Traditional martial arts still preserve old movements, practiced with swords and variety of weapons essential in the battlefield. Weapons are classified according to the characteristics and use were given. However, the most popular not only in China but throughout the world, in all times and within reach of peasant armies and officials, is the sword. Many times we find swords famous for the stories they tell, some real and some anchored to the fantastic world. It is known that the blacksmith OuYezi was most famous in the history of China, was active during the Spring and Autumn called.
In his workshop drew up a set of three swords commissioned by King Zhao of Chu and another set of five swords, for Goujian King of Yue. The same legend says that OuYezi lived in a mountainous area in the state of Yue, called Long Yuan and he himself chose the place for the solitude it offered and the availability of superior natural resources. It took two years to make swords, forged from iron obtained directly from Ci Shan mountain and sharpened with Keng Liang Shi stones. The first three swords were called Long Yuan (The source of the Dragon), Taia (Mountaintop) and Gongbu.
Another story tells that in the Qin Dynasty there was a young who liked to talk and speak in front of the people of his village. One day he found a battered steel rod and said it was a sword he got from an immortal creature in Nanshan Mountain, and named it Xiao Chi. The boy claimed that the sword was the incarnation of the Red Dragon of Heaven, who had known the Great Emperor Qin, embodied in a big white snake.
The villagers were well aware that the boy was a showoff and did not pay much attention, until one night, a dozen young people, including the boy and his sword, went to Feng Xize city. On the way they found a giant snake pure snow white. Terrified by the creature, no one dared to move, except for the kid. He told his friends that he was going to kill the snake and went into the forest to hunt. The young man did not return that night and the rest of the group decided it was time to go home, as he surely had become the snake’s dinner.
The next day the dead snake appeared and the boy, instead of the steel rod, carried a shiny sword on whose blade showed Chi Xiao. The second major Chinese blacksmith was Ganjiang; he made two of the most famous swords during the Spring and Autumn era. Some say OuYezi and Ganjiang learned the art of swords with the same teacher. According to the legend, in 494 BC, Goujiang, the King of Yue was about to be captured by the armies of Wu and as an act of capitulation decided to give three of the five swords OuYezi had made for him. The King of Wu, a great collector, was so impressed with the beauty of the swords, he asked Ganjiang a similar one.
To please Wu, Ganjiang sought the soul of the Five Mountains and the metal in the valleys of the Six Alliances; he learned tricks of the trade in heaven and put them into practice on Earth, the Hundred Spirits came to see his work and Chi came down from heaven. But the metal of the sword did not melt, Yin and Yang were not in harmony. Then he gathered 300 maids to keep the fire going and finally managed to make two swords for Wu. The first was called Ganjiang and the second, Moyie, as his wife.
Although one can not check the veracity of these stories or the existence of some of the swords, the purpose is to teach and teaching is regarded in China as a gift, is based on ethics, mental and emotional balance and therefore in the development of wisdom.
