The jian is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. Historical one-handed versions have blades varying from 45 to 80 centimeters (17.7 to 31.5 inches) in length. The weight of an average sword of 70-centimeter (28-inch) blade-length would be in a range of approximately 700 to 900 grams (1.5 to 2 pounds). There are also larger two-handed versions used for training by many styles of Chinese martial arts. Image File history File links Jian. ... Traditional Chinese (Traditional Chinese: 正體字/繁體字, Simplified Chinese: 正体字/繁体字) refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji   ) are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana (平仮名), katakana (片仮名), and the Arabic numerals. ... Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. ... Standard Mandarin – also known as Standard Chinese or Standard spoken Chinese – is the official Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Singapore. ... Pinyin (拼音, Pīnyīn) literally means join (together) sounds (a less literal translation being phoneticize, spell or transcription) in Chinese and usually refers to Hànyǔ Pīnyīn (汉语拼音, literal meaning: Han language pinyin), which is a system of... Tongyong Pinyin (Chinese: ; pinyin: Tōngyòng pÄ«nyÄ«n; literally Universal/General Usage Sound-combining) is the current official romanization of the Chinese language adopted by the national government (although not all local governments) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2002. ... Pinyin (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) can refer to several transcription systems for Chinese: Hanyu Pinyin (HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n), what most people mean when referring to pinyin. ... Wade-Giles, sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a Romanization (phonetic notation and transliteration) system for the Chinese language based on Mandarin. ... Zhuyin fuhao (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Tongyong Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chu-yin fu-hao), or Symbols for Annotating Sounds, often abbreviated as Zhuyin, or known as Bopomofo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ) after the first four letters of this Chinese phonemic alphabet (bo po mo fo), is the national phonetic system of the... Standard Cantonese is a variant, and is generally considered the prestige dialect of Cantonese Chinese. ... Jyutping (sometimes spelled Jyutpin) is a romanization system for Standard Cantonese developed by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK) in 1993. ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji   ) are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana (平仮名), katakana (片仮名), and the Arabic numerals. ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Manyogana 万葉仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 For other meanings of Kana, see Kana (disambiguation). ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji The Hepburn romanization system ) is named after James Curtis Hepburn, who used it to transcribe the sounds of the Japanese language into the Latin alphabet in the third edition of his Japanese–English dictionary, published... Nihon-shiki or Nippon-shiki (日本式 Japan-style; romanized as Nihon-siki or Nippon-siki in Nippon-shiki itself) is a romanization system for transcribing the Japanese language into the Roman alphabet. ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Romaji ローマ字 Kunrei-shiki (訓令式, Cabinet-ordered system) is a romanization system, that is, a system for transcribing the Japanese language into the Roman alphabet. ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji   ) are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with hiragana (平仮名), katakana (片仮名), and the Arabic numerals. ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Manyogana 万葉仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Rōmaji ローマ字 For other meanings of Kana, see Kana (disambiguation). ... Japanese writing Kanji Kana Hiragana Katakana Hentaigana Manyōgana Uses Furigana Okurigana Rōmaji The Hepburn romanization system ) is named after James Curtis Hepburn, who used it to transcribe the sounds of the Japanese language into the Latin alphabet in the third edition of his Japanese–English dictionary, published... Nihon-shiki or Nippon-shiki (日本式 Japan-style; romanized as Nihon-siki or Nippon-siki in Nippon-shiki itself) is a romanization system for transcribing the Japanese language into the Roman alphabet. ... Japanese writing Kanji 漢字 Kana 仮名 Hiragana 平仮名 Katakana 片仮名 Uses Furigana 振り仮名 Okurigana 送り仮名 Romaji ローマ字 Kunrei-shiki (訓令式, Cabinet-ordered system) is a romanization system, that is, a system for transcribing the Japanese language into the Roman alphabet. ... Jamo redirects here. ... The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. ... McCune-Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced (a modified) McCune-Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000. ... Phoneticians define phonation as use of the laryngeal system to generate an audible source of acoustic energy, i. ... In human language, a phoneme is the theoretical representation of a sound. ... The Vietnamese alphabet has the following 29 letters, in collating order: Vietnamese also uses the 10 digraphs and 1 trigraph below. ... Eric Van Lustbader (1946 - ) is a writer of fantasy and thriller novels. ... Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century Look up Sword in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Chinese martial arts describes the enormous variety of martial arts styles originating in China. ...

