Heys, it's Mike Chen.
I love swords.
I don't know if it's because I've always wanted to a Ninja
or the fact that I think swords are the most noble of weapons.
I mean, nowadays, you can always get a gun
But back when everyone was carrying a sword,
you would have got some skills if you want to rob me.
And if someone was trying to rob me
and we get into a sword fight and I lost
then I would happily give up my wallet
because it's technically my fault,
I should have trained harder.
Also, there something about swords
that is almost spiritual and mysterious.
Perhaps because there are so many legends surrounding them.
In a previous video, I talked about the cursed Muramasa swords
And in this video,
let's talk about another mysterious sword
called "The Sword of Goujian"
And before we get into it,
I just want to give a shout out to the sponsor of this video - Squarespace.
SquareSpace is a service I've been using personnaly for years now.
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Over fifty years ago,
a rare and unusual sword was found in an ancient tomb in China.
This ancient weapon is known as "The Sword of Goujian."
And though it's supposed to be over 2,000 years old,
its blade is said to not have a single trace of rust.
The sword's blade has even somehow managed to retain its sharpness,
drawing blood when a person's finger is tested on its edge,
as if it was completely immune by the passage of millennia.
But aside from this strange quality,
its craftsmanship has been praised for being intricately detailed for a sword
that was forged in a supposedly technologically-limited era.
The discovery of the Sword of Goujian dates back to 1965.
During which, an archeological survey was being performed
along the second main aqueduct of the Zhang River Reservoir
in Jingzhou of Hubei province.
More than fifty ancient tombs of the Chu State
– a successful hegemonic and expansionist state
during the Spring and Autumn Period in the early 8th century BCE
- were found in Juangling County.
And so, an archeological dig was initiated,
beginning in the middle of October 1965
and ended in January 1966.
In December 1965,
4.3 miles or 7 kilometers from the ruins of Jinan,
an ancient capital of Chu,
the archeological team responsible for the excavation discovered an ancient tomb.
In its casket was a skeleton,
and next to it, was a near air-tight wooden box.
From inside this box,
they removed a perfectly preserved bronze sword in its scabbard.
This sword is now identified as 'the Sword of Goujian',
and it was unearthed by these archeological researchers
along with 2,000 other artifacts.
To their amazement,
upon unsheathing the bronze sword,
its blade was revealed to be untarnished.
And the fact that the sword appeared to be in perfect condition
despite being buried in damp conditions for more than 2,000 years
was astonishing.
Tests conducted by the archaeologists
showed that the sword's blade could easily cut a stack of twenty pieces of paper.
So after 2,000 years, how could this be?
Well, the Sword of Goujian is among the earliest known Jian swords.
A Jian sword is a double-edged straight sword
used during the last 2,500 years in China.
Jian swords are among the earliest known sword types in China,
and these bladed weapons are closely associated with Chinese mythology.
In Chinese folklore,
this type of sword is referred to as "The Gentleman of Weapons,"
and is considered to be one of the four major weapons,
along with the staff, spear, and sabre.
"The Sword of Goujian" is relatively short
compared to other historical pieces of its kind.
It is a bronze sword with a very high concentration of copper,
which made it more flexible and less likely to break apart.
The blade's edges are made of tin,
which not only made the sword harder,
but also made it more capable of retaining a sharper edge.
The sword also contains small amounts of iron, lead and sulfur.
The sword's high proportion of sulfur and sulfide cuprum is revealed to be
what gives the weapon its rustproof quality,
as sulfur decreases the chance of tarnish in the blade's patterns.
Weighing 30.9 ounces or 875 grams,
the Sword of Goujian measures 21.9 inches or 55.7 centimeters long,
including its 3.3.-inch or 8.4-centimeter handle hilt.
The blade, on the other hand, is 1.8 inches or 4.6 centimeters wide at its base.
Repeating black rhombic etchings cover both sides of the blade,
while blue crystals and turquoise are imbedded on the sword handle.
The grip of the sword is bound by silk
while its pommel is composed of 11 concentric circles.
Now let's talk about whose the sword belongs to.
The owner of this ancient sword was determined through the inscription etched on the its blade.
On one side of the blade,
eight characters arranged in two columns of text are visible.
