First, the background of Longquan sword.
China's sword culture is an important part of Chinese civilization, with a long history and brilliant achievements. Why did the famous sword come from Longquan? Let's take a look at the natural geographical features and human history of Longquan. All this has a deep relationship with geography, because without climate and local conditions, there would be no corresponding handicrafts. Longquan, Zhejiang is a beautiful and rich place in southern Zhejiang, with many mountains and light water. With the advantage of being located at the source of the ancient Oujiang River, it is evergreen all the year round. Oujiang cable integrates "peaks, valleys, springs, forests and waterfalls". The upper stream is mellow and sweet, slender and elegant, but it lies quietly under the beautiful green bushes at the foot of the mountain, and the mountains on both sides arch green and lush.
Sword is one of the ancient weapons in China, belonging to the "short soldier" and known as the "king of a hundred blades". War is one of the important means for ancient princes and nobles to plunder and suppress territory, so they pay special attention to the development and improvement of weapons. The progress of weapons in this period is closely related to the development of bronze smelting and casting industry. Due to the development of bronze smelting industry in Shang Dynasty, short bronze Gu Jian was produced. However, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, in order to strengthen their power and protect themselves, the governors tried their best to find famous craftsmen to cast swords. Ou Yezi, a famous sword casting master, was ordered by the King of Chu to cast a sword and found it at the foot of Xiqin Mountain in Longquan, Zhejiang. He saw towering old trees at the foot of the mountain, the lake was sweet and cold, and there were seven wells by the lake, arranged like the Big Dipper in the sky. Water is beneficial to quenching and can enhance the hardness of swords, so it is a good place to cast swords. Longquan Mountain is rich in iron eagle, a sword casting material, and a millstone called "Akashi". The sword grinded on this stone is cold and shiny. It is precisely because there are three essential conditions for casting swords ―― iron eagle, cold spring and bright stone that Ou Yezi settled here to cast swords. Created a Longyuan sword famous for its toughness, sharpness, softness, cold light and skillful ornamentation. In the Tang Dynasty, in order to avoid the taboo of Li Yuan, he replaced Yuan with Quan. From then on, Long Yuan was changed to Longquan, and Longquan became synonymous with the famous sword.
Second, the bearing and evolution of sword in social politics, economy and culture.
Longquan sword, as a cold weapon that has long lost its practical function, why is it still valued today? In 2006, Longquan sword forging technology was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. In addition to the unique forging technology, it also contains a long sword culture in China. It is a unique cultural phenomenon gradually formed by craftsmen, literati and warriors in ancient China in the process of casting swords, wearing swords and dancing swords. With the development of social politics, economy and culture, the function of sword has also evolved.
In ancient China, the ancestors of Xia Dynasty mastered the bronze smelting technology skillfully and were able to cast articles for production and life, so bronze swords naturally came into being. In the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, with the continuous exploration and gradual progress of bronze sword casting technology, the norms of sword making began to appear. According to "Zhou Li? The size and length of the casting sword, as well as the wearing rules of people of different grades, are recorded in Flower King Gong Ji. Bronze swords are hard and brittle. If the blade is too long, it will break easily. So all the bronze swords displayed in the museum are only two feet long, and the longest one is only one foot. In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the status of sword was not important, and it was mainly used for self-defense or hand-to-hand combat. After the Spring and Autumn Period, due to the rise of infantry, sword as a weapon began to be valued. Especially in wuyue, due to the vertical and horizontal waterways and inconvenient transportation, swordsmen can exert great power, so the level of sword casting is much higher than that of other countries in the Central Plains. During the Warring States Period, with the decline of the car war, sword, as a kind of infantry weapons, received more attention. In order to meet the needs of war and improve the power of swords, iron swords began to appear in the late Spring and Autumn Period. Iron can't be used as raw material for advanced weapons before it is smelted into steel. The reason is that iron that has not been refined into steel is not as easy to oxidize as bronze. China ancient artificial iron smelting began in the late Western Zhou Dynasty, and entered a period of rapid development at the turn of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Therefore, the Spring and Autumn Period is the initial stage of China's Iron Age, which can also be said to be the "copper-iron period" in a sense.
