The Precious Sword

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaJun 2024

2.9

Word count: 3.5K words
Chapters: 48

Summary

One of the ancient weapons, belonging to the “short weapons.” It has long been known by the laudatory title “sovereign of the hundred weapons.” The ancient sword was a long, strip-shaped weapon with a pointed front end, a short handle attached at the rear end, and blades on both sides. The sword now used in fencing has a slender steel blade with a small round ball at the tip and no edges.

Editor's review

Taking “sovereign of the hundred weapons” as its thread, The Treasured Sword links the sword’s form, cultural symbolism, and contemporary competitive form into a concise primer. The book first explains the structure of the ancient sword—long strip-shaped blade, pointed tip, short handle, and double edges—and then contrasts it with the slender steel blade, round tip, and edgeless feature of the modern fencing sword, allowing readers to understand the weapon’s evolution through a comparison of past and present. It is not a monograph pursuing depth of textual research but rather a light introductory guide: restrained in length and clear in concepts, it suits readers who are curious about cold weapon culture but do not know where to begin. Flipping through a few pages on the commute, or using it as preparatory reading before visiting a museum or watching a fencing match, can quickly establish basic knowledge. If what you expect is an illustrated guide to swordsmanship techniques or a catalogue of famous swords, you will need to look elsewhere.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers with an initial interest in ancient cold weapons and sword culture
Students who want a quick understanding of the evolution of sword forms and basic knowledge of fencing
People who want to prepare before visiting a weapons exhibition or watching a fencing match
Commuters who enjoy light reading on traditional culture

Not a good fit for

Professional researchers who need systematic weapons textual research and detailed illustrations
Readers who want to learn specific swordsmanship moves and practical training methods
Readers expecting a collection of famous sword stories or martial arts legendary narratives

Reading tips

First read the section on ancient sword forms, then compare it with the modern fencing sword and make a brief past-present comparison table.
Read alongside museum objects or fencing match videos, matching the textual descriptions with real objects.
After each section, retell the key points to someone else in three to five sentences to test whether you have truly understood.
If a particular type of sword interests you, look for specialized weapons catalogues for further reading.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
【江雨望花】崔涂
【雨后月中玉堂闲坐】韩偓
【六月十七日召对自辰及申方归本院】韩偓
【与吴子华侍郎同年玉堂同直怀恩叙恳因成…兼呈诸同年】韩偓
【和吴子华侍郎令狐昭化舍人叹白菊衰谢之绝次用本韵】韩偓
【中秋禁直】韩偓
【侍宴】韩偓
【锡宴日作】韩偓
【宫柳】韩偓
【苑中】韩偓
【从猎三首】韩偓
【辛酉岁冬十一月随驾幸岐下作】韩偓
【冬至夜作（天复二年壬戌，随驾在凤翔府）】韩偓
【秋霖夜忆家（随驾在凤翔府）】韩偓
【恩赐樱桃分寄朝士（在岐下）】韩偓
【出官经硖石县（天复三年二月二十二日）】韩偓
【访同年虞部李郎中（天复四年二月，在湖南）】韩偓
【赠渔者（在湖南）】韩偓
【春阴独酌寄同年虞部李郎中（在湖南）】韩偓
【奉和峡州孙舍人肇荆南重围中寄诸朝士二篇时李…牵课】韩偓
【雪中过重湖信笔偶题】韩偓
【寄湖南从事】韩偓
【玩水禽（在古南醴陵县作）】韩偓
【早玩雪梅有怀亲属】韩偓
【欲明】韩偓
【梅花】韩偓
【小隐】韩偓
【曛黑】韩偓
【晓日】韩偓
【醉著】韩偓
【柳】韩偓
【病中初闻复官二首】韩偓
【早起五言三韵】韩偓
【家书后批二十八字（在醴陵，时闻家在登州）】韩偓
【湖南梅花一冬再发偶题于花援】韩偓
【即目二首】韩偓
【净兴寺杜鹃一枝繁艳无比】韩偓
【花时与钱尊师同醉因成二十字】韩偓
【避地】韩偓
【息兵】韩偓
【翠碧鸟（以上并在醴陵作）】韩偓
【赠孙仁本尊师（在袁州）】韩偓
【乙丑岁九月在萧滩镇驻泊两月忽得商马杨迢…因书四十字】韩偓
【丙寅二月二十二日抚州如归馆雨中有怀诸朝客】韩偓
【三月二十七日自抚州往南城县舟行见拂水蔷薇因有是作】韩偓
【荔枝三首（丙寅年秋到福州，自此后并福州作）】韩偓
【寄上兄长】韩偓

FAQ

Is this book about ancient swordsmanship moves?

No. This book focuses on the basic form of the sword as a weapon, its cultural titles, and the differences between ancient and modern uses of the sword. It is a common-knowledge introductory reader and does not teach specific swordsmanship moves or practical combat techniques. If you want to learn swordsmanship, you need to find specialized technique books or courses.

What are the main differences between the modern fencing sword and the ancient sword?

According to the book, the ancient sword was long and strip-shaped, with a pointed front end, a short handle at the rear end, and blades on both sides; the modern fencing sword is a slender steel blade with a small round ball at the tip and no edges. The two differ markedly in form and use, and readers can use this to understand the weapon’s transformation from a practical combat tool into a competitive apparatus.

Can I understand it without any background in weapons?

Yes. The book’s concepts are concise and center on the sword’s basic structure and its ancient and modern forms, without relying on specialized background. As long as you are interested in cold weapon culture, one read-through will establish basic knowledge; when encountering unfamiliar terms, you can understand them from context or illustrations.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.