Collector Swords
From Republican China

Collector swords from Republican China have a unique place in history. Although not generally made for battle, some of these vintage bazaar swords are very well made. They range from folded steel copies of earlier Chinese swords to low quality copies of the copies, made for the tourist market.

This Chinese Swords Guide would be incomplete without taking a good look at what is available in collector swords from the more recent history of China. After the fall of the Qing dynasty, China went through the fastest period of change it had ever experienced. With the widespread use of guns for armies, many sword making skills declined. As the country opened up to the tourist trade, swords became a sought after treasure. Today, many of the best Chinese swords have found their way into the hands of collectors and martial artists. But there is not an unlimited supply.

Discerning sword makers often copied some of the best from earlier times. Quality varied. They were made for the tourists and these people bought them as quickly as they could be produced. Some of these were sold as antique collector swords, to people who knew no better. This immoral trade in fake antiques continues to the present day. It takes a very informed buyer to tell them from the real thing.

Another branch of sword makers had no intention of deception. Their reproduction swords were copies of the old ones, often highly decorated, and sometimes quite good quality. The pictures throughout this page are from a vintage bazaar sword owned by a reader of the Chinese Swords Guide named Graham. His is probably one of these.

Closer Views of a Vintage Bazaar Sword

Graham purchased this interesting piece from a known and reliable person in China. This was not an Ebay purchase, but a private sale. Finding genuine collector swords on Ebay can be a hazardous business, as he knew. So he was pleased to have a more reliable source. The sword was sold to him as an "old sword", with no pretence of it being more than that. It is very interesting for what it is - a piece of recent Chinese history. Graham, with his good knowledge of Chinese history, put it under the microscope for careful examination. Some of his findings follow.

Graham: "Under the microscope the fullers look as if they have been punched or rolled in with a serrated punch or roller. You can see where the punch or roller has gone over the Dragon design in the fullers and left the same marks on the dragon and forced the dragon to the bottom of the fullers. The marks are old."

Blade of a vintage bazaar sword.

So far we have not come up with a purpose for the three circles in the blade near the dragon. Strengtheners to stabilise the blade, was one suggestion. However, my friend, Peter Dekker thinks this is unlikely since they are not found on earlier battle swords. If such a feature was for strengthening the blade and preventing cracks, it would certainly have been used on swords made for fighting, not only on those made for show. Another possibility is that an old piece of steel was used and extra steel was used to fill up the holes. Another possibility is that they are not plugs at al but rather a product of heavy etching.

One thing is certain. The sword is not sharp, as seen in the picture with someone holding it by the blade. This sword was cleared of rust using steel wool, but it still seems unlikely to have aged enough to have become so blunt, if it was originally sharp. My repolished Qing jian will cut a finger at the lightested touch. Holding it in this manner would almost remove the finger.

This picture clearly shows the interesting shape of the blade and the elaborate designs. Whatever it's purpose, a lot of work has gone into this collector sword.

Identification

Blade tip.

So far we have no clear identification of this sword. It is a dao. It is much too curved for a luiyedao. It is shaped in the more curved fashion of a piandao but the tip is very unusual.

Graham: "It looks like the dragons have been forge welded to the blade. They have been very well done - no automated process here as each dragon is different. The blade has been hand made and everywhere I look there is some age to it. The only part that could be recent is the wood handle and by recent I mean 20-30 years. I have even looked at the glue and parts of the scabbard under the microscope and they are old. My own personal opinion of the saber is that it was made in the 1920s or 30s as a copy of an old saber but I could be wrong it could be older but no younger.

View of the Blade Characters

So far these Chinese characters have not been identified. A language teacher friend of Graham's said they were old Chinese. If you are able to read them, please let us know.

If you have collector swords you would like featured on this page, please use the contact form to let me know.

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