By the Warring States period, Qin's smelting technology was advanced, and iron swords became popular. It is the first rolling technology to turn iron into steel: carburizing with pure iron, then folding in half and beating in multiple layers. The peak of the sword is quenched, but the ridge of the sword is not quenched. Constantly melting, forging and quenching, like kneading dough, turn iron into steel. At the end of the Warring States period, the State of Qin was already a bronze sword and an iron sword, and the body of the sword was about three feet long, so it was called the "three-foot sword", which is another name for the sword. Due to the extensive use of the iron sword, a new weapon of war, Qin's national strength has greatly increased, destroying six countries, winning the world with the sword and unifying China. This shows that the sword has made outstanding contributions in politics.
Sword, the ancestor of short soldiers, is a weapon close to knowledge. Swords are often sheathed, beautiful, light and easy to carry, and are often used as self-defense equipment. Regarded by the ancients as a symbol of status, wisdom and courage, celebrities and nobles never left their swords. However, in the traditional society with strict hierarchy, individuals are not allowed to wear swords at will, and the sword-wearing system in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty is still relatively strict, which can directly reflect the rank from the size, length, form and material of the sword. According to "Beginners" edited by Xu Jian and others in Tang Dynasty? Takebu? "Sword" records: "The ancient emperor was crowned with a sword at the age of twenty; Princes were crowned with swords at the age of thirty; The doctor is forty years old and wears a sword; Servants cannot be crowned. Shu Ren has something to bring a sword, and nothing can't bring a sword. " In the Han dynasty, swordsmanship was well prepared, and literati warriors all liked to wield swords to show their talents. Sword partner with the rise of ancient soldiers in foreign wars. After the battle, in order to relax, the soldiers in charge of propaganda and agitation jumped up excitedly with swords in their hands. Sometimes it is a purely impromptu or funny performance, and sometimes it is disguised as an enemy or an enemy, ending in defeating and capturing the enemy. The idiom allusion "Xiang Zhuang's sword dance is intended to be a tribute to the public" confirms the role of ancient fencing in political strategy. The cavalry in the Western Han Dynasty has become the main force of the war. Because the horse is fast, the stabbing function of the sword in the war is of little significance, while the chopping function of the broadsword is very suitable, so in the Western Han Dynasty, a sword with a ring handle replaced the role of the sword in the battlefield. Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, it is a foregone conclusion that swords have been eliminated on the battlefield, but the custom of wearing swords has not changed. After giving up its role as a sharp weapon to expand the territory, sword has gradually evolved into an indispensable part of people's cultural genes. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, swords gradually evolved from "weapons" to "ritual vessels", and the use of swords began to tend to people's spiritual needs. Since the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism and Taoism, immortals, demons, ghosts and other theories have prevailed, and the sword has evolved into a device to ward off evil spirits at home, which exists as a utensil or symbol. The sword is hung at home to think it is peaceful. It can be seen that China culture has the brand of "stopping martial arts and keeping rites" on the sword. In Song Dynasty, the street culture was prosperous and the society was rich. The stunt of sword dancing and playing frequently appeared in the streets, and the performance skills of routine fencing were developed, which has a long history in contemporary martial arts fencing. Nowadays, sword dancing is more of a ceremony and a display of traditional culture. In the Ming Dynasty, many precious swordsmanship were created on the basis of various schools of martial arts, which provided useful materials for the development of swordsmanship in later generations. In the Qing dynasty, it was a period of great achievements in fencing. This paper summarizes the swordsmanship of past dynasties, and forms different swordsmanship according to different training methods, which is extensive and profound.
Swords often appear in ancient poems. For example, during the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Zhi wrote a poem, "A beautiful jade gives birth to a stone, and a sword gives birth to a dragon garden". In the Song Dynasty, Xin Qiji's poem "Looking at the sword and getting drunk, dreaming of blowing the horn." Eight hundred miles under the Lord, fifty strings across the Great Wall, autumn soldiers on the battlefield ". The ancients emphasized both civil and military skills, and the so-called heart and soul were timid. Qin Xin refers to the insight and understanding of the connotation of music, while Jian Dan is the interpretation of heroic spirit, representing the tenacity and courage of China's traditional cultural system. Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, said that "it is better to know people in the grass, and there is Longquan at the waist", which shows that soldiers and literati in the Tang Dynasty generally admire Longquan sword. "Wan Li to den, Longquan three cups of sword dance? "This is a portrayal of his swordsman image. It can be said that the sword is not only a tool for fighting and self-defense, but also a carrier of China culture. Scholars often talk about the relationship between sword and elegance. The sword originally used as a weapon, under the influence of China traditional culture, has become the representative of noble sentiment and positive enterprising spirit. As a unique cultural symbol of a nation, the sword light and its splendid cultural connotation will always shine in the depths of China people's spirit.
Third, the technological and artistic characteristics of Longquan sword,
There are many famous swords in Chinese history. The reason why the sword chose Longquan as its hometown lasted for more than two thousand years, making Longquan synonymous with the sword, not only because of the geographical characteristics of Longquan in Zhejiang, but also because of its precious technological characteristics.
When Guo Zhen, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, was appointed commander of Longquan, Wu Zetian summoned him and asked him to read his article. He presented his sword and praised Longquan. The whole poem is as follows: "? Didn't you see that Kunwu's gem was refined into a sword, and red flames and purple flames came out from the edge of the sword? Good job consultants lament the singularity. The glazed jade box spits lotus light, and the wrong gold ring reflects the sun and the moon. When this sword was born, there was no war in the world, and good luck was guarded by a gentleman. The dazzling scabbard is like a swimming green snake, and the pattern on the scabbard is like floating green turtle scales. Not only the rangers are very precious, but even the British hero has always been particularly fond of love. Why do you want to say that it has been abandoned in the middle of the past and fell into a desolate ancient prison? Although it is useless to bury dust again, you can still be angry every night. " This poem vividly describes the artistic characteristics of Longquan sword.
The contemporary Longquan sword still follows the traditional manual craft, which is the foundation of Longquan sword art. The traditional craft of Longquan sword embodies the painstaking efforts and wisdom of famous swordsmen in history. Since the contemporary Longquan sword regained its traditional craft production method, it has not adopted modern production method because of the development of science and technology, but regarded the traditional production method as the soul of the sword and the blood of production inheritance. On the basis of fully respecting traditional production, Longquan sword absorbs modern fine craftsmanship and blends into modern aesthetic consciousness. In the manufacture of sword body, manual hot forging and cold forging are still used, plus more advanced heat treatment technology. In the processing and carving of scabbard, it is also hand-made. There are more than 300 processes in the forming process of the finished sword, and each process is manually operated, leaving no traces of the machine.
In the long-term development process of contemporary Longquan sword, after several generations of famous craftsmen's hard study, the product quality still maintains the four remarkable characteristics of traditional Longquan sword, namely, toughness and sharpness, hardness and softness, cold light and skillful ornamentation. The sword cuts copper like mud. 1978, Longquan swordsmen performed in public at two national gatherings of arts and crafts circles in China. With a Longquan sword, the six copper plates stacked together are easily split into two pieces, and the blade does not roll. For example, a lightsaber is bent along the waist of the human body and rolled into a circle. After the sword is released, it is straight. The ancient Longquan sword was cast with pig iron, but now it is cast with medium carbon steel. The quenching process is just right, which makes the sword body flexible and elastic, and even achieves the technological characteristics of combining rigidity with softness. Several different kinds of iron are melted and compounded, and then repeatedly folded and forged to remove impurities and increase the strength and toughness of the sword body. Because of the different carbon content of various ironware, the colors that finally fall on the blade are different in depth, which shows the famous artistic features of Longquan Sword Flower Steel pioneered by Ou Yezi 2500 years ago. In addition, Longquan's special sword is used to polish the grinding disc for production. The sword grinded on this bright stone looks radiant and cold from all angles. Longquan sword is made by hand. "A bunch of iron heroes" and "A glimpse of spring water" are made into steel through dozens of technological procedures, such as blank making, hot forging, shoveling, filing, engraving, embedding, quenching, grinding, engraving and decoration ... A sword with a handle full of cold light and aura, so it is drawn out under the clever polishing of Longquan sword casting master. If it is a seven-star sword, the sword is also engraved with a seven-star pattern. Carving flowers on the body of the sword is also a stunt of Longquan sword. The craftsmen cut directly on the sword with a steel chisel, which is less than an inch wide. After carving, they poured copper water. After leveling and polishing, the seven-star pattern naturally stays on the sword. The scabbard and hilt are made of rosewood, a rare native product in the world, which is antique and does not need painting. The more you use it, the brighter it becomes, so that the quality and appearance of the sword complement each other, and it is famous at home and abroad.
Fourthly, the contemporary Longquan sword is innovated and developed in inheritance.
The appearance treatment of Longquan sword is still a proud technology. Including the surface treatment of the sword, divided into black and shiny rust-proof layer and dark lines on the surface of the sword, such as waves of running water; As well as metal folding technology, it skillfully overcomes the contradiction of keeping the hardness and flexibility of the sword at the same time, making Longquan sword show the characteristics of both rigidity and flexibility, which is still used today.
Longquan sword has great international influence since ancient times. From the perspective of the world, there are many kinds of swords, which can be roughly divided into two major sword systems: one is the European and American sword system, which we call the western sword. Second, the Asian sword system can be subdivided into several categories, such as China sword, Indian sword, Arabian sword, Malay sword and Japanese sword. Among them, China Longquan sword has formed a unique culture in the Asian sword system. However, the recognition of Longquan Jian in the eyes of ordinary people is not high, and there are still some defects, such as different masters using the same accessories, no big breakthrough in polishing and surface treatment, no improvement in imitation, rough accessories, and no attention to details, which gives the impression that it is not exquisite enough. Therefore, at present, in addition to making Longquan sword brand well, we should also vigorously carry out cultural propaganda to promote the sustainable development of national brands, and at the same time try our best to improve product quality and artistic taste. Show the top level of contemporary Asian art, enrich China's national handicraft industry, open up the art market, and promote international sword culture exchange.
As an intangible cultural heritage, it needs to be inherited and continued. With the increase of population mobility and the acceleration of social and economic development and urbanization in China in the new century, excellent traditional cultural skills are needed to enter the public's field of vision, so that more people can understand and protect our precious intangible cultural heritage. At present, this skill is passed down by the skilled workers of the family and the sword factory. Most of them are local craftsmen in Longquan, such as famous craftsmen Chen and Shen Xinpei who have been engaged in casting swords for a long time; Hu Xiaojun, founded Longquan Jiancun Sword Research Institute in February 2009; Zhang, the director of Longquan Health Care Factory, who took the lead in using online marketing and achieved success, and so on.
While inheriting and developing the traditional culture of China, the modern Zhejiang Longquan Sword is characterized by innovation and reform. In the face of increasingly fierce world resource competition and expanding trade protectionism, we should apply our national culture and art to innovate commodities. Promote China's cultural undertakings and economy with high value-added cultural commodities, and further promote traditional art education. With the inheritance and innovation of sword technology, Zhejiang Longquan sword still maintains a strong development momentum in the history of modern arts and crafts in China.
Among the eighteen kinds of cold weapons in China, only the sword was handed down from the distant Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It can last forever in the long river of China culture and art, mainly because it contains the ideal temperament of China chivalrous culture, represents the lofty value judgment of social justice, and accords with the unrestrained, independent and uninhibited tolerance of China literati and the imagination of cultural spirit. With a long history, magical legends, radiant cold light and sharp blade, Longquan Sword still carries the cultural spirit of China.