Sabre is a decorative weapon of ancient officials and warriors. It is also called official sword because it matches with official clothes. China has strict regulations on swords in past dynasties, and no one is allowed to wear swords except North Korean officials and military commanders. Licensed weapons users such as martial arts schools and escort agencies can only wear swords, but not wear them. In other words, the sword is an official privilege, and the people do not have this treatment. Let's take a look at the swords in Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Tang dynasty saber
The sword in Tang Dynasty is called "waist product", and its body is short. Qing Louis in the Song Dynasty said: "The sword in the Tang Dynasty was a little short, and those who often spin on the side often had waist products." The sword of the Tang Dynasty was first seen in the tomb of Prince Xiao. The head of the sword is shaped like a cloud with three ears. At the end of the Tang dynasty, the sword case was widened to block the hand. The decoration of the sheath is very complicated, and there are segmented hoops and ears on the hoop of the sheath mouth. Famous swords in Tang Dynasty are mostly decorated with gold and silver and inlaid with semi-precious stones or precious stones. Most of these swords are worn by senior civilian and military officials. Due to the times, the authentic Tang Jian almost does not exist. The picture shows a modern imitation.
Sabre in song dynasty
The sword in Song Dynasty was made in Tang Dynasty, and Wu Jing Zong Yao recorded two colors of the sword: "The sword is decorated with silver and copper, and it is quite convenient to make a thick-ridged dagger in the military." There are two kinds of swords in Song Dynasty, one is cloud head, the other is butterfly-shaped, which is bud and cloud head, with hollow handflowers and ropes in the middle and thin ears at the end. The hilt is short and thick or twisted with silk. The scabbard is decorated with luxurious swords such as gold, silver, copper and jade for officers to wear. There are few physical objects unearthed from Song bamboo slips. The picture shows a rare sword in the Song Dynasty.
The Yuan Dynasty wore swords.
Yuan dynasty is a blind spot in the field of historiography. Some scholars believe that there were more swords than knives among the short soldiers in the Yuan Dynasty, but it was difficult to obtain evidence because of the scarcity of physical objects. Among the few unearthed knight figurines, there are swords, but they are short in length and more like self-defense daggers. When the Yuan Army marched eastward to Japan, there was a portrait of a Mongolian army wearing a straight sword in the battle map of Japan, with a long body, a narrow blade and a huge hand guard. A command knife in Yuan Dynasty, a folk collection, is a rare sword in Yuan Dynasty, which was used by officers in Yuan Dynasty.
Ming dynasty saber
The Ming emperor wore epee, and there were many imperial swords handed down from ancient times and unearthed by the emperor. The blade worn by princes and ministers in the early Ming Dynasty was made in the Song Dynasty, and its length was more than 1 meter. Cleouis-shaped armguard, hollow embossed hilt and ring-shaped head are all made of iron and silver, and the sword jewelry is bullfighting and gold-plated. Bullfighting patterns were forbidden to be used by officials and civilians in the early days, and then they were only used by royal ministers.
In the middle period, the sword worn by princes and nobles was a three-foot sword, weighing six taels per catty, with a Coriolus versicolor sword block and a gourd-shaped three-eared sword head. The scabbard is engraved with the double lion ball and the autumn scenery of Chunshan respectively. The scabbard is all covered with copper, full of hollowed-out swastika patterns, and the hollowed-out place is burned with enamel. More than a dozen sea animal patterns are intaglio, and all the fittings are gold-plated. In the middle and late period, the length of the sword is 96 cm, and the cloud is connected to block the sword. The three-eared head of the gourd, the hanging beam, the hanging beam hoop and the scabbard are connected as a whole. The whole sword is engraved with dragon patterns, all of which are four claws, which is the most beautiful among the five generations of sabers.
Sabre in Qing dynasty
The Qing Dynasty, like the Ming Dynasty, attached great importance to swords, and all civil and military officials below the emperor wore swords. But military commanders wear swords in wartime and swords in peacetime. There were many swords in Qing dynasty, many of which were swords of royalty and princes. Among the emperors of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Qianlong liked making swords best, and his sword was the largest among the emperors of the Qing Dynasty.
Ganlong Dizi No.1 Yun Yun Sword is one of Ganlong sabers. Its wooden sheath, red shark skin, yellow silk tapestry, front and rear ornaments and middle hoop are all made of iron and gold, and are engraved with auspicious patterns. The sword body is made of steel, and the bottom of the sword body is inlaid with patterns made of gold, silver and copper. On the one hand, there are official script "Di Zi No.1" and sword inscription "Izumo", on the other hand, there are official script "Qianlong Year System" and related patterns. This sword is exquisite in craftsmanship and ornate in decoration. It's the best sword, and it's priceless.