Have you ever wondered why is Chinese or not as famous as Japanese sword? Almost everyone knows the word "katana" But I bet not a lot of people know the
Chinese word for sword to be honest I don't really know the reason why China doesn't lack any fancy blades fictional or otherwise So this video will just be an educated guess A sneak peek in the philosophy of swords in China And how swords are depicted on the silver screen spoiler alert: I don't think China care much about swords First let's set the stage Sword myths similar to Excalibur and muramasa are not uncommon in China The legendary swordsmith Gan Jiang and
Mo Ye is fairly well-known to the Chinese In this legend the couple were
forced by an oppressive King in China ...to forge a sword After the sword was finished The king executed Gan Jiang, the husband So that no more swords in the future can rival that of his Still, another sword was forged in secret The wife, Mo Ye, fled along with the sword and her unborn child Hoping, one day, the son may seek vengeance against the king It's a fairly standard legend about swords the cinephiles among you may also remember the Green Destiny In the film, it's often referred to as the sword of Li Mu Bai Indeed, Chinese sword culture is not that different from that of Japanese We both have the concept in which a sword is part of a person's identity And we can recognize a person by the
sword But there is a slight difference In the scene from the Japanese film, Rurouni Kenshin 2 The villain explains that when two swordsman are equally skilled Their weapons make the difference The hero lost, because his sword is weaker And as he puts it, the sword is his oath and faith It symbolizes how his ideology is challenged At the end, the hero wins the rematch by
finding a stronger sword and having a stronger faith in the path he chose Now, in the case of Green Destiny The sword is indestructible, it can cut through other weapons with ease But at the end, the weapons hardly matters Fighting with a rusty sword Fighting while grinding the sword Winning a sword fight with a stick In Chinese storytelling, a swordsman's skill is is often far more important than the weapon in a Chinese novel "The Return of the Condor Heroes" The strongest character, whom we only know by name and never actually met ...had reached a level so high, that he ended up using everyday objects as his weapon of choice I believe this has something to do with kung fu and his focus in strengthen the body and mind Over the utility of fighting and killing In a sense, weapons are just someone's garment You can recognize someone through it but at the end, it's just a sharp piece of metal it may also have something to do with Japanese Shinto beliefs ... that everyday things also have spirits within In Japanese culture, swords may be sentient but in Chinese Buddhist culture, however Everything is an illusion Ascending above material objects is a sign of enlightenment Hence, the stick thing Ultimately though, I don't think Chinese people care about swords as much as other cultures In the final battle of Jet Li's "Fearless" The protagonist fights a Japanese martial
artist with weapons of their choosing the Japanese martial artists, unsurprisingly, goes with a katana The Chinese hero goes for a three-sectioned nunchuck Which is technically a whip The most recognizable Chinese weapon to the Chinese ... is probably Guandao ...a weapon of the Chinese god of war with With the concept of "Eighteen Arms of Wushu" deeply rooted in Chinese culture I think Chinese cinema simply prefers diversity Swords Spears Paper Fans Flying Guillotines Threading needles And Whatever Jackie Chan wants to use Now, this is interesting... No?
