The Mystery Of The Ancient Goujian Sword #shorts

The mystery of this ancient sword: The Goujian Sword #history #fact #facts #mystery #ancient

[TeleologicalConsistency]

An archeologist getting accidentally cut by an ancient artifact sword sounds like the beginning of a comic book origin story.

[dextersbeard]

That blacksmith was one of those legendary sword makers we hear about in stories.

[themightypen]

Decades of playing DnD has taught me that if you find a sword that is thousands of years old and still sharp, that fucker is magical.

[JohathenBlanchard-tndu]

God bless The warrior that yielded that sword

[rezzman]

Imagine reviving centuries later to save the world and when you wake up your sword is missing.

[tonyusb]

That looks like the ultimate weapon you unlock after doing all the side quest to one shot the final boss

[AliceMill]

"The sword is forged in the fire of mount doom"

[nelnotheamoeba]

It's bronze. Bronze doesn't rust, but it does tarnish. There is no chromium sulfide in this sword. The chromium sulfide theory was postulated as possible reason for the blade's preservation, but it has since been determined that the chromium came from lacquer and was not present on the best-preserved bronze areas. The preservation was more likely due to the air-tight scabard the blade was found in.

[ghefley]

Fact Check says NO: The Goujian sword is an ancient Chinese sword that was discovered in 1965 in Hubei province. It dates back to around the Spring and Autumn period, approximately 2, 500 years ago. Some key facts about its composition and construction:

The sword is made primarily of tin bronze, an alloy of copper, tin and trace amounts of other elements like lead and iron. This bronze formulation was commonly used in China for cast bronze swords.
Analysis shows the tin content is unusually high for the time at around 20-26%. This resulted in a harder, more durable edge that better resisted oxidation and corrosion.
The sword has a remarkably well preserved razor-sharp edge, suggesting advanced bronze working skills for the time. This may have involved techniques like work-hardening the edges.
There is no evidence that the sword contains chromium. The metallurgy to intentionally add chromium did not exist until modern times.
However, tiny amounts of chromium could have entered the bronze naturally through the tin or copper ores used. But this would have been trace contamination rather than intentional alloying.
The sword's state of preservation is attributed to being buried and oxygen-deprived for millennia, rather than chromium content.
So in summary, while an extraordinary example of early bronzesmithing, the Goujian sword does not appear to contain chromium or any other metals that were not available in China during the first millennium BC. Its lasting sharp edge resulted from skilled craftsmanship working with the technology of the time.

[sadas]

Damn thats a rare drop, must have taken a lot of runs

[tm]

Then again, on wikipedia : The body of the blade is mainly made of copper, making it more pliant and less likely to shatter; the edges have more tin content, making them harder and capable of retaining a sharper edge; the sulfur decreases the chance of tarnish in the patterns.

It is likely that the chemical composition, along with the almost air-tight scabbard, led to the exceptional state of preservation.

[Rexxsar]

I never really cared about history nor ancient artifacts as a young boy but now that I'm in my late 20s I have a new found obsession with ancient history and artifacts. Interesting how humans change their interests as they get older.

[chrisdudedurian]

Literally a better story plot than anything Marvel is making now adays

[miket]

The sword's metallurgy was analyzed by Fudan University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The edge is composed of copper 53.3%, tin 29.6%, lead 8.7%, iron 3.4%, sulfur 0.9% and trace amounts of arsenic. No mention of Cr, chromium.

[numberTango]

Scientist tests sharpness: touches blade with finger 💀😂

[Nick-higx]

The sword is made of bronze. Bronze does not rust. It was also found in a scabbard, that had lots of oil in it. It is made of a low tin content, meaning it was not made to be used in battle, and thus will not oxidize almost at all. Not only was it in its scabbard, that scabbard was in a dry tomb. Gou Jian means "Gou's Sword", he was a king of a kingdom in the Warring States period of China or maybe just before it, 5th century.

As long as it is kept covered in oil, it won't ever oxidize. And will never rust, that is iron, only iron rusts.

[MuitheExplorer]

Just FYI, Wikipedia shows the testing of the matierials on the sword, there are no mentions of this chromium alloy

[teresaw]

That's a very beautiful sword 🗡️🗡️🗡️

[thatapriliaguy]

Just because they lived a long time ago, didn’t mean they were dumb. Especially the Chinese. They were an incredibly intelligent ancient civilisation.

[Ian]

It doesn’t matter how difficult the process is because at the end of the day they were able to do it. We spend so much time saying oh that’s impossible they couldn’t have made or done that instead of commemorating them for what they actually accomplished.