for swords, apart from their ability to stab, was their portability. A sheathed
sword could be hung from a warrior’s belt or girdle, allowing him to keep a
very effective weapon always at hand (an important point which will be
illustrated in the story of the assassination attempt on Qin Shihuangdi in
thenext chapter). Swords could also be used inside or in confined quarters,
where dagger-axes could not. Before the sword, one could only carry a
dagger for personal protection. But the sword was a real battlefield weapon
that could be carried everywhere.
Steel swords also appeared toward the end of the Spring and Autumn
period. Steel, an alloy of iron and carbon, was produced in China by the
sixth centurybce(steel is harder than wrought iron and less brittle than
cast iron). It was not until the middle and late Warring States period,
however, that iron and steel implements, including armor and weapons,
were produced in useful amounts. Bronze weapons still predominated,
vastly outnumbering the iron weapons found in tombs, but the advantages
of iron were apparent. Iron swords were longer than bronze swords,
averaging 80 – 100 cm, with the shortest equal in length to the longest
bronze swords.^7 Iron weapons are lighter and stronger than bronze weap-
ons, though more subject to corrosion.
The spread of iron furthered the development of the sword and prob-
ably changed the way it was used as well. Weapons were manufactured
from a wide variety of materials in the Warring States period, with tombs
yielding arrowheads of bronze, iron, and bone mixed together, and swords
of bronze and iron, but the use of iron was critical for the sword. Unlike
spears, dagger-axes, or bows, the reach of a sword depended upon the
material it was made of. Iron and steel made swords more effective,
allowing them to be constructed to the specifications that experience
proved most advantageous or preference chose as the best balance between
length and weight. Iron and steel allowed swords to be made to the
specifications of the martial artist.
Afinal aspect of the development of the sword from bronze to iron is the
distinct regionalism of initial production. Like the chariot, which spread
from the steppe, to China’s Central Plains, and then on to the south,
swords began as regionally idiosyncratic weapons. Wu and Yue in the
south were renowned for their bronze swords, and this has largely been
borne out by archaeology. High-quality iron swords were initially thought
to come from the states of Chu, Han, and Yan. Lower-quality swords were
available in other places, but the highest-quality arms were made in very
particular places. Swordsmanship presumably followed the same course as
swords, with the art developing alongside the weapon, and then spreading
Swords and Swordsmanship 37