, the sword should be worn on the left waist. When Jing Ke went to the temple alone, King Qin sat on the ground behind the case, so the King of Qin should have pulled the sword worn on the left side along the sword belt to the front of his abdomen at this time, and after sitting on the ground, he placed the long sword horizontally on his left leg in front of his abdomen.
When Jing Ke put the map scroll in front of King Qin's case, slowly opened it, and finally saw the dagger, Jing Ke raised the dagger to stab Qin, and King Qin was shocked, ripped off his sleeves, and hurriedly drew his sword.
Schematic diagram of Jian Juan
At this time, King Qin's long sword was still hanging in front of his abdomen. Panicked, King Qin forgot to push the sword back into place on the left side.
If King Qin wants to draw his sword from in front of him, the sheath must be just level with the waist, but because the sword of the King of Qin is too long, in the way of the sword, the sheath is not at the waist, but about 40 cm above the waist. That is to say, even if King Qin pulls the sword to the limit, there will still be nearly 40 centimeters of the sword body left in the sheath. So this sword can't be pulled out at all no matter what in front of him.
The saber technique
In a hurry, King Qin "his room" and wanted to draw his sword again, but because of the "sword strength", he failed to succeed.
So, what does Sima Qian's "Jianjian" mean?
What is "Jianjian"
According to the explanation of the textbook of the People's Education Edition, the so-called "sword Jian" means "the sword is inserted tightly". However, this statement is very unconvincing.
The so-called "tight sword" means that the sword body is stuck in the scabbard, in other words, King Qin's sword is out of order and cannot be pulled out.
Schematic diagram of the saber method
According to the "Shiji Qin Shi Huang Benji": "Ji You, crown, with sword." "King Huanzheng of Qin was on the throne of Qin at the age of 13, and he was pro-government at the age of 21. When Jing Ke assassinated Qin, King Qin was 33 years old and had been carrying a sword for more than ten years, and he must have known his sword well.
Moreover, the sword-making technology of the Qin Kingdom is very superb, even ordinary swords will not be stuck, and the craftsmen make swords for the King of Qin, how dare they not care? How could it be allowed that the sword stuck in the scabbard could not be pulled out?
The name of the sword part in the Qin and Han dynasties
Besides, if it's really because the sword is inserted too tightly and can't be pulled out from the front of the body, is it pulled from behind, and the sword is not tight? In "Jing Ke's Assassination of the King of Qin", it is clearly written: "Negative sword, then pull out to hit Jing Ke, cut off his left thigh", King Qin pushed the sword behind his back, pulled the sword out at once, and cut Jing Ke's thigh. If the sword is inserted tightly, even if King Qin draws the sword with the negative sword method, it will take half a day's effort.
Therefore, it is obviously wrong to understand "Jianjian" as a tightly inserted sword. What it really means is that the King of Qin used the Juan-style saber method, which tied the knot with a belt to firmly fix the scabbard around his waist. "Jian" here refers to between the scabbard and the belt, not between the sword body and the scabbard.
Schematic diagram of ancient jade swords
At that time, the King of Qin "his room", not holding the scabbard with his left hand and then drawing the sword with his right hand, but directly using his left hand to "violently pick the sword". In other words, King Qin could not draw his sword from in front of him, and in a hurry, he used violent methods to break the sword from the scabbard, or simply break the sword belt tied around his waist.
This method is also the usual "sword picking" pulling method, that is, unfastening the belt rope buckle, removing the long sword from the sheath around the waist, and then holding the sheath in one hand and the handle in the other, and stretching the arms horizontally to draw the sword.
Live buckle on the front end of the sword strap
However, the quality of King Qin's sword and belt was so good that no matter how much strength he used, he could not make the sword juan fall off the scabbard, nor could he break the sword belt.
In the face of Jing Ke's sudden attack, King Qin, who could not take off his sword, suddenly did not know what to do, and in a panic, he could only hold the scabbard in his hand and run around the pillar.
The saber technique
Ancient text, concise writing. "Warring States Policy" or "Shiji", after writing "its room", he spared ink like gold, and did not specifically say that he took the sword, because the Western Han Dynasty had a seven-foot sword, and people knew that the seven-foot sword needed to be taken off first and then drawn, so there was no need to repeat it. (Zhang Wenping)