In the ancient city of Jingzhou, the monuments related to the Three Kingdoms, as well as the large iron pot and horse trough of the public march; When Lu Meng attacked Jingzhou, the defenders threw away their armor and threw away their armor and so on. Outside the city, there are many ruins about the legend of Guan Yu of the Three Kingdoms in Baling Mountain. Please follow us to be immersed in the scene, move to change the scenery, step down the hat platform at the southern end of Baling Mountain, march to the mountain, through the layers of pine forests, and then come to the Guangong Planing Spring. The inscription on the edge of the spring records: "When Liu Xianzhu was trapped in the sun, Guan Gong led the teacher to save him, and after passing here, people and horses were trapped, and the spring of loyalty and righteousness gushed out, and it has been recited to this day." "Now, the spring water of this spring may take water for the tea pavilion to make tea for visitors; Or fetch water for the winery to make wine for guests. It's really good water, good tea, and good wine, don't you want to taste it?

The long history has left countless ancient cultural relics in Jingzhou, and there are more than 3,000 pieces preserved in the Jingzhou Museum. Gou Jian, the king of Yue, who is famous for his courage in lying on his salary, used a sword that was unearthed in the north of Jingzhou in 1965. There is a black seal inscription on the sword: "Yue Wang Goujian, self-acting sword" eight big characters. The body of the sword is covered with diamond-shaped patterns, inlaid with tricolor glass and turquoise. The blade of the sword is extremely sharp, and it can still blow hair and cut iron like mud. It's really a rare treasure in the world. It is said that the sword in the hand of Chu Jiangnan, the number one person in the "Seven Heroes of the Central Plains" in "The Seven Heroes of the Central Plains", is this "Yue Wang Goujian" sword that sharpens iron like clay.

To that end, let's take a look at the ins and outs of this famous sword. A generation of [Jing Chu "National Treasure"] "The First Sword in the World" is domineering and shocking the world, named "Goujian Sword" or "Yue Wang Sword".

After more than 2,400 years of sleeping underground, the first cold light it wakes up is terrifying.

In December 1965, when the archaeological team was excavating a tomb of a Chu nobleman in Wangshan, Jiangling, they found a sword with a cold light and a thin and sharp blade. It is the sharpest and most historically valuable sword found in the ancient swords so far, and is known as "the first sword in the world". As for this bronze sword, which is known as the "first sword in the world", how was it unearthed? Why did the Yue Wang Sword come from the Chu tomb? Why is it still so sharp today...... Excalibur woke up and slept for 2,400 years. It opened its eyes that had been sleeping for many years, thinking that I had changed hands several times, and today I finally found my final destination - Hubei Provincial Museum.

In October 40 years ago, Wangshan Village, Jiangling (now Jingzhou District), Hubei. But now there is a Jiangling (county) about 100 miles southeast of Jingzhou, Hubei, I really don't know what their relationship is? Is it a long-distance relationship with the same name, or a half-sibling relationship?

Due to two consecutive years of drought, local farmers have suffered from "water shortages". The government decided to build a canal from the Jingmen Zhanghe River to divert water to irrigate part of the farmland in the current townships of Chuandian, Mashan, and Balingshan.

The Jiangling area is located on the bank of Guyun Mengze in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and has been a battleground for soldiers since ancient times. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was the seat of Ying, the capital of Chu State. In accordance with the regulations, the cultural relics department carried out a preliminary exploration of the area where the canal project passed.

Shao Tianwan, an old man who lives in the third group of Wangshan Village, Chuandian Town, was still very excited when he recalled to the reporter the scene when he was exploring the "Wangshan No. 1 Tomb": "The color of the soil appears a mixed color of yellow, purple and brown, which may be the 'five-flower soil' mentioned in the book." ”

Professor Tan Weisi, who was the leader of the archaeological team at the time, quickly arrived at the scene. The conclusion was not long in coming: in this area there are 25 large and medium-sized tombs, and at least 30 small tombs.

The secret of more than 2,400 years ago was revealed.

In mid-October, excavations began. The archaeological team will open a long-sealed door to the Warring States period in two months, which is a major news that has caused a sensation in the world and at home and abroad.

The excavation work was carried out in stages: first, the main forces were concentrated on the excavation of the large-scale Wangshan No. 1 and No. 2 tombs; Later, the excavation of the No. 3 and No. 4 cemeteries of Wangshan was completed.

At the end of the year, Gangneung was covered with snow and rain. The groundwater level in the north of Jingzhou is high, the grave pit has a lot of water, the soil quality is poor, and the pit wall is very easy to collapse.

Liu Jifa, an elderly man who lived near the ancient tomb, recalled: "At that time, the people of the cultural relics team lived in our farmer's house, and 'Wangshan No. 1 Tomb was the largest tomb in the excavation at that time.

At the beginning of December, Wangshan No. 1 tomb was dug to a depth of more than 6 meters. When the main coffin was opened, a black sword coffin on the left side of the tomb owner appeared in front of people's eyes.

"There's a sword in there!" Archaeological team members reported. Drawing the sword out of the sheath, the cold light is pressing, and there is no rust, the blade is thin and sharp. Tan Weisi couldn't hold back the excitement in his heart, tried his edge, and with a little force, he cut through the 21 layers of white paper.

Tan Weisi realized that this bronze sword more than 2,400 years ago would surely shake the world.

Experts debated, and it was recognized that the sword master was Goujian, the king of Yue.

The sword is 55.7 centimeters long and 4.6 centimeters wide. The sword body is decorated with black diamond-shaped dark patterns, and the front and back of the sword grid are also inlaid with blue glass and turquoise respectively. The head of the sword is turned outward to form a hoop, and 11 extremely fine concentric circles are cast inside.

The sophistication of its craftsmanship was not something that could be achieved by the casting technology of the Chu State at that time. So, who owns this razor-sharp and exquisite bronze sword?

The key to deciphering the code was quickly found, and on one side of the sword, near the grid, there were two lines of bird seal inscriptions, a total of 8 characters. This ancient script, historically known as "Bird and Insect Script", is a variant of the seal script, and it is quite difficult to interpret. Archaeologists preliminarily interpreted the six characters in the sword inscription as "Yue Wang" and "Zicha (made) sword". According to this reasoning, this sword must be owned by the king of Yue, but the mystery it brings to people seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

In the Spring and Autumn Period, the Yue Kingdom was called king in 510 B.C., through Gou Jian, Lu Ying, Bushou, Zhu Gou to Wujiang in 334 B.C. was destroyed by Chu, there were 9 Yue kings, and which Yue king "made himself" this sword? Why did King Yue's sword appear on the territory of Chu?

As a result, a sensational academic discussion began among archaeologists and paleographers, with correspondence as the main method. The discussion was initiated by Professor Fang Zhuangyou, a famous archaeologist who presided over the excavation, and was attended by a large number of famous scholars such as Guo Moruo, Yu Shengwu, Rong Geng, Xia Nai, and Chen Mengjia.

The polemic eventually led to a breakthrough.

Tang Lan, a researcher at the Palace Museum, made a judgment that the name of King Yue should be Gou Jian. After more than two months of correspondence exchanges, discussions, scholars' intentions tend to be the same, and it is recognized that the 8-character inscription on the sword is: "Yue Wang Goujian, self-acting sword." ”

Xue Candle, a famous sword connoisseur in the Spring and Autumn Period, commented on the sword of Goujian, the king of Yue: "The hand vibrates, and the glory is raised, and it is like a hibiscus...... Although the city is full of gold, the pearl and jade are exhausted, but they still can't get a thing", "the meat test will cut off the cattle and horses, and the gold test will cut off the plate", the weight of its value goes without saying.

But what is puzzling is that the body of the Goujian sword has a delicate diamond-shaped dark grid like snake scales, this dark pattern production technology can not be deciphered so far, it is suspected that it is chemical plating technology, and chemical plating technology is a difficult skill that only appeared in the West in modern times, did our ancients master it at that time? The tail of the sword is a conical base, the seat is hollow, there are extremely regular concentric circle carvings, which can not be achieved even by modern lathe technology, and the ancestors of the Spring and Autumn Period can master this technology, which is incredible.

The mystery of the ages is still being solved.

Gou Jian - is the famous overlord of the late Spring and Autumn Period, the sword is like his person, and his domineering spirit has shocked the world.

At that time, the Zhou royal family was in decline, the etiquette collapsed, the princes were divided, and the conquests were frequent. In the middle of the 6th century B.C., when the Central Plains countries were in turmoil during internal political changes, fierce conquests began between Chu, Wu and Yue in the south, and the situation of three kingdoms was once formed.

The state of Wu was in the southern part of present-day Jiangsu, and its capital was Wu (present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu); The Yue Kingdom was in the north of present-day Zhejiang, and the capital was Huiji (southeast of present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang).

First, Wu and Chu fought for hegemony, and the Yue State, which was adjacent to Wu, was not willing to be lonely, and often attacked Wu when Wu was busy attacking Chu. In 496 BC, Wu Yue went to war, Wu Shi was defeated, and Wu Wang Lu was wounded and died. Three years later, in order to avenge his father, Fucha led his troops to attack the Yue Kingdom, and captured the capital of the Yue Kingdom in one fell swoop, Huiji, forcing the Yue King Goujian to surrender. The husband sent Gou Jian and his wife to Wu and locked them in a stone house next to the tomb of Helu, where they looked after his father's tomb and raised horses.

Gou Jian endured a lot of torture and humiliation before being released by Wu Wangfu and returned to China. He was bent on revenge, and took the lead in working hard day and night to regain strength. In order to motivate himself, he set two special measures in his daily life. One is "lying salary", lying on the firewood shop without a mattress when sleeping at night, reminding yourself that the national shame has not been reported, and you can't be greedy for comfort; The second is to "taste the gall", hanging a bitter gall in the living place, and before going in and out and going to bed, he takes it to his mouth and tastes it, reminding himself that he must not forget the pain and shame of being captured. The popular idiom "lying on the salary and tasting the guts" tells the story of his defeat but not discouragement and hard work.

Behind the Yue State, there is also the State of Chu to provide military technology and sell advanced "nuclear weapons" ——— crossbow machines to it. The Chu people had been attacked by the king of Wu before, and they hated the Wu people deeply, so they instigated the Yue people to attack Wu. Doctor Chu Shen Baoxu even went to Yue Country in person to cheer up Goujian, the king of Yue. Therefore, the people of the Yue country no longer have to worry, and with the backing of the Chu State, what are they afraid of? The courage and steps are so big that the sky is turned upside down, and the revenge action in full swing is vigorously carried out in the whole country of Yue.

After a long period of hard work and unity, the country finally "turned over". In 473 B.C., the Yue country took advantage of the opportunity to raise troops to destroy Wu, the husband sent himself, Fan Li Xishi boated the rivers and lakes to retreat, and the Yue country also reached the most prosperous stage in its history.

Interestingly, Wu Wangfucha, as Gou Jian's "sworn enemy", also "appeared" in the No. 5 tomb of Mashan in Jiangling County, which is only two kilometers away from the land where Gou Jian's sword came out. On November 23, 1983, archaeologists excavated a bronze spear used by Wu Wangfucha there.

In the exhibition room of the Provincial Museum, four steps away from the Gou Jian sword, the display is this "Wu Wangfu Cha Self-Action Spear", and the Yue Wang Goujian's "Self-Action Sword" squeezed their eyebrows, looked at each other, but did not expect that the fate of the two of them was the same. These two world-class weapons treasures from ancient times vaguely shone on the Wuyue warriors of the year, and after the death of their master, they rested peacefully in the same room. They are like two shuttles, weaving time, fluttering down, hitting the eyes of visitors standing in the exhibition hall more than 2,400 years later.

"A pair of weapons used by the enemy appeared in the state of Chu at the same time, and my judgment is that after Gou Jian destroyed Wu, Fucha's spear was captured as a trophy. Then, the state of Chu raised troops to destroy Yue, so they collected the Goujian sword and the Fucha spear into the bag. Since then, successive Chu kings have inherited these two treasures. Tan Weisi told reporters, "Of course, this is also a speculation, and the academic community has not yet been able to solve this eternal mystery." However, this speculation is entirely possible. ”