Museum Collection Introduction: King Guang's Sword

The King Guang sword of Wu, 54 centimeters long, is rust-free and lustrous. The sword pommel was damaged upon excavation; the handle is oval cylindrical with two reinforcing rings. The guard is relatively wide and thick, originally inlaid with turquoise patterns, though the turquoise has since fallen off. Near the guard, there is an inscription of two lines and sixteen characters. Experts have interpreted it as: 'King Guang of Wu personally forged this sword; (character illegible) Yu, enduring and achieving, repeatedly gaining victories.'

(Character illegible) means Huan, describing a person's imposing appearance; it is also said to be King Guang's self-given name. (Character illegible) Yu is King Guang's self-designation. Yun (骏) means lasting or eternal; Zhi (鸷) means martial prowess; Ke means able to; Xun means to obtain; Gong (攻) means achievement. Therefore, the last sentence of the inscription means: 'I, King Guang (character illegible), am extremely brave and have achieved many military victories.' This shows that Helu was quite confident and proud of his bravery and ferocity. It was with this imposing aura that Helu led Wu to conquer east and west, ultimately becoming the strongest among the states during the Spring and Autumn period.

The original sword is housed in the Anhui Provincial Museum; our museum's Helu's Heroic Spirit exhibition hall displays a replica of the sword.