The jian is very often the weapon of the hero in Chinese wuxia or martial arts movies. For example, the possession and use of a specific fictional jian, the Green Destiny, played a major role in the popular movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. In folklore, it is known as "The Gentleman of Weapons" and is considered one of the four major weapons, along with the staff, saber, and the spear. Heroine (female hero) redirects here. ... Wǔxiá (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: , Mandarin IPA: , Cantonese Pinyin: mou5 hap6), literally meaning martial (arts) heroes, is a distinct quasi-fantasy sub-genre of the martial arts genre in literature, television and cinema. ... Martial arts film is a film genre that originated in the Pacific Rim. ... The Green Destiny, running from the bottom-left to top-right, as featured in the Crouching Tiger poster. ... Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) is a Chinese-language wuxia (chivalric and martial arts) 2000 Academy Award winning film. ... Gun event at the 10th All China Games The Chinese word Gun (Chinese: ; pinyin: gùn) refers to a long Chinese staff weapon used in Chinese martial arts. ... Chinese Saber (wushu variant used for ceremonial purposes only) Dao (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: tao1) is a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping (sabers), often called broadswords in English because some varieties have wide blades. ... 10th All China Games 10th All China Games Qiang (qīang,槍) is the Chinese term for spear. ...

Parts of the jian

A guard or hilt protects the hand from an opposing blade. The shape of the guard can be described as short wings pointing either forward or backward depending on the era and region of manufacture. A minority of jian featured the disc-shaped guards associated with dao. A handle behind the guard can accommodate the grip of both hands or one hand plus two or three fingers of the other hand. Two-handed jiàn of up to 1.6 meters (65") in length, known as shuangshou jian, existed but were not as common as the one-handed version. The longer two-handed handle could be used as a lever to lock the opponent's arm if necessary. Grips are usually of fluted wood or covered in rayskin, with a minority being wrapped with cord. See also: Hilt (band) and Peter Hilt Hilt of Szczerbiec The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. ... Chinese Saber (wushu variant used for ceremonial purposes only) Dao (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: tao1) is a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping (sabers), often called broadswords in English because some varieties have wide blades. ...

The end of the handle was finished with a pommel for balance, to prevent the handle from sliding through the hand if the hand's grip should be loosened, and for striking or trapping the opponent as opportunity required — such as in "withdrawing" techniques. The pommel was historically peened onto the tang of the blade; thereby holding together as one solid unit the blade, guard, handle, and pommel. Most jian of the last century or so are assembled with a threaded tang onto which the pommel or pommel-nut is screwed. See also: Hilt (band) and Peter Hilt The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. ... A 380 mm (15 in) ball-peen hammer. ... A protrusion of the blade of a tool, such as a chisel or knife, onto which the handle is fastened. ...

Sometimes a tassel is attached to the hilt. During the Ming Dynasty these were usually passed through an openwork pommel, and in the Qing through a hole in the grip itself; modern swords usually attach the tassel to the end of the pommel. Historically these were likely used as lanyards, allowing the wielder to retain the sword in combat. There are some sword forms which utilize the tassel as an integral part of their swordsmanship style (sometimes offensively), while other schools dispense with sword tassels entirely. The movement of the tassel may have served to distract opponents, and some schools further claim that metal wires were once worked into the tassels for impairing vision and causing bleeding when swept across the face. The tassel's use now is primarily decorative. For other uses, see hilt and maize. ... For other uses, see Ming. ... The Qing Dynasty (Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Ching chao; Manchu: daicing gurun; Mongolian: Манж Чин), occasionally known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the ruling Chinese Dynasties. ... A lanyard (sword knot) fixed to an infantry sword handle A lanyard, also spelled laniard, is a rope or cord often worn around the neck or wrist to carry something. ...

The blade itself is customarily divided into three sections for leverage in different offensive and defensive techniques. The tip of the blade is the jiànfeng, meant for stabbing, slashing, and quick percussive cuts. The jiànfeng typically curves smoothly to a point, though in the Ming period sharply angled points were common. Some antiques have rounded points, though these are likely the result of wear. The middle section is the zhongren or middle edge, and is used for a variety of offensive and defensive actions: cleaving cuts, draw cuts, and deflections. The section of blade closest to the guard is called the jiàngen or root, and is mainly used for defensive actions; on some late period jian, the base of the blade was made into an unsharpened ricasso. These sections are not necessarily of the same length, with the jiànfeng being only three or four inches long. A ricasso is a common component of many larger Western swords. ...

Jian blades generally feature subtle profile taper (decreasing width), but often have considerable distal taper (decreasing thickness), with blade thickness near the tip being only half the thickness of the root's base. Jiàn may also feature differential sharpening, where the blade is made progressively sharper towards the tip, usually corresponding to the three sections of the blade. The cross-section of the blade is typically that of a flattened diamond with a visible central ridge, though some are lenticular (eye-shaped) instead; ancient bronze jian sometimes have a hexagonal cross-section.

Materials

Jian were originally made from bronze, then steel as metal technology advanced. There are some, perhaps ceremonial, jian which are carved from a single solid piece of jade. Assorted ancient Bronze castings found as part of a cache, probably intended for recycling. ... The steel cable of a colliery winding tower. ... A selection of antique, hand-crafted Chinese jade (jadeite) buttons Unworked Jade Jade is used as an ornamental stone, the term jade is applied to two different rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals. ...

Traditional jian blades are usually of sanmei (three plate) construction, which involved sandwiching a core of hard steel between two plates of softer steel. The central plate protrudes slightly from its surrounding pieces, allowing for a sharp edge, while the softer spine protects the brittle core. Some blades had wumei or five plate construction, with two more soft plates being used at the central ridge. Bronze jian were often made in a somewhat similar manner: in this case an alloy with a high copper content would be used to make a resilient core and spine, while the edge would be made from a high tin-content alloy for sharpness and welded on to the rest of the blade.

The sword smiths of China are often credited with the forging technologies that traveled to Korea and Japan to allow sword smiths there to create such weapons as the katana. These technologies include folding, inserted alloys, and differential hardening of the edge. While the Japanese would be more influenced by the Chinese dāo (single-edged swords of various forms), the early Japanese swords known as ken are often based on jian. The Korean version of the jian is known as the geom or gum, and these swords often preserve features found in Ming-era jian, such as openwork pommels and sharply angled tips. A blacksmiths forge For finery forges (making iron) see finery forge. ... Korea (Korean: 한국 in South Korea or ì¡°ì„  in North Korea, see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A differential hardening is a method used in forging swords and knives to increase the hardness of the edge. ... Chinese Saber (wushu variant used for ceremonial purposes only) Dao (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: tao1) is a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping (sabers), often called broadswords in English because some varieties have wide blades. ... Korean swords have a long history little known to the world. ...

In martial art schools wooden swords are used for training, so most martial arts students' first experience with a jian in modern times is with one of those weapons. In some religious Taoist sects, those wooden practice swords have come to have an esoteric ritual purpose, claimed by some to metaphorically represent the discipline of an accomplished student. For other uses of the words tao and dao, see Dao (disambiguation). ... Etymology Esoteric is an adjective originating during Hellenic Greece under the domain of the Roman Empire; it comes from the Greek esôterikos, from esôtero, the comparative form of esô: within. It is a word meaning anything that is inner and occult, a latinate word meaning hidden (from which... Look up metaphor in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Contemporary jian versions are often forged (shaped with heat and hammer) and assembled by mostly traditional methods for training of practitioners of Chinese martial arts around the world. These jian vary greatly in quality and historical accuracy. A blacksmiths forge For finery forges (making iron) see finery forge. ...

Contemporary jian are also sometimes forged (artificially aged and misrepresented as original antiques) for sale to tourists and collectors who cannot distinguish them from true antiques. Forgery is the process of making or adapting objects or documents (see false document), with the intention to deceive. ...

Jian in religious and folk iconography

There are several Taoist immortals who are associated with the jian. One example is Lü Dongbin. Xian (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: hsien) is a Chinese word for an enlightened person, translatable in English as: spiritually immortal; transcendent; super-human; celestial being (in Daoist/Taoist philosophy and cosmology) physically immortal; immortal person; immortalist; saint (in Daoist religion and pantheon) alchemist; one who seeks the elixir of life... LÇš DòngbÄ«n (呂洞賓) (sometimes seen spelled Lu Tong-Pin) is a Chinese deity revered by Daoists. ...

The bodhisattva Mañjuśrī (Ch: 文殊 Wénshū) is often depicted holding a jian, which is then referred to as the "sword of wisdom". This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Statue of Manjusri (Monju) at Senkoji in Onomichi, Japan MañjuÅ›rÄ« (Ch: 文殊 Wenshu or 文殊師利 Wenshushili; Jp: Monju; Tib: Jampelyang (Wylie jam dpal dbyangs)), also written Manjushri, is the bodhisattva of keen awareness in Buddhism. ... Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ...

"The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea", note the figure on the far left wearing a jian on his back

Image File history File links Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea - Project Gutenberg eText 15250 From http://www. ... Image File history File links Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea - Project Gutenberg eText 15250 From http://www. ... The Eight Immortals crossing the sea, from Myths and Legends of China, 1922 by E. T. C. Werner. ...

Modern use

A wushu jian pair event at the 10th All China games

Most Chinese martial arts, such as Taijiquan for one well-known example, still train extensively with jian, and expertise in its technique is said by many of them to be the highest physical expression of their martial skills. However, most jian today are flexible tai-chi or wushu jian used mainly for ceremonial purposes and not for actual combat. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2832x2128, 1347 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Jian Wushu (sport) Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2832x2128, 1347 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Jian Wushu (sport) Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used... Gun (staff) event at the 10th All China Games Wushu (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; literally martial arts), also known as modern wushu or contemporary wushu, is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. ... Tai Chi Chuan or Taijiquan (from Chinese 太极拳 Tàijíquán, literally supreme ultimate fist), commonly known as Tai Chi or Taiji, is a nei chia (internal) Chinese martial art which is known for the claims of health and longevity benefits made by its... Kung fu or gongfu (功夫, Pinyin: gōngfu) is a well-known Chinese term often used today to refer to Chinese martial arts. ...

Uses in fiction

• Hero - Jet Li's character uses a bronze jian.
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - A specific antique jian is one of the plot elements of the movie.
• Seven Swords - The film follows the story of seven swordsmen and their unique swords.
• The Twelve Kingdoms - The main protagonist and several other characters wield jian-type swords.
• Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain and The Legend of Zu - Many characters use jian with magical or metaphysical abilities.
• In the Judge Dee novels by Robert van Gulik, Judge Dee is portrayed as expert enough with a jian to be a challenging opponent to an experienced fencer. His own jian, "Rain Dragon," is eventually buried with his loyal assistant, Chiao Tai, after it was used to murder him by an enemy of Judge Dee.
• A pair of blue-colored jian, "Earthlight" and "Moonlight", are used as weapons by the vampire Caerula Sanguis in the popular manga GUNNM: Last Order Last Order Volume 6 by Yukito Kishiro. Also, in Volume 8 of Last Order, Caerula is seen wielding a single standard jian.

This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Jet Li (born Li Lianjie on April 26th, 1963 in Beijing, China) is a Chinese actor, Wushu champion and international film celebrity. ... Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) is a Chinese-language wuxia (chivalric and martial arts) 2000 Academy Award winning film. ... Seven Swords poster Seven Swords (Chinese:七劍) is a 2005 Hong Kong film directed by Tsui Hark and adapted from renowned Wuxia writer Liang Yusheng. ... The Twelve Kingdoms ), also known as Juuni Kokki, 12 Kokki, and Record of 12 Countries, is a Japanese fantasy series by Fuyumi Ono consisting of eleven novels and a short story collection, and a 45-episode anime series produced by Studio Pierrot in 2002. ... Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain is a 1983 Hong Kong film. ... The Legend of Zu (known as Zu Warriors in the US) is a 2001 martial arts/fantasy film starring Ekin Cheng and Sammo Hung. ... Judge Dee (or Judge Di) is the hero of Robert van Guliks Judge Dee series. ... Robert van Gulik (August 9, 1910 - September 24, 1967) was a highly educated orientalist, diplomat and writer, best known for the Judge Dee mysteries. ... Yukito Kishiro (木城ゆきと Kishiro Yukito) is a Japanese manga author. ...

References

• Chen Fangmei (1995). Illustrated Catalogue of Ancient Bronze Weaponry in the National Palace Museum. National Palace Museum. ISBN 957-562-199-9. 
• Scott M. Rodell (2003). Chinese Swordsmanship: The Yang Family Taiji Jian Tradition. Seven Stars Books and Video. ISBN 0-9743999-0-6. 
• Tetsutaka Sugawara, Lujian Xing, Mark B. Jones (1998). Aikido and Chinese Martial Arts, Volume 2: Aikido and Weapons Training. Sugawara Martial Arts Institute. ISBN 0-87040-963-8. 
• Zhang Yun (1998). The Art of Chinese Swordsmanship. Weatherhill. ISBN 0-8348-0412-3. 

Scott M. Rodell Scott M. Rodell is a martial artist, author, and teacher of Yang style taijiquan. ...

See also

Look up 剣 in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Sword of Gou Jian
• Taijijian
• Wudang Mountains
• Wushu (sport)
• Zhang Sanfeng
• World Jianshu League

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... The famed 2500-year-old Sword of Gou Jian, a first-level protected artifact of the Peoples Republic of China The Sword of Gou Jian (越王勾踐劍) is an archaeological artifact of the Spring and Autumn Period found in 1965 in Hubei, China. ... Taijijian event at the 10th All China Games Taijijian (Chinese: ; pinyin: tàijíjiàn; literally Taiji Sword) is a sword used in the Taijiquan technique of wushu (sport) curriculum. ... wudang or wudangquan, see Wudangquan. ... Gun (staff) event at the 10th All China Games Wushu (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; literally martial arts), also known as modern wushu or contemporary wushu, is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. ... Zhang Sanfeng was a semi-mythical Chinese Taoist priest who is believed by some to have achieved immortality, said variously to date from either the late Song dynasty, Yuan dynasty or Ming dynasty. ... The World Jianshu League (WJL, from Chinese jiàn shù 劍 術, sword art) is an organization dedicated to preserving the art of the jian, through organized competition, discussion, and documentation. ...

External link

• [1] Ma Yueliang Wu style Taijiquan 108 posture jian form video

Wu Ying-hua, Ma Yueh-liang 吳英華 , 馬岳樑 Ma Yueh-liang (Chinese: ; pinyin: ; August 1, 1901 - March 13, 1998) was a famous Chinese teacher of Taijiquan. ... Wu Chien-chuan in the Wu styles version of the posture Cloud Hands 雲手 The Wu style (吳氏) Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan) of Wu Chuan-yü (Wu Quanyou) and Wu Chien-chüan (Wu Jianquan) is the second most popular form of Tai Chi Chuan...