The jian is a double-edged straight sword used during the last 2,500 years in China. The first Chinese sources that mention the jian date to the 7th century BCE during the Spring and Autumn period;[1] one of the earliest specimens being the Sword of Goujian. Historical one-handed versions have blades varying from 45 to 80 centimeters (18 to 31 inches) in length. The weight of an average sword of 70-centimetre (28-inch) blade-length would be in a range of approximately 700 to 900 grams (1.5 to 2 pounds).[2] There are also larger two-handed versions used for training by many styles of Chinese martial arts.
In Chinese folklore, it is known as "The Gentleman of Weapons" and is considered one of the four major weapons, along with theGun (staff), Qiang (spear), and the Dao (sabre). These swords are also sometimes referred to as taijijian or "t'ai chi swords", reflecting their current use as training weapons for taijiquan practitioners, though there were no historical jian types created specifically for taijiquan.[5]
在中國，劍是一種傳統冷兵器，本體細長而直，尖頂，雙面開鋒，以銅或鋼鐵等金屬製成。可用單手或雙手揮動，用於穿刺，或砍劈。在西元前7世紀的春秋時代，開始有文獻記錄，在中國有超過2,500年以上的歷史。在中國兵器中，劍有特別地位，被稱為百兵之王。以劍作為武器的武術，稱為劍術，在春秋戰國，以至於秦漢，士大夫有佩劍的習俗。持刀劍進行暗殺或鬥毆的人，稱為劍客。
在中國，劍最早被用來泛指所有的手持短兵器，這個字由刀的籀文分化出來[1]，在最早的時候，刀與劍是同義詞，都是指短兵器。在宋朝之後，單面開鋒的劍，被稱為刀，雙面開鋒的稱為劍，兩個名詞的意義開始分化。
Source From/來源: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%8A%8D_(%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B)
