The earliest appearance time of sword

At present, the earliest sword unearthed is the bronze sword in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. This bronze sword in the early Western Zhou Dynasty is incomplete in shape. Its body is relatively short, generally about 20-40 cm long, with sharp ends and blades on both sides, but there is no ridge in the middle, no head, short stem and no sheath.

By the end of the Western Zhou Dynasty, after a long period of continuous improvement, the shape was gradually complete, and it became a weapon that slave owners and nobles liked to wear, but it was mainly used for self-defense (it was noted in Shuo Wen Jie Zi that swordsmen should nip in the bud). ) Because the two weeks were dominated by car battles, the sword played little role in actual combat.

The large-scale use of swords began at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, and the basic equipment was in the infantry-dominated Wu Chu army.