Sword of King Goujian of Yue 越王勾践剑

Sword of King Goujian of YueSword of King Goujian of Yue (yuè wáng gōu jiàn jiàn 越王勾践剑) is a delicately made bronze sword, which is awarded as "the best sword in the world". It is 55.6 cm in total length, 45.6 cm in length of the sword body and 4.6 cm in width. It was discovered in 1965 in Jiangling (jiāng ling 江陵), Hubei Province (hú běi shěng 湖北省). Though buried for more than 2000 years, the sword shows no rust at all. It could lacerate more than twenty pieces of paper in one time. It is decorated with veiled rhombus patterns. The hilt of the sword is wrapped with silk thread, and embedded on one side with a blue glaze and on the other a turquoise glaze. There are eight Chinese characters on the sword “越王鸠潜，自乍用剑" (yuè wáng jiū qián, zìzhà yòng jiàn), which means that this sword is belong to King Goujian of Yue.

Sword of King Goujian of YueSword of King Goujian of Yue was made by famous sword smith for many years. It is said that when King Goujian was defeated by the State of Wu, he bestowed five swords as gifts to the King of Wu State (wú wáng 吴王). However, King Goujian was insulted by the King of Wu State. Later, the State of Yue (yuè guó 越国) grew stronger and finally defeated Wu and became the superpower at that time.


Sword is an important weapon in ancient China. It is made up by two parts which are the blade and the hilt. The blade of the sword is slender, and has sharp edges on both sides. After Spring and Autumn Period (chūn qiū shí qī 春秋时期), the sword has been gradually become accessories for the officers, and sword smith focused more on the appearance than its practical usage in casting. Therefore, Sword of King Goujian of Yue is the foremost representative of weapon making in a certain period of ancient China.

 
Sword of King Goujian of Yue越王勾践剑
      越王勾践剑，属青铜剑，制作极其精美。剑长55.7厘米，柄长8.4厘米，剑宽 4.6厘米。越王勾践剑于1965年冬天出土于湖北江陵。虽然在底下埋藏了两千多年，但剑身仍然锋利无比，丝毫没有腐蚀的痕迹。越王勾践剑剑首外翻卷成圆箍形，内铸有间隔只有0.2毫米的11道同心圆，剑身上布满了规则的黑色菱形暗格花纹，剑格正面镶有蓝色玻璃，背面镶有绿松石。靠近剑格的地方有两行鸟篆铭文，共8个字———“越王鸠潜（一说鸠浅，是勾践的通假），自乍（作）用剑”。
    
      越王剑是越王勾践请铸剑名师经历数年精心铸造出来的。据《吴越春秋》和《越绝书》记载，越王勾践曾特请龙泉宝剑铸剑师欧冶子铸造了五把名贵的宝剑。其剑名分别为湛庐、纯钧、胜邪、鱼肠、巨阙，都是削铁如泥的稀世宝剑。据称，后来越被吴打败，勾践曾把湛庐、胜邪、鱼肠三剑献给吴王阖闾求和，但因吴王无道，其中湛庐宝剑“自行而去”，到了楚国。为此，吴楚之间还曾大动干戈，爆发过一场战争。

      剑是我国古代一种重要的近战短兵器。它由剑身和剑柄两部分构成。剑身修长，两面都有利刃，顶端收聚成锋；剑柄则较短，用于手握。由于在格斗中其功能以推刺为主，故又称为“直兵”。

      剑在春秋时期以后的战争中，逐渐从作为实战的短兵器过渡为军官的一种佩饰，剑的铸造也从注重其实战功能转变为注重其外观造形。“越王剑”成了我国古代特定历史时期短兵器制造的杰出代表。