Longquan Sword: From Iron Sand to National Treasure

The Longquan Sword is one of China’s most iconic weapons. Listed as part of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage, to this day Longquan Swords are still made by master swordsmiths who follow the ancient traditions of forging.

A Longquan Sword blade weighing a kilogram requires a piece of pig iron three to five times heavier, which must be hammered tens of thousands of times. Traditionally, forging a Longquan Sword involves more than 20 processes. Many of them can only be performed by a highly experienced swordsmith.

00:00 A view of Longquan in Zhejiang province which gives birth to Longquan sword
01:18 An introduction of sword in Chinese history
02:09 Swordmaster Shen Xinpei explains why Longquan is famous for its swordmaking
03:21 The raw material of swordmaking: iron sand
04:55 The forging process of Longquan sword
09:33 The cultural significance of sword
12:38 The presentation of decorating hilt by swordmaster Hu Xiaojun
17:16 Revealing a meteorite iron sword’s beauty under a microscope
21:03 Sword dance introduced by Hu Yang, principal dance, China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater