始于青铜的百兵之君

文/五花肉

上一期，专栏聚焦合金冶炼的起源和发展，介绍了“炉火淬炼的青铜巅峰”。本期，我们继续跟踪这一线索，关注始于青铜的百兵之君——剑。

In the last issue， the column focused on the origin and development of alloy metallurgy and introduced the peak of bronze metallurgy. In this issue， we shall continue to follow this clue and introduce the bronze sword， king of melee weapons in ancient China， swords.

剑，是中国古代最常见的兵器，素有“百兵之君”的美誉。传说剑始于轩辕黄帝——“帝采首山之铜铸之”，由此开启了传承数千年的剑文化，在漫长的历史长河中留下浓墨重彩的一笔。

Swords were the most common melee weapon in ancient China. They were regarded as the king of melee weapons. Legend has it that it began with the Yellow Emperor of Xuanyuan， "the Yellow Emperor mined copper from the Shoushan Mountain to cast sword". The legend opened up the sword culture and left a deep impression in the long Chinese history.

质量奠定近战优势Quality Establishes Melee Advantage

青铜冶炼技术的成熟，为剑的应用、普及奠定了工业基础。春秋战国时期，青铜剑已经成为列国步兵重要的近战装备，防可格挡兵器，攻能刺穿铠甲。

The maturity of bronze metallurgical technology laid the industrial foundation for the application and popularization of swords. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period 2，500 years ago， bronze swords became the important melee weapon for infantry because swords could block weapon attack and pierce through enemy's armor.

彼时，各国铸造的青铜剑，长度普遍只有50 cm～65 cm，过长则变脆、易折。而冶炼技术发达的秦国，青铜剑长度多为80 cm，最长的可达140 cm，质量依然上乘。凭借“一寸长一寸强”的近战优势，秦国士兵在两军对垒时无往而不利。

At that time， bronze swords forged in various states were generally from 50 to 65 centimeters in length，and if they were too long， they would become brittle and easy to fold. However， in Qin State， where bronze metallurgical technology was advanced， bronze swords were mostly 80 centimeters long， even up to 140 centimeters long with high quality. According to the saying "one inch long and one inch strong"， longer swords enabled Qin soldiers to kill enemies easily in battle fi elds.

秦青铜剑秦始皇帝陵博物院藏

越王勾践剑湖北省博物馆藏

强兵源于工艺标准Excellent Quality Technological Standards

随着铸剑工艺的精益求精，一种摆脱长度限制，兼具强度和韧性的复合剑开始登上历史舞台。相比最初一次铸造成型的青铜剑，这种复合剑的剑脊和剑刃采用不同铜锡配比，分两次浇铸而成。剑脊韧性强、不易断折，剑刃硬度高、保持锋利，两者以榫卯结构连接。闻名于世的国家一级文物越王勾践剑就是其中的杰出代表。

With the continuous improvement of sword casting technology， bimetallic bronze swords with mutual advantages in strength and toughness began to enter the historical stage. Compared with the onetime forging bronze sword， the ridge and blade of bimetallic bronze swords were cast with different copper-tin ratios and were manufactured in two-time forging technology. The ridge of the sword had strong toughness and was not easy to break.The blade had high hardness and kept sharp. The ridge and blade were connected in tenon-mortise structure. Sword of Goujian， one of the worldfamous Chinese national cultural relics， was the outstanding representatives for bimetallic bronze swords.

青铜复合剑截面示意图

当时的秦国甚至以国家法令的形式，将这种制剑工艺标准固化，以确保批量化生产，为最终一扫六合建立了牢固的军事优势。

At that time， the state of Qin even set the sword manufacturing standard as the state decrees to ensure mass production， thus establishing a solid military advantage for conquering the six kingdoms and unifying them as one empire.

文化炼就百兵之君Culture of Chinese Swords

历经传承和发展，制作精良、佩戴优雅的剑不再仅仅被视为战场的杀戮之器，还被赋予了皇权、品德、曲艺等文化内涵，成为达官贵人权势、身份的象征，并深受文人墨客的广泛青睐。

After inheritance and development， the wellmade and elegant sword was no longer only regarded as a melee weapon in the battlefield，but also endowed with cultural connotations such as imperial power， moral character and folk arts. Swords not only became a symbol of the power and status of dignitary， but also were widely favored by scholars.

到了汉朝，尚方宝剑的横空出世，标志着剑作为皇权象征达到了巅峰，上可震慑昏君、下可立斩佞臣，被公认为百兵之君。

In the Han Dynasty， the birth of the imperial sword symbolized that the swords reached peak as a symbol of imperial power. The imperial sword could be used to frighten foolish emperors and kill traitor ministers， which was regarded as the king of melee weapons in ancient China.

结 语Conclusion

如果说冶炼技术赋予了剑的“身体”，那么工艺标准则是撑起这幅“身体”的“筋骨”，为最终注入文化灵魂，赋予了扎实基础和想象空间，共同成就了源远流长的剑文化。

Metallurgical technology endows shape of the swords and the technological standards brought the inner quality and virtue， which injected cultural elements and thus achieved Chinese sword culture with long history.