Those who found him in a coffin were astonished by what they saw. The sword, which attracted attention with its complex design, legendary sharpness and resistance to tarnish, also had a wonderful structure and appearance.
Even after all these years, it looked as if it was made yesterday. There was a mysterious writing on it. I wonder what was the real basis of this sword, which preserved its mystery as well as its sharpness?
First, let’s examine the sword a little.
The sword’s hilt was surrounded by silk. Since its body was made of copper, it was flexible and less likely to break. Its edges were made of tin, meaning it was hard and its edges were protected. Sulfur prevented the patterns from darkening. The handle part had a shape that could provide very good support to the base of the hand of the person who would use it. It consisted of 11 circles, each separated by just 0.02 millimeters (the thickness of a human hair).
Even after all these years, isn’t there even a single stain on it? No! Doesn’t it ever get dull? No! It seems that every piece of data was designed with great care and mastery. I wonder for whom such an important sword could have been made?
The sword was found during an archaeological trip.
In October 1965, an archaeological expedition was conducted around the Zhang River arch in Jingzhou, China, and many ancient tombs were discovered. In addition to the graves, more than 2000 artifacts were found, but one of them was enough for them all.
During the excavation, which ended in January 1966, a sword was found along with a human skeleton in a water-damaged coffin. Archaeologists never expected to find such a sword in a soggy coffin.
It had not lost any of its sharpness and appearance.
The Goujian Sword, which was 55.6 cm long from beginning to end and weighed 875 grams, preserved its sharpness so much that it even cut the hand of the archaeologist who found it. It looked like it was produced today. According to the statement of the Hubei Ministry of Culture, the sword could cut 20 pieces of hard paper at once.
Of course, the fact that it was found in a coffin had an impact as well as the careful selection of its materials. The almost airtight coffin helped preserve the sword better.
To whom could such an important sword belong?
There was also text on the underside of the sword, analysts examined the inscription and found “King of Yue” and “He made this sword for his personal use.” was able to decipher their passwords. However, nine different kings ruled Yue during the period when the sword is estimated to have appeared.
Historians and Chinese linguists, who examined both the sword and the tomb for months, reached a consensus and decided that the sword was built by King Goujian (496-465 BC).
So where is the sword now?
The Goujian Sword is currently kept in an airtight wooden box in the Hubei Provincial Museum in China. It has been banned from being exhibited abroad since then, as it was damaged by a worker while being loaned to Singapore in 1994.
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