China's most legendary swords are the ones made by Ou Yezi and his pupil, Ganjiang during the Warring States era.
The most important context of this was the Wu-Yuet war. This was the war where Sun Tzu served as an adviser to the King of Wu (Helu or Holu). In here was also one of the most famous kings in Chinese history, the Yuet King Goujian.
The story of Goujian is repeated in every Chinese school text book. After his kingdom was defeated by the Wu, Goujian and his family was allowed to live and rule the defeated kingdom of Yuet. On the outside, he appeared to dutifully complied but inside, he had to continously remind himself of the bitter defeat of his nation by insisting on sleeping only in hay over cold ground and eating bile every day until his nation was able to exact its revenge upon the Wu.
The land of Yuet is renowned for its swords, no one other than Ouyezi is most renowned. Between him and his pupil Ganjiang, these swords were made.
1. Longyuan
2. Taia
3. Gongbu
4. Zhanlu
5. Yuchang
6. Shengye
7. Juque
8. Chunjun
9. Ganjiang's Yang sword
10. Moyie's Ying sword.
uYezi was the most famous swordmaker in all of Chinese history. He was active during the Spring and Autumn Period. According to stories in the Yue Ju Shu he made a set of three swords for King Zhao of Chu (r.515-489 B.C.) and a set of five swords for King Goujian of Yue (r.496-465 B.C.). There are stories concerning a couple of these swords that attribute to them nearly magically qualities.
The first set of swords was made for King Zhao of Chu. Legend tells us that Zhao sent his advisor Feng Huzi, who was an expert on swords, to seek out OuYezi and place an order for three swords. OuYezi was living in a mountainous area in the state of Yue called Longyuan. It is said that he chose the spot because it offered quiet solitude and the availablity of superior natural resources. OuYezi set up his forge there because he thought the seven natural springs that surrounded the spot resembled the seven stars of the Big Dipper, a good omen.
It took him two years to make the three swords. The were forged from iron ore from Mt. Ci Shan, sharpened by stone from Liang Shi Keng and quenched in water from Jian Chi a mountain spring next to a thousand year old pine tree.
The three swords were named Longyuan - "Dragon Well", Taia - "Peaceful Relative or Tai Mountaintop", and Gongbu - "Work Deployer". The story goes that when Feng Huzi returned with the swords the king was greatly pleased. Feng Huzi described the swords this way. Long Yuan’s shape seems to be reaching for a lofty mountain and arriving in an abyss. The distinct coarse pattern which fills Gong Bu’s surface, seems like endless flowing water. This sword is called Taia, its pattern is as towering and thriving as waves of flowing water.
n another story we are told that the combined forces of the states of Jin and Zheng had surrounded and held captive a Chu city for three years. When King Zhao received the Taia sword he climbed to the top of the gatetower and waved it in the air as a signal to launch a counter attack. This succeeded in rousing the morale of his troops who managed to break the seige. Afterwards King Zhao asked Feng Huzi, "how is it possible for a sword made out of mere metal to have such a spirit?" Feng Huzi responded that "When the spirit of the metal sword combines with the spirit of a great king, the miraculous is possible."
The Taia sword was also the source of inspiration for "Taia-ki" (Annals of the Taia Sword) a letter written in 15th century Japan, to Ono Tadaaki, head of the Itto school of swordsmanship by his spiritual teacher, Takuan Soho, a Zen Buddhist monk. Takuan counted among his other students the famous swordsmen Munenori Yagyu and Miyamoto Musashi. The Taia-ki uses the Taia sword as a metaphor for realizing the correct mindset to become the ultimate warrior.
It is mentioned in The Records of the Grand Historian, written by Sima Quan, that the first emperor Qin Shi Huang (259-210 B.C.) owned the Taia sword and archaeologists today believe that it may have been buried with him. Though the outer portions of his vast tomb have been partially excavated, uncovering an army of literally thousands of terra-cotta warriors wielding bronze weapons, the main burial chamber, which was finally pinpointed in 2003 using an electromagnetic survey, has yet to be opened.
Five Swords for the King Yue
The second set of famous swords that OuYezi cast was a group of five made for King Ganjiang of Yue. These swords were forged on Mt. Zhanlu and took three years to complete. The swords were named ZhanLu - "Wholesome Land or Dark and Clear" (again presumably named in recognition of the place where he worked), Yuchang - "Fish Intestine or Hidden in Fish", Shengye - "Defeater of Evil", Juque -"Giant", and Chunjun - "Pure Harmony".
In 494 B.C., as a sign of supplication after he was defeated in battle, King Goujian of Yue sent three of these swords, Zhanlu, Yuchang and Shengye, to King Helu of Wu, who was a collector of swords. However the Zhanlu sword deemed that the king of Wu was not a man of good character and so made "its own way" to the state of Chu where King Zhao found it lying beside him one morning when he awoke. The king of Chu called Feng Huzi who explained that the sword was one of the five made for Goujian by OuYezi. When it had been made, Mt. Chijin had burst open to reveal its deposits of tin, and River Ruoye had dried up to show its bed of copper ore; the rain god had sent rain to wash the ground, the god of thunder had pumped wind from his bellows, the flood dragon had carried the furnace, and the Emperor of Heaven had filled it with coals. The great swordsmith Ou Yezi, who knew all nature's secrets, had beaten and tempered the metal a thousand times to fashion the five swords. This Zhanlu sword was therefore priceless. When asked to explain how it came to Chu, Feng Huzi said "The sword is made from the essence of all metals and the spirit of the sun that gives it intelligence. It can choose to help a man of kingly character or flee from a man of poor character".
The ZhanLu Sword
The ZhanLu sword appears several more times throughout history... During the Jin Dynasty (265-420 A.D.), The ZhanLu was owned by famous general (or Judge) Zhou Chu who treated it as his most treasured possession. During the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), a descendent of general Zhou Chu presented the sword to the famous war hero Yue Fei to be used on the battlefield against northern invaders.
Some of the various descriptions of and traits applied to the ZhanLu sword include the following... it shimmered in the daylight and glowed in the evening. The sun, moon, and stars seemed to have lost their brilliance in it’s presence. Made from the essence of all metals, it contains the spirit of the sun. Drawn it gleams with life, sheathed it demands respect. It was reputed to be so sharp that dipped into water it could be withdrawn perfectly dry. It was also said to be able to roll up and extend at will. These references led to the sword being called Zhan Lu Shen Jian - "Magical Sword ZhanLu".
Just after Goujian surrendered, King Helu of Wu died, as a result of an infection to a wound he received in battle. Helu's son Fuchai upon taking the throne of Wu had the Yuchang and Shengye swords along with nearly three thousand other swords entombed with his father. To ensure the secrecy of the location of the tomb, Fuchai had the thousand workmen on the project killed. Legend tells us that just after completion of the tomb a white tiger began appearing on the hillside where the tomb was located. The spot located near Suzhou City in Jiansu Province has since been named Hu Qui or Tiger Hill.
Nearly three hundred years later the first emperor Qin Shi Huang (259-210 B.C.) who owned and loved the Taia Sword, sent out a group of men to find Helu's tomb and bring back the swords. They did a vast amount of digging but were apparently unable to locate the entrance to the tomb. The hole they left behind has over the years filled with water and is now known as the Sword Pond. In 1955 the pond was pumped dry and after some digging the entrance to the tomb was discovered. However it was not opened for fear that the Yunyan pagoda that was erected on top of the hill, that is already unstable and leaning like the famous Tower of Pisa, would collapse.
Ganjiang and Moyie Swords
Ganjiang was a swordmaker who made two very famous swords during the Spring and Autumn Period. Some sources say that Ganjiang and OuYezi had the same teacher, while others claim that OuYezi was Ganjiang's teacher and his wife Moyie was OuYezi's daughter. Either way Ganjiang is the second most famous swordmaker in the long history of China.
According to the stories, in 494 BC when Goujian the King of Yue was about to be taken prisoner by the forces of Wu he sent three of five famous swords that he'd had made by Ou Yezi to the King of Wu, a collector of swords, an act of submission. It is said that the King of Wu was so impressed that he ordered Ganjiang to make him a sword. To make these weapons Ganjiang collected the iron essence of the Five Mountains and the metal efflorescence of the valleys of Six Unions. He attended upon Heaven and waited upon Earth; Yin and Yang shone together; the Hundred Spirits approached and observed; the Chi of heaven descended; but the essences of metal and iron did not melt, sink and flow. Ganjiang recalled that when his teacher had this problem it was because the essences of Yin and Yang were not in harmony. Ganjiang determined that he needed more Yin essence. He asked his wife Moyie to cut her hair and clip her fingernails and once these were thrown into the furnace the transformation began to occur. To add to this Yin essence Moyie had also gathered three hundred maidens to work the bellows and stoke the charcoal. The metal and iron melted and Ganjiang was able to produce two swords, a Yang sword that he called Ganjiang which had a tortoise shell pattern and a Yin sword that he named Moyie which had an eel-skin texture. (It has been suggested that the afore mentioned tortoise shell pattern is just another way of describing the diamond pattern which adorns the Sword of Goujian, King of Yue.) Ganjiang presented the Yin sword Moyie to the King of Wu who was greatly pleased.
In most cases this is where the story ends.
However in some versions of the legend the King of Wu discovered that a pair of swords had been produced and Ganjiang had kept the Yang sword for himself. The king was so outraged that he had the swordmaker killed. Moyie who was pregnant at the time raised her son to hate the man who'd killed his father and it was her wish that when he was old enough he take the Ganjiang sword from its hiding place within the hollow of a thousand year old pine tree and kill the king.
The most important context of this was the Wu-Yuet war. This was the war where Sun Tzu served as an adviser to the King of Wu (Helu or Holu). In here was also one of the most famous kings in Chinese history, the Yuet King Goujian.
The story of Goujian is repeated in every Chinese school text book. After his kingdom was defeated by the Wu, Goujian and his family was allowed to live and rule the defeated kingdom of Yuet. On the outside, he appeared to dutifully complied but inside, he had to continously remind himself of the bitter defeat of his nation by insisting on sleeping only in hay over cold ground and eating bile every day until his nation was able to exact its revenge upon the Wu.
The land of Yuet is renowned for its swords, no one other than Ouyezi is most renowned. Between him and his pupil Ganjiang, these swords were made.
1. Longyuan
2. Taia
3. Gongbu
4. Zhanlu
5. Yuchang
6. Shengye
7. Juque
8. Chunjun
9. Ganjiang's Yang sword
10. Moyie's Ying sword.
uYezi was the most famous swordmaker in all of Chinese history. He was active during the Spring and Autumn Period. According to stories in the Yue Ju Shu he made a set of three swords for King Zhao of Chu (r.515-489 B.C.) and a set of five swords for King Goujian of Yue (r.496-465 B.C.). There are stories concerning a couple of these swords that attribute to them nearly magically qualities.
The first set of swords was made for King Zhao of Chu. Legend tells us that Zhao sent his advisor Feng Huzi, who was an expert on swords, to seek out OuYezi and place an order for three swords. OuYezi was living in a mountainous area in the state of Yue called Longyuan. It is said that he chose the spot because it offered quiet solitude and the availablity of superior natural resources. OuYezi set up his forge there because he thought the seven natural springs that surrounded the spot resembled the seven stars of the Big Dipper, a good omen.
It took him two years to make the three swords. The were forged from iron ore from Mt. Ci Shan, sharpened by stone from Liang Shi Keng and quenched in water from Jian Chi a mountain spring next to a thousand year old pine tree.
The three swords were named Longyuan - "Dragon Well", Taia - "Peaceful Relative or Tai Mountaintop", and Gongbu - "Work Deployer". The story goes that when Feng Huzi returned with the swords the king was greatly pleased. Feng Huzi described the swords this way. Long Yuan’s shape seems to be reaching for a lofty mountain and arriving in an abyss. The distinct coarse pattern which fills Gong Bu’s surface, seems like endless flowing water. This sword is called Taia, its pattern is as towering and thriving as waves of flowing water.
n another story we are told that the combined forces of the states of Jin and Zheng had surrounded and held captive a Chu city for three years. When King Zhao received the Taia sword he climbed to the top of the gatetower and waved it in the air as a signal to launch a counter attack. This succeeded in rousing the morale of his troops who managed to break the seige. Afterwards King Zhao asked Feng Huzi, "how is it possible for a sword made out of mere metal to have such a spirit?" Feng Huzi responded that "When the spirit of the metal sword combines with the spirit of a great king, the miraculous is possible."
The Taia sword was also the source of inspiration for "Taia-ki" (Annals of the Taia Sword) a letter written in 15th century Japan, to Ono Tadaaki, head of the Itto school of swordsmanship by his spiritual teacher, Takuan Soho, a Zen Buddhist monk. Takuan counted among his other students the famous swordsmen Munenori Yagyu and Miyamoto Musashi. The Taia-ki uses the Taia sword as a metaphor for realizing the correct mindset to become the ultimate warrior.
It is mentioned in The Records of the Grand Historian, written by Sima Quan, that the first emperor Qin Shi Huang (259-210 B.C.) owned the Taia sword and archaeologists today believe that it may have been buried with him. Though the outer portions of his vast tomb have been partially excavated, uncovering an army of literally thousands of terra-cotta warriors wielding bronze weapons, the main burial chamber, which was finally pinpointed in 2003 using an electromagnetic survey, has yet to be opened.
Five Swords for the King Yue
The second set of famous swords that OuYezi cast was a group of five made for King Ganjiang of Yue. These swords were forged on Mt. Zhanlu and took three years to complete. The swords were named ZhanLu - "Wholesome Land or Dark and Clear" (again presumably named in recognition of the place where he worked), Yuchang - "Fish Intestine or Hidden in Fish", Shengye - "Defeater of Evil", Juque -"Giant", and Chunjun - "Pure Harmony".
In 494 B.C., as a sign of supplication after he was defeated in battle, King Goujian of Yue sent three of these swords, Zhanlu, Yuchang and Shengye, to King Helu of Wu, who was a collector of swords. However the Zhanlu sword deemed that the king of Wu was not a man of good character and so made "its own way" to the state of Chu where King Zhao found it lying beside him one morning when he awoke. The king of Chu called Feng Huzi who explained that the sword was one of the five made for Goujian by OuYezi. When it had been made, Mt. Chijin had burst open to reveal its deposits of tin, and River Ruoye had dried up to show its bed of copper ore; the rain god had sent rain to wash the ground, the god of thunder had pumped wind from his bellows, the flood dragon had carried the furnace, and the Emperor of Heaven had filled it with coals. The great swordsmith Ou Yezi, who knew all nature's secrets, had beaten and tempered the metal a thousand times to fashion the five swords. This Zhanlu sword was therefore priceless. When asked to explain how it came to Chu, Feng Huzi said "The sword is made from the essence of all metals and the spirit of the sun that gives it intelligence. It can choose to help a man of kingly character or flee from a man of poor character".
The ZhanLu Sword
The ZhanLu sword appears several more times throughout history... During the Jin Dynasty (265-420 A.D.), The ZhanLu was owned by famous general (or Judge) Zhou Chu who treated it as his most treasured possession. During the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), a descendent of general Zhou Chu presented the sword to the famous war hero Yue Fei to be used on the battlefield against northern invaders.
Some of the various descriptions of and traits applied to the ZhanLu sword include the following... it shimmered in the daylight and glowed in the evening. The sun, moon, and stars seemed to have lost their brilliance in it’s presence. Made from the essence of all metals, it contains the spirit of the sun. Drawn it gleams with life, sheathed it demands respect. It was reputed to be so sharp that dipped into water it could be withdrawn perfectly dry. It was also said to be able to roll up and extend at will. These references led to the sword being called Zhan Lu Shen Jian - "Magical Sword ZhanLu".
Just after Goujian surrendered, King Helu of Wu died, as a result of an infection to a wound he received in battle. Helu's son Fuchai upon taking the throne of Wu had the Yuchang and Shengye swords along with nearly three thousand other swords entombed with his father. To ensure the secrecy of the location of the tomb, Fuchai had the thousand workmen on the project killed. Legend tells us that just after completion of the tomb a white tiger began appearing on the hillside where the tomb was located. The spot located near Suzhou City in Jiansu Province has since been named Hu Qui or Tiger Hill.
Nearly three hundred years later the first emperor Qin Shi Huang (259-210 B.C.) who owned and loved the Taia Sword, sent out a group of men to find Helu's tomb and bring back the swords. They did a vast amount of digging but were apparently unable to locate the entrance to the tomb. The hole they left behind has over the years filled with water and is now known as the Sword Pond. In 1955 the pond was pumped dry and after some digging the entrance to the tomb was discovered. However it was not opened for fear that the Yunyan pagoda that was erected on top of the hill, that is already unstable and leaning like the famous Tower of Pisa, would collapse.
Ganjiang and Moyie Swords
Ganjiang was a swordmaker who made two very famous swords during the Spring and Autumn Period. Some sources say that Ganjiang and OuYezi had the same teacher, while others claim that OuYezi was Ganjiang's teacher and his wife Moyie was OuYezi's daughter. Either way Ganjiang is the second most famous swordmaker in the long history of China.
According to the stories, in 494 BC when Goujian the King of Yue was about to be taken prisoner by the forces of Wu he sent three of five famous swords that he'd had made by Ou Yezi to the King of Wu, a collector of swords, an act of submission. It is said that the King of Wu was so impressed that he ordered Ganjiang to make him a sword. To make these weapons Ganjiang collected the iron essence of the Five Mountains and the metal efflorescence of the valleys of Six Unions. He attended upon Heaven and waited upon Earth; Yin and Yang shone together; the Hundred Spirits approached and observed; the Chi of heaven descended; but the essences of metal and iron did not melt, sink and flow. Ganjiang recalled that when his teacher had this problem it was because the essences of Yin and Yang were not in harmony. Ganjiang determined that he needed more Yin essence. He asked his wife Moyie to cut her hair and clip her fingernails and once these were thrown into the furnace the transformation began to occur. To add to this Yin essence Moyie had also gathered three hundred maidens to work the bellows and stoke the charcoal. The metal and iron melted and Ganjiang was able to produce two swords, a Yang sword that he called Ganjiang which had a tortoise shell pattern and a Yin sword that he named Moyie which had an eel-skin texture. (It has been suggested that the afore mentioned tortoise shell pattern is just another way of describing the diamond pattern which adorns the Sword of Goujian, King of Yue.) Ganjiang presented the Yin sword Moyie to the King of Wu who was greatly pleased.
In most cases this is where the story ends.
However in some versions of the legend the King of Wu discovered that a pair of swords had been produced and Ganjiang had kept the Yang sword for himself. The king was so outraged that he had the swordmaker killed. Moyie who was pregnant at the time raised her son to hate the man who'd killed his father and it was her wish that when he was old enough he take the Ganjiang sword from its hiding place within the hollow of a thousand year old pine tree and kill the king.
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