Jean Goodwin
5 February 2008
The Art of Chinese Swordsmanship
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the Chinese art of swordsmanship.
Central Idea: The Chinese sword as constructed from hard and soft steel allows sophisticated
techniques that can be a symbolic model for life in general.
Pattern of Organization: Topical
Introduction:
Attention: When you think of sword fighting, you might visualize large men bashing each other
with huge weapons. But would you imagine that someone like this young woman is a sword
champion, or that this old gentleman practicing in a relaxed fashion with his weapon, is a
renowned sword master?
Reveal Topic: If you were familiar with the Chinese art of swordsmanship, you probably would.
Credibility: When I'm with you, I wear my teacher's hat, but in my spare time, I'm a student,
too—a student who has been studying Taijiquan for close to five years now. You may know
taijiquan (Tai Chi) as the gentle form of exercise sometimes seen on commercials for products
for old people, like arthritis medicines and absorbent undergarments. But Taijiquan is also a
martial art, and as part of its practice includes the practice of weapons like the sword. After
learning a taiji sword form, I became interested in the Chinese art of the sword, and have been
reading up on it and following internet discussions about it.
Relate to audience: Obviously, I'm not here to tell you how to cut someone's arm off, but I hope
that by the end you'll agree with me that the Chinese art of swordsmanship has a significance
larger than just its ability to inflict deadly harm.
Preview: Today I want to begin by explaining how swords are constructed and then how they
are used, before turning at the end to the symbolic meaning of the sword in Chinese culture.
(Transition: To understand what you can do with a sword, you first have to understand how it's
constructed.)
I. The Chinese double-edged sword, or jian, is a result of a trade-off between sharpness and
resilience.
A. It's difficult to construct a steel sword that's both sharp and strong, explains leading
author, teacher and sword dealer Scott Rodell.
1. High-carbon steel can take and hold a sharp edge, but it's also brittle.
a. Consider an analogy: glass breaks easily, forming sharp edges.
b. In the stone age, people formed very sharp arrowheads and knives from
brittle flint.
c. High-carbon steel is similar: it will take an edge, but snap if it hits
something.
2. Low-carbon steel is the opposite.
a. It is quite resilient—it will absorb blows without breaking.
b. But it won't take an edge, and dulls quickly.
B. Chinese swordsmiths up to 2500 years ago developed a series of methods for
constructing a sword that was both strong and sharp.
1. The first method was to taper the sword, allowing it to be thicker and stronger
near the hilt, but still sharp near the tip.
2. The second method was to sandwich the hard steel in between two "cheeks" of
soft steel, according to contemporary swordsmiths at Masterforge.com.
3. The third method was to increase the resiliency of the "cheeks" yet further by
constructing them out of layers of metal.
a. Layering increases resilience—even as layered plywood can take more
stresses than regular wood.
b. Layering also creates a beautifully patterned surface!
4. The fourth method was to heat-harden the edge of the sword, while protecting
the main body, explains Taiwanese sword expert Thomas Chen on his website.
a. Heating and then rapidly cooling steel produces a crystalline structure
which can be very sharp.
b. Chinese swordsmiths covered the central spine of the sword with clay,
leaving the edge exposed.
c. This resulted in a hard, sharp, white edge and a solid sword body.
(Transition: Because of the way it is constructed, the Chinese sword allows for several specific
techniques. Let's say that this is your opponent, and here is your sword. What can you do?)
II. As explained by Taiji teacher Zhang Yun in his book on The Art of Chinese
Swordsmanship, different parts of the sword have different offensive and defensive functions.
A. The tip of the sword has several offensive uses.
a. Because of the taper, the tip of the sword is not strong, but is very sharp.
b. When carefully aimed, it can be used like a fork, to thrust, prick, poke or
pierce.
c. Likely applications would include opening the femoral artery in the thigh or
cutting a tendon in the arm, forcing the opponent to drop his sword.
B. The middle of the sword has other uses.
a. It is sharp, but not strong enough to cleave through a limb.
b. It can be used like a carving knife, to carve, slash, or draw.
c. Likely techniques would include opening large wounds in the opponent's
limbs, or slashing at his neck.
C. The top part of the sword allows for defensive techniques.
a. It is stronger, but dull.
b. It can be used like a shield, especially deflect the opponent's blows.
D. Other parts of the sword also have martial uses.
a. The hilt protects the hand.
b. The pommel can be used to bash the opponent in the face.
c. Even the tassel may have uses.
1. Some say that the tassel distracts the opponent, or can be used to wipe
blood off the sword, or helps attach the sword to the wrist.
2. I think many of these ideas are typical internet legends, undoubtedly f
false.
3. Still, the tassel looks cool!
(Transition: But clearly, we are not nowadays interested in opening arteries or slashing necks.
What significance does the Chinese sword have for us today?)
III. In China, the sword symbolizes that fighting smart is better than fighting strong.
A. The sword was an elite weapon in China.
1. Heavy weapons were lower class.
a. The Chinese of course developed a wide range of weapons, including a
heavy single-edged broadsword (dao), spears, halberts, clubs and so on.
b. These were the weapons for the rank-and-file: the untrained infantry.
2. The double-edged sword was considered the weapon of the gentleman.
a. It was reserved for officers and officials.
b. Some legendary sword masters were even women!
c. And in general, the sword was considered the scholar's weapon.
B. This is because the sword took mental as well as physical skill to use.
1. Brute strength is all that's necessary to wield a large, heavy club.
2. But brute strength won't work with this elegant weapon.
a. You can't cut a tendon or deflect a blow by strength alone; rather, it
takes correct intent (Yi) and spirit (Shen).
b. Long cultivation—what in Chinese is called gongfu—is necessary to
gain the physical precision necessary to properly wield a sword.
c. Further, As Master Zhang Yun explains, it is necessary to maintain "a
sense of internal calm and correctness" when wielding the sword, even in
the midst of battle.
C. In sum, the sword was the weapon of the mind.
1. Thus it's thought that "only people of superior character can use the sword
well," and conversely, that practicing swordplay will develop your character.
2. And at the highest levels of skill, the sword master can defeat his opponent by
mind alone.
a. In the West, we say that the best defense is a good offense.
b. The spirit of Chinese swordsmanship is quite different: the best
defense is a well-prepared mind.
c. Indeed, the best defense is not to need to defend yourself at all; the est
swordsman never draws his sword.
d. As is said in the ancient book of Chinese philosophy:
rather than advance an inch
better to retreat a foot
this means to form no ranks
to wear no armor
to brandish no weapon
to repulse no enemy
Conclusion
Signal end: Well,
Reinforce central idea: The forging of swords is nearly a lost art in China, and blessedly, we
don't need to use swords to defend ourselves here in Ames. But the spirit of Chinese
swordsmanship can live on. We always have a choice how we can approach our lives.
Clear closing line: We can try the method of brute force, or we try use elegance, cultivation and
mindfulness—whether in attacking an opponent, or in creating a public speech.
Bibliography
Chen, Thomas. Chinese Swords. Accessed 2 February 2008.
<http://thomaschen.freewebspace.com/index.html>.
Li, Deyin. Taijiquan. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2004.
Masterforge.com. Accessed 2 February 2008. <http://www.masterforge.co.uk/>
Rodell, Scott M. Chinese Swordsmanship: The Yang Family Taiji Jian Tradition. Annandale:
Seven Stars Trading, 2005.
Rodell, Scott M. Myths about Chinese swordsmanship. Accessed 2 February 2008.
<http://www.sevenstarstrading.com/articles/articles.php?subpage=myths>.
Tom, Philip. The Art of the Chinese Sword. Accessed 2 February 2008.
<http://www.sevenstarstrading.com/articles/articles.php?subpage=art>.
Yang, Jwing-ming. Taiji Sword, Classical Yang Style. Boston: YMAA Publications, 1999.
Yun, Zhang. The Art of Chinese Swordsmanship: A Manual of Taiji Jian. Boston: Weatherhill,
1998.