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Ancient Sword with No Rust – Advanced Ancient Chinese Technology?

Original Chinese Language Article: By www.chinatimes.com 
(Translated by Adrian Chan-Wyles PhD)
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Translator’s Note:  The Ch’an Dao Martial Arts Association practices a Single and Double Jian (long sword) form.  These forms are very old and believed to date back thousands of years to a female sword-master who developed the forward and back, up and down, and circular movements by living in a forest and daily practicing moving around, under and through the branches of the trees so that she could touch the trunk of the trees with the sword-tip – whilst avoiding being touched by the branches.  This lady eventually defeated the king’s best sword champions and gained a great respect in the minds of the people throughout China.  This article demonstrates that ancient Chinese swords were of a very high quality well over two thousand years ago.  Not only this, but these swords are routinely coated with a protective layer of chromium-oxide – a process not fully developed in the West until 1950. 
ACW 24.7.15

An archaeological team - excavating an ancient tomb dating to the Spring and Autumn Period (722-481BCE) in Hubei – stumbled upon an unexpected find of a long sword covered in mud.  One of the archaeological team gently used water to loosen the layers of compacted mud that had built-up over time, and suddenly a line of ancient seal script was revealed which read ‘The King of Yue Named Guo Jian made this Sword for His Personal Use’.  News of this great archaeological discovery in 1965 quickly spread around the world.
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The very good condition of this sword – which has been buried underground for over 2000 years – has led researchers to ask how such preservation could have occurred.  Why did the cold metal blade still exude a brilliant radiance, and why was the blade still razor-sharp?  Further research revealed that this inscribed sword was not only made of stainless steel, but also covered with an outer-layer comprising of chromium.  Chromium is an extremely corrosion-resistant rare metal.  The chromium contain in the earth is very low, and when discovered, very difficult to extract.  Furthermore, the melting point of chromium is around 1907 degrees.
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Early attempts at chromium plating existed in 1937 Nazi Germany, but the full developed process was not patented in the USA until 1950.  How could an ancient Chinese sword that is over 2000 years old be covered in a layer of chromium?  In fact, the Chromium-oxidation process has been well-known and widespread throughout Chinese history. This can be seen through the universally renowned Terracotta Army archaeological find (as one of the eight great archaeological sites of the world), where the bronze swords discovered measured 86 cm long, were strong, sharp, highly ornate and refined in structure, design and inscription.  Despite being hidden in the ground for over two thousands years, these swords remained bright and sharp due to a 10 micron thick layer of chromium plating.  The passing of time had not diminished their structure in the slightest.
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How could a modern scientific process (not fully developed in the West until 1950), exist in ancient China well over 2000 years ago?  It is not difficult to imagine the Terracotta Warriors following the orders of the First Qin Emperor of China – and welding their swords whilst cutting-down the ranks of the enemy!  What was the First Qin Emperor’s masterful method of sword production – and why does it appear to reflect modern science?  From whom did the First Qin Emperor learn this technique?  From where did this advanced scientific knowledge come from in ancient China?  Wherever this advanced knowledge originated, it is known that chromium plating was used during the Qin Dynasty – and hundreds of years before that according to the Spring and Autumn Period sword (mentioned above) that carries the inscription of ‘The King of Yue Named Gou Jian made this Sword for His Personal Use’.  Metal alloys were developed in ancient times, then why doubt that Lu Ban (a scholar-official who specialised in public transport innovation and development during the end of the Warring States Period) could have invented a mechanical carriage?  This leaves the question of just how advanced was ancient Chinese science and technology? 
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©opyright: Adrian Chan-Wyles (ShiDaDao) 2015.

 

Original Chinese Language Source Article

http://www.chinatimes.com/photo-app/20150724002948-260812

千年古劍無銹
古人科技有多先進?

考古隊在挖掘春秋古墓時,意外發現了一把沾滿泥土的長劍。當考古隊員輕輕拭去劍上泥土的時候,劍身上一行古篆「越王勾踐自用劍」躍入人們眼簾。這一重大的考古發現立即轟動了世界,但是,更加轟動的消息卻來自對古劍的科學研究報告。

引起研究人員注意的是,這柄古劍在地下埋藏了2000多年為什麼沒有生銹呢?為什麼依然寒光四射、鋒利無比呢?通過進一步的研究發現,「越王勾踐劍」千年不鏽的原因在於劍身上被鍍上了一層含鉻的金屬,鉻是一種極耐腐蝕的稀有金屬,地球中含鉻很低,提取十分不容易。再者,鉻還是一種耐高溫的金屬,它的熔點大約在1907度。

德國在1937年、美國在1950年才先後發明並申請了專利,然而在2000多年以前,是什麼人、用什麼方法將這種金屬鍍到劍上去呢?事實上,鉻鹽氧化處理的方法在中國古代早已十分普遍。舉世聞名的「世界八大跡」——秦始皇兵馬俑,人們發現一批青銅劍,長度為86公分,劍身上共有8個棱面,這批青銅劍內部組織緻密,劍身光亮平滑,劍刃鋒利細膩,紋理來去無交錯。它們在黃土下沉睡了 2000多年,出土時依然光亮如新,鋒利無比,而且所有的劍上都被鍍上了一層10微米厚的鉻鹽化合物。

誰能想像,20世紀50年代的科學發明,竟然會出現在西元前2000多年以前?又有誰能想像,秦始皇的士兵手裡揮舞的長劍,竟然是現代科學尚未發明的傑作?我們不禁要問,秦始皇的鑄劍技術是誰人傳授的呢?秦始皇時可以使用鉻鹽氧化處理法、發明形態記憶合金,為什麼魯班就不能發明機器人馬車呢?關鍵在於,古人的科技先進到什麼程度?

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