The Chinese Sword - Jian
Jian Dao - the Way of the Sword, or as we prefer to refer to it as "Sword Philosophy" is much like any other philosophy... It cannot be clearly described in simple words. It needs to be understood through experience, observation, and perception. Instead of attempting to deliver the concepts of Sword Philosophy to our readers "in a box", we've included some general information about Chinese swords and swordsmanship for your reading...
The "Tai-Chi Sword" and the Chinese Jian
There is a common misconception that the Chinese Jian
is of a certain length, certain weight distribution, and of a certain design.
This is entirely incorrect.
Understand that the Chinese Jian has a history of over four thousand
years and the shape, weight, length, and other characteristics of
the weapon underwent a vast amount of changes (please
refer to Zhan Lu Sword products to see some of the
differences). Some swords have an weight balance that may seem
awkward when used with certain martial arts styles because they were designed to
be used differently...
Early Chinese Jian during the Era of the Five Rulers (2852-2205 B.C.) were no
longer than 20" due to the materials used which was usually Bronze and Copper
alloys... Any longer length would cause the jian to be
brittle and weak.
The hand guards of jian were not traditionally
flat which is the common design of the jians used today. There have been many relics of ancient jian with round guards like that of
the Dao (the Chinese single-edged broadsword or saber). The Dao, a later development (earliest
records date back to 772 B.C.), actually took the guard of the Jian to suit its
needs... Also, the Japanese
Daito which utilizes round
guards were developed from versions of
the Chinese Jian (possibly
during the Tang Dynasty around 618 A.D.)...
We don't disagree that the use of jian is very unique in itself but
understand that the use of the jian (from relics dated
before 2205 B.C.) existed a long time before the concept of Tai Chi as
a martial art existed (earliest records of Tai Chi dated about
1260 A.D.) so to state that only certain types of jian is suited for
Tai-chi is correct but to state that a sword is NOT a jian because
it is not appropriate for Tai Chi is definitely incorrect
Relationship of
Chinese Calligraphy and Swordsmanship
Since the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.),
swordsmanship (Jian) was considered one of the "five
arts" along with the zither (Qin), chess (Qi), calligraphy (Shu), and painting (Hua).
These five arts were requirements for men of talent
who aspire to serve their country.
The five arts were representative of a well-rounded warrior capable of both
martial and civil responsibilities. There is strong emphasis of a balance
between hard and soft, that a warrior must be able to
lead men in battle during times of unrest and govern the masses during times of
peace.
Through the centuries, warriors who did not seek service in the
Imperial court primarily focused on the art of the sword but shortly
after, although they could pass on learning music, painting, and
even chess, they couldn't entirely forego calligraphy. This is in a large
part because of the close relationship between the sword and the brush...
Both the art of the sword and the brush have two internals and two
externals, equaling the four essentials - Form (Xing), Strength (Li),
Spirit (Shen), and Energy (Qi)...
The Two Externals focus on that what a person can objectively see:
1. Form (Xing) - Every brush stroke in calligraphy has a certain shape and form like that of a sword stance.
2. Strength (Li) - The power in the hand, wrist, and forearm while holding a brush applies to that of holding a sword.
The Two Internals focus on that what cannot be seen but felt
or 'sensed':
3. Spirit (Shen) - A trained calligrapher can almost "feel" the
emotion of a written character or word and it reflects in the spirit of
the piece. This is not so different from a trained swordsman
during practice, feeling the poetic or destructive nature of a
particular stance.
4. Energy (Qi) - Chinese calligraphy requires the application of Qi
to properly follow through with each stroke. During
writing, the controlled breathing could help steady your hand
and concentrate. This is not too different from that of using a sword.
School of Jian & School of Qi
Traditionally, Chinese Swordsmanship had two schools
of thought. The first was the Discipline of Training or what the Chinese
refer to as
the "School of Qi". This was the more prevalent philosophy and encompasses most
Tai-chi Jian styles one would find today. The lesser known philosophy was that
of the Discipline of Realization, commonly known as the "School of Jian".
The principles of the Discipline of Training is that swordsmanship is a
"learned" process which needs to be taught by an experienced sword user then
developed by the practitioner. This school of thought was the dominant one
because it provided clear guidelines to the accomplishment of swordsmanship.
They are referred to as the School of Qi because they believe swordsmanship is
like the development of Qi - a slow gradual process. Another reason that
advocates of the Discipline of Training refer themselves as the School of Qi is
because they utilize a lot of "technique" in the swordplay such as
the trained applications of force - 'Jing'. They believe that such skills can
only be learnt from a skilled master and obtained through diligent training...
The Discipline of Realization believes that swordsmanship does not have to be a
learned process but could be "realized" through experience and use of the sword.
Sword users from this philosophy do not have official masters but develop their
skill through experience and observation. Many of them are not knowledgeable of
the concepts of 'Qi' or 'Jing' but possibly use them as the skills and
strategies that were critical to their own survival (some USE it but doesn't
know what to call "it"). Advocates of this school of thought are known as the
School of Jian because they have a close 'bond' with the
sword. While practitioners of the School of Qi believe that their skill is more
critical and that if well-trained, the use of a sword is no longer important.
The School of Jian takes into account that the weapon is critical to the sword
user.
One of the oldest weapons in Chinese history, the double-edged sword - Jian, is the most revered and sophisticated. There are many traditional sayings praising the Chinese Spear - Qiang as the king of long weapons on the battlefield, the Chinese Sword - Jian is the lord of the short weapons. We've included some of these expressions:
"Hundred days Dao (Chinese broadsword), Thousand days Jian (Chinese sword)" - A common phrase used to describe the sophistication in training with a Jian versus a Dao.
"Jian is to technique as Dao is to strength" - Describing that the training with Jian focuses on skill while the Dao is a training of brute strength.
"Dao is like a fierce tiger, Jian a soaring phoenix, Qiang a toiling dragon" - Emphasis of the Dao is strength, the Jian is grace and speed, and the Qiang is flow of movement.
For your leisure, we've also included the following introduction of the "Mountain-opener 18 Forms" (Kai Shan Shi Ba Shi). It is the most basic of sword forms from the Daoist Emei Mountain School and was said to be taught to imperial soldiers by Gao Jun Zong, disciple of the famous Daoist Priest White Eyebrow - Bai Mei. The forms are as follows: