Yunpeng Wang, Quanlong Dai, Yanchang Liu, Bin Wang, Zhihua Gan, Qinglin Ma
{"title":"吴越青铜剑刃的增硬技术","authors":"Yunpeng Wang, Quanlong Dai, Yanchang Liu, Bin Wang, Zhihua Gan, Qinglin Ma","doi":"10.1007/s12520-025-02303-6","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The States of Wu and Yue were regional hegemons in China's late Spring and Autumn Period (fifth century BCE), centered in modern Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The weapons of these States stood at the pinnacle during this period, renowned for bronze swords like the Sword of Gou Jian. The rhombic-patterned swords and bimetallic swords are distinguished examples of bronze swords from the Wu-Yue region. Due to their rarity, obtaining suitable samples is extremely challenging. Fortunately, a rhombic-patterned bronze sword excavated from the Dahan Cemetery in Guanqiao Town, Tengzhou City, Shandong Province, provided viable samples amenable to systematic analytical characterization. Analytical investigations, including metallographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), were conducted to examine the microstructural features and elemental composition of the material. The findings reveal that the rhombic pattern on the sword's surface consists of fine δ-phases. Moreover, a layer of corroded δ-phase is present on the surface of the blade edge. Due to honing and polishing during use, the thickness of the δ-phase on the sword's edge was only 1–2 μm. The δ-phase in the bronze alloy is a hard and brittle phase that can significantly increase the alloy's hardness. However, when the δ-phase content becomes too high, the plasticity and strength of the bronze alloy are markedly reduced. To address this challenge, the master swordsmiths of Wu and Yue states demonstrated remarkable innovation and technical expertise. They employed a unique technique to form a dense δ-phase-enhanced layer on the blade surface. This ingenious approach enhanced the hardness of the sword blade while preventing the loss of plasticity and strength caused by excessive δ-phase. Furthermore, this specialized treatment achieved an aesthetic breakthrough, with the practical function seamlessly blending with the artistic beauty of the sword body.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8214,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","volume":"17 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"The hardness-enhanced technique on the blade of bronze swords in the Wu and Yue States, China\",\"authors\":\"Yunpeng Wang, Quanlong Dai, Yanchang Liu, Bin Wang, Zhihua Gan, Qinglin Ma\",\"doi\":\"10.1007/s12520-025-02303-6\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><p>The States of Wu and Yue were regional hegemons in China's late Spring and Autumn Period (fifth century BCE), centered in modern Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The weapons of these States stood at the pinnacle during this period, renowned for bronze swords like the Sword of Gou Jian. The rhombic-patterned swords and bimetallic swords are distinguished examples of bronze swords from the Wu-Yue region. Due to their rarity, obtaining suitable samples is extremely challenging. Fortunately, a rhombic-patterned bronze sword excavated from the Dahan Cemetery in Guanqiao Town, Tengzhou City, Shandong Province, provided viable samples amenable to systematic analytical characterization. Analytical investigations, including metallographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), were conducted to examine the microstructural features and elemental composition of the material. The findings reveal that the rhombic pattern on the sword's surface consists of fine δ-phases. Moreover, a layer of corroded δ-phase is present on the surface of the blade edge. Due to honing and polishing during use, the thickness of the δ-phase on the sword's edge was only 1–2 μm. The δ-phase in the bronze alloy is a hard and brittle phase that can significantly increase the alloy's hardness. However, when the δ-phase content becomes too high, the plasticity and strength of the bronze alloy are markedly reduced. To address this challenge, the master swordsmiths of Wu and Yue states demonstrated remarkable innovation and technical expertise. They employed a unique technique to form a dense δ-phase-enhanced layer on the blade surface. This ingenious approach enhanced the hardness of the sword blade while preventing the loss of plasticity and strength caused by excessive δ-phase. Furthermore, this specialized treatment achieved an aesthetic breakthrough, with the practical function seamlessly blending with the artistic beauty of the sword body.</p></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":8214,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences\",\"volume\":\"17 10\",\"pages\":\"\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":2.0000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-09-04\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"89\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-025-02303-6\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"地球科学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"ANTHROPOLOGY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-025-02303-6","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ANTHROPOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
The hardness-enhanced technique on the blade of bronze swords in the Wu and Yue States, China
The States of Wu and Yue were regional hegemons in China's late Spring and Autumn Period (fifth century BCE), centered in modern Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The weapons of these States stood at the pinnacle during this period, renowned for bronze swords like the Sword of Gou Jian. The rhombic-patterned swords and bimetallic swords are distinguished examples of bronze swords from the Wu-Yue region. Due to their rarity, obtaining suitable samples is extremely challenging. Fortunately, a rhombic-patterned bronze sword excavated from the Dahan Cemetery in Guanqiao Town, Tengzhou City, Shandong Province, provided viable samples amenable to systematic analytical characterization. Analytical investigations, including metallographic microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), were conducted to examine the microstructural features and elemental composition of the material. The findings reveal that the rhombic pattern on the sword's surface consists of fine δ-phases. Moreover, a layer of corroded δ-phase is present on the surface of the blade edge. Due to honing and polishing during use, the thickness of the δ-phase on the sword's edge was only 1–2 μm. The δ-phase in the bronze alloy is a hard and brittle phase that can significantly increase the alloy's hardness. However, when the δ-phase content becomes too high, the plasticity and strength of the bronze alloy are markedly reduced. To address this challenge, the master swordsmiths of Wu and Yue states demonstrated remarkable innovation and technical expertise. They employed a unique technique to form a dense δ-phase-enhanced layer on the blade surface. This ingenious approach enhanced the hardness of the sword blade while preventing the loss of plasticity and strength caused by excessive δ-phase. Furthermore, this specialized treatment achieved an aesthetic breakthrough, with the practical function seamlessly blending with the artistic beauty of the sword body.
期刊介绍：
Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences covers the full spectrum of natural scientific methods with an emphasis on the archaeological contexts and the questions being studied. It bridges the gap between archaeologists and natural scientists providing a forum to encourage the continued integration of scientific methodologies in archaeological research.
Coverage in the journal includes: archaeology, geology/geophysical prospection, geoarchaeology, geochronology, palaeoanthropology, archaeozoology and archaeobotany, genetics and other biomolecules, material analysis and conservation science.
The journal is endorsed by the German Society of Natural Scientific Archaeology and Archaeometry (GNAA), the Hellenic Society for Archaeometry (HSC), the Association of Italian Archaeometrists (AIAr) and the Society of Archaeological Sciences (SAS).
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