These characters found near the sword's hilt are written in an ancient Chinese script,
known as Bird-worm seal script or "Niǎo Chóng Zhuà",
which literally means "birds and worms characters".
Because of the writing system's intricate decoration to the defining strokes.
It is a variant of "Zhuan" or seal script,
which is very difficult to read.
Initial analyses deciphered six of the eight characters.
The characters translate to: ("yue wang - 越王") or "King of Yue"
"made this sword for his personal use" ("自作用剑").
According to experts, the remaining two characters are likely to be the name of the king.
From the sword's origin in 510 BC
to the Yue State's demise at the hands of the Chu in 334 BC,
nine kings ruled Yue, including Goujian, Lu Cheng, Bu Shou, and Zhu Gou, among others.
Identifying the correct king that owned the sword sparked debate among archaeologists
as well as Chinese language scholars.
Eventually, the experts reached a consensus
and decided that the original owner of the sword was...Goujian,
who reigned between 496 and 465 BC,
making the sword around 2,500 years old.
And just a little background
Goujian was a well-known emperor in Chinese history
who reigned over the Yue State during the Spring and Autumn Period.
As a ruler, Goujian never relished in kingly riches,
and instead, he ate food suited for peasants
and even forced himself to taste bile,
which is one of the most bitter things in existence
as a reminder of his humiliations serving under the Wu State.
Hence, as a monarch, he was made famous by his perseverance in times of hardship
and his ruthlessness during battle.
Apart from its historic value,
many scholars have wondered how the Sword of Goujian
managed to remain rust-free
in a humid environment for more than 2,000 years,
and how it was possible for it to stay sharp today
as when it was originally forged.
They were also impressed with the delicate decorations carved into the sword,
and by the fact that not a single spot of rust can be found anywhere.
In the hopes of replicating the technology used to create the sword,
researchers analyzed ancient bronze shards,
and they found that the sword is resistant to oxidation
due to sulphation on the sword's surface.
Combined with an air-tight scabbard,
this allowed the legendary sword to remain in such pristine condition
even after more than two millennia.
This also indicates that the swordsmiths of the Wu and Yue regions in Southern China
were incredibly high-skilled to the point that
they were able to incorporate rust-free alloys into their blades.
Their skill in sword-making aided ancient weapons of the time like the Sword of Goujian
And since its discovery,
the Sword of Goujian is regarded as a state treasure in China,
and is deemed as a truly legendary sword
that defied the rigors of time.
This archeological artifact continues to be revered by the Chinese people,
much like the fascination over King Arthur's mythical Excalibur in the West.
The Sword of Goujian was lent to the National Palace Museum in Taipei
where it was on display until 2011,
along with various other bronze pieces from the 1965 excavation.
Presently, this archeological artifact is in the possession
and care of the Hubei Provincial Museum.
You know guys, while I'm making this video
I kept thinking... I need this sword.
But I've got to be honest,
my skill with swords and even kitchen knives are sort of lacking at this point.
So if somebody actually gave me that legendady sword,
I know I gonna play with it
and just probably, you know, cut my own ear off.
But I really don't think I'm alone in this.
Let me ask you guys,
if somebody gave you a truely legendary,
super sharp sword right now, what would you do with it?
I mean, are you really gonna just like, put it somewhere and just look at it?
How many of you would start swing it around
and do what I do and probably, you know, just cut your own arm off.
This is honestly the reason I don't have any sword in my house right now.
I love sword, I love really sharp sword,
But, I cannot have one in this house,
Because I gonna play with it and I'm gonna get hurt.
Also guys, just ot let you know,
I've been running this channel for a few years now.
And I've always run my own merch stores
So I've been working on that using SquareSpace
and honestly, this was way before they even asked to be a sponsor on this channel.
So maybe I can get that store for free now, I don't know?
I love SquareSpace because they have super clean simple, beautiful templates
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And I should know because I can not code to save my life.
But with SquareSpace, you don't really need any coding skills,
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So, if you've ever wanted to start your own website, whatever the website maybe,
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And make sure you enter offer code 'beyondscience' at Checkout to get 10% off your first purchase.
And I also have the link for you guys in my description box.
And like I mentioned before, you really don't need to know any programming at all.
And that's why I love it, so definitely give it a try
And you're also be supporting this channel, which would be awesome.
Thank you guys so much for watching this video.
I'll see you later.
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