Jian

• the hilt ends with a pommel ^[2]
• the handle can be either short for one hand or long, allowing two-handed grip if necessary ^[3]
• the guard is usually simple, but there are also options with a sophisticated guard for special fencing techniques ^[4]
• blade - there is an option with both a short but heavy blade for power fencing with powerful but quick strokes, and a version with a long but light blade that allows a greater variety of moving techniques ^[5]
• the blade has two blades ^[6]
• the blade has a stiffener running along the entire blade to its tip ^[7]
• the blade ends with a tip ^[8]
• the top of the hilt ends with a brush that can be wrapped around the wrist and palm as a lanyard ^[9] . Also, the brush could be used to absorb blood that fell on the handle ^[10] . Sometimes there is a very long brush, comparable in length to a blade, which is believed to be distracting the attention of the enemy ^[11]

The first jian swords appeared in the Western Zhou era and were made of bronze ^{[12] [13]} . Later, in the Chunqiu era, the quality of the blades improved and their length increased. ^[13] The most widely used swords were used in war during the Warring Kingdoms ^{[14] [15]} .

In the era of the Warring Kingdoms, the average length of swords was a little less than a meter ^[16] . It is significant that in the era of the Warring Kingdoms, bronze swords continued to compete with steel ones, for example, Chu was famous for its steel swords, while Qin , thanks to the use of alloys containing chrome , was famous for bronze swords that were not inferior in quality to recently appeared steel ones ( historical theories that Qin won thanks to steel were disproved by archaeological finds) ^[15] And by the time of the unification of China under Qin’s rule , the average length of swords was a little less than a meter. ^[16] The process of casting bronze swords in molds gradually gave way to the production of forged swords from iron as metallurgy developed in ancient China.

In the Han era , it became a mandatory attribute of officials ^[13] . The number of steel swords began to significantly exceed the number of bronze still cast ^[17] .

Gradually, the direct swords of jian began to give way in the army to broadswords and falsons - Tao , which turned out to be more practical and effective in battle. Already in the Tang era in China, Tao with a weakly pronounced bend became increasingly popular. Fencing on double-edged jian since the Tang Dynasty has become an indispensable attribute of a pundit who is equally good at wielding a brush and blade (as an example, the illustrious poet Li Bo) ^[13] . The sword, which turned into a work of art, sought not to damage the blades during fencing. Indeed, a number of swords preserved from the Qing period (1636-1912) have characteristic serifs on the holomens of the blades. The transition from mass weapons with swords to weapons with swords and broadswords ended by the end of the 10th century ^[18] . As for the infantry, back in the Han era, its main weapon was the Tao (which was a heavy single-blade direct weapon in that era - actually a broadsword ), and by the time of the Tang, the Tao was firmly established as the main blade weapon in the army ^[19] .

By the time of the Tang, swords in the army were not as popular as before, and after the fall of the Tang they completely turned into ceremonial and ceremonial ^[14] . Nevertheless, strangely enough, it was the period after the Tang that some Chinese authors (in particular Zhang Yukun) called the heyday of fencing on jian ^[13] . And it was during this period that the tradition arose to carefully preserve the sword during fencing ^[14] . The transformation of jian from military into ceremonial swords in time coincided with the replacement of a small Chinese heavy cavalry, which was an analogue of cataphracts , clothed (including horses) in lamellar armor , and armed with, among other things, jian swords, formed by a large medium cavalry formed from . The replacement process, which began when the Tang Dynasty was founded, was completed by the end of the 10th century ^[18] . As for the infantry, even in the Han era, the jian sword was inferior in popularity to the Tao sword (which was a heavy single-blade straight sword in that era - in fact, a broadsword , in contrast to the later - the classical Tao, which is a falsion ), and by the time of the Tang Dao it was firmly established as the main weapon of swordsmen ^[19] .

Nevertheless, jian was actively used in China until the second half of the 20th century. as an unofficial weapon of officials, village militias and militias. Numerous militia jiangs of the Qing period, completely made of steel, were called quanite jian (lit. whole-iron jian ) in large quantities have survived to this day and demonstrate a high level of skill of the Chinese villagers ^[20] In addition, a survey of a significant number of samples of the rebel and police weapons of the XVII-XX centuries, made by village blacksmiths, conducted by Alex Huangfu, Peter Decker, Philip Tom, V.E. Belanovsky, A.M. Pastukhov made it possible to identify the construct different features of this weapon and confirm the reality of the possibility of producing high-quality blade weapons in rural conditions with a developed tradition of making blacksmiths' blade weapons - many of them have a complex sanmei design, when a plate of solid steel was inserted between two mild steel plates and the whole package was boiled using a blacksmith welding ^[20] .

In addition to military jiangs, ceremonial and ceremonial ceremonies for religious and magical rites were also made ^{[k. 1]} , in particular, were often worn by Taoists . Moreover, unlike Buddhist monks, who traditionally traveled with a pole or staff, it was customary for Taoists to take jian with them when traveling to protect themselves ^[21] .

According to Liu-Zhian Sin, the most valuable swords, in addition to external scabbards, can have steel inner scabbards designed to better save the blade ^[14] . However, claiming this, these authors do not provide photos of real artifacts, nor do they describe their design.

Modern sports jian is a sports equipment in the form of a sword with a thin blade of increased flexibility, unsuitable for use in real combat.

In the Bronze Age, jian represented a short blade, usually used in conjunction with a shield, in the appropriate manner of fencing ^[22] . With the lengthening of swords, almost to one meter (which happened back in the Bronze Age), the popularity of shields did not decrease, and the combination “shield and sword” continued to be popular in infantry and in the VI century AD ^[23] .

The classic version is a long straight blade with a long handle, which can be fenced with one or two hands. Unlike European one and a half swords, in which a third of the blade adjacent to the guard was often not sharpened, the jiang blade is usually sharpened along its entire length. Unlike its closest European counterpart - German. reitschwert ^{[c. 2]} , the guard is simple, which, on the one hand, does not constrain the movement of the hand, and on the other hand, weakly protects the fingers. All this, combined with the presence of sufficient weight, made the classic jian a rather versatile sword that was light enough to carry out complex fencing techniques (in particular, hand strokes) and was heavy enough to make chopping strokes ^[24] . The simplicity of the guard also imposes its pattern on the battle, forcing the use of long defenses with circular movements, when performing the tip of the sword often looks at the enemy, and all defensive movements are mainly performed by the handle describing the circles around the center of rotation which is the sharp end of the sword (cf. fencing with the Tao sword , in which the circles around the handle describe the end of the sword), which allows quick counterattacks with both stabbing and chopping punches ^[25] .

The fencing style that has survived to this day has had a noticeable effect on the transformation of Jiang from a battle sword into a ceremonial sword - too easy for delivering chopping blows, but at the same time rather shaky to expose him to the blow of heavier weapons. At the same time, the blades of combat jiangs began to be valued so highly that they began to be protected from damage, trying not to chop and not put the weapon under attack - fearing the appearance of an accidental dent in a valuable family relic ^[14] .

Unfortunately, the unification and emasculation of traditional types of fencing in the PRC has made jian fencing a kind of sports acrobatics (perhaps even something close to the sophisticated systems privately mastered by the noble men of the Tang period). However, the light and thin blade of a modern sports sword was too weak for an effective parry, which made fencing on jian a kind of show. Old expensive swords were sought not to be used in training, fearing the appearance of chipping marks on antiques ^[14] . Nevertheless, even during the years of the war with Japan (1937-1945), many Kuomintang army officers used jian as a military weapon.

Four manners of fencing stand out ^[26] :

• A “walking” sword is the famous “non-contact” fencing style (ideally, swords should not touch), in which all defenses are built on quick and deft movements and inclines, and attacks and pruning dominate from attacks.
• "Powerful" sword - fencing with a combat sword, which is clear and decisive.
• A “soft” sword is a fencing style that is characteristic of internal Wushu styles, using a special soft grip ^[ K. ^3] , which allows due to lesser strength to obtain greater technicality and complexity of fencing
• “Drunk” sword - a style of fencing in a “drunk” style with an abundance of feints and acrobatics

• Tsurugi is a Japanese ceremonial sword, descended from Jian, and traditionally written with the same character 劍

• Spation - East Roman (Byzantine) constructive analogue of jiang
• Reitschwert - a European Renaissance sword, with a blade similar to jian, but characterized by a complex hilt like a sword

• Tao (sword) is a Chinese chopping sword, whose fencing technique is traditionally considered the opposite of jing fencing technique based on pricks

In Russian

• Bogachikhin M. M. Brief Sino-Russian Wellness Dictionary. - M .: Sofia.
• Maslov A.A. Part 2 // Xingyiquan: the unity of form and will. - M .: Health of the People, 1995. - ISBN 5-88531-020-3 , LBC 75.716, M 31.
• Zhang Yukun. 100 questions about woo-shu. - K .: Sofia, 1996. - ISBN 5-701-0 (wrong)
• Liu Zh.-S., Sugawara T., Jones M. B. Aikido and Chinese Martial Arts = Aikido and Chinese Martial Arts. - R. n / a. : Phoenix, 2000. - T. 2: Aikido and training with weapons. - ISBN 5-222-01178-X , BBK 75.715 T37.

In foreign languages

• Peers CJ Ancient Chinese Armies 1500-200 BC / illustrated by Agnus McBridge, series editor Martin Widrow. - series No. 218. - Osprey Publishing , 1990. - (Men-at-Arms). - ISBN 0-85045-942-7 . (eng.)
• Peers CJ Imperial Chineese Armies / illustrated by Michael Perry, series editor Martin Widrow. - series No. 284. - Osprey Publishing , 1995. - Vol. 1: 200 BC - AD 589. - (Men-at-Arms). - ISBN 1-85532-514-4 . (eng.)
• Peers C., Perry M. Imperial Chinese Armies / series editor M. Widrow. - series No. 295. - Osprey Publishing , 1996. - Vol. 2: 590-1260 AD. - (Men-at-Arms). - ISBN 1-85532-599-3 . (eng.)
• Huangfu A. Iron and Steel swords of China. - Tomorrow Publishing House, 2007 .-- ISBN 978-7-5332-5358-5 . (eng.)