The Sword of Goujian is an archaeological artifact from China. Renowned for its unusual sharpness and resistance, the tarnish-resistant copper-and-tin sword is currently in the possession of the Hubei Provincial Museum.
It was recovered in December 1965 from the Wangshan site, 7 kilometres from Jinan, on a human skeleton.
The sword was under a tomb which was soaked in water for more than 2,000 years. The sheath of the sword provided an almost air-tight enclosure which could be why the sword did not corrode for all these years.
On one side of the sword, two columns of text are visible. Eight characters are written in ancient language, of which some have been deciphered to say “King Goujian of Yue” and “made this sword for his personal use”. Experts date to sword back to 510 BC.
The identity of the king who owned this sword has sparked many debates and discussion, before being confirmed as Goujian of Yue.
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