Longquan ‘Taoist’ Jian

The ‘Jian’ is an iconic sword within the Chinese sword tradition and dates back as far as the Han Dynasty  (206 B.C – 220 A.D). While the traditional ‘dao’ is seen as the warrior spirit, the ‘Jian’ is more referred to the gentleman scholar and is, certainly in the late Qing period, mostly bought privately as a symbol of status and to practice martial arts.

Our example:

Dating from the Republic period, ca. 1920 with a fine long double edged blade. The ‘Big Dipper’ called ‘Beidou’ is depicted on the blade in the shape of seven inlayed brass dots, a common feature which dates back to the Ming dynasty with the auspicious meaning the throne of the supreme deity, an important aspect of Chinese Taoism. The blade is hardened and comes in a near mirror-polish. The forte of the blade has an engraved dragon chasing a flaming pearl, while the other side bears the characters ‘勅魔 (chì-mó)’ which can be translated as ‘to ward off evil demons’ and 龍泉 (Longquan) the place the sword was manufactured.

The hilt is made of brass and shows a chiseled tatie-mask. The hilt itself is made of wood, riveted with brass engraved fittings to the blade and wound in brown cord. The wooden scabbard is bound in black leather straps, altered with iron and brass wire and engraved brass fittings depicting bats and foliage.

Famous female Martial Arts artist Li Whenzhen with a Jian sword. Republic period.