The "IMMORTAL" Wudang Jian - 1931 CHINA

The "Immortal" Wudang Jian

Designed by General Li LingLin, the “Immortal Sword Saint” 劍仙

General Li wrote:

For a functioning sword, ideally it should be a steel sword with some springiness to it. It should be either too long or too heavy, or it will not be suitable. The center of balance needs to be nearer to the handle, otherwise it will not be easy to use.

The Wudang sword hilt is different from the norm, the corners angled upward for the special purposes of catching the opponent’s sword and taking advantage of his force to injure his body or hand.

Long form

Blade length: 86 cm (34")

Hilt plus hand guard length: 22.5 cm (8.86")

Total length: 108.5 cm (42.7")

Width at hand guard: 29.5 mm,  

Width at tip: 20 mm   

Thickness at hand guard:: 6.3 mm 

Thickness at the tip: 2.3 mm  

Blade Profile: diamond 4 surfaces

Gentle tapering

Sword only weight:  804 g (1 lb. 12.4 oz)

POB:  approx. 13 cm (5.11") 

from the base of the hand guard

GB 60Si2MnA High Carbon Manganese Spring Steel 

(Compare to AISI/SAE 5160 spring steel) 

Element %       60Si2MnA    AISI/SAE 5160   

Carbon            0.56-0.64      0.56-0.61

Silicon              1.60-2.00       0.15-0.35

Manganese     0.60-0.90      0.75-1.00

Phosphorus     <=0.030        <=0.035

Sulfur               <=0.030        <=0.040

Chromium       <=0.35          0.70-0.90

Nickel               <=0.35          <=0.25

Superior heat treatment:  

Hardness 54-55 HRC. 

Blade rebounds to true after bending,  

Hand polish to smooth soft shine and sword sharp edge.

Fittings

Industrial grade precision cast stainless steel fittings. 

The Wudang sword hilt is different from the norm, the corners angled upward for the special purposes of catching the opponent’s sword and taking advantage of his force to injure his body or hand.

The pommel is a simplified classic cumulus cloud shape.

Scabbard

Magnolia wood decked with stainless steel scabbard mounts.

Fit and finish

We perfected the fit and finish of our swords and the final assembly is meticulously performed by our senior craft masters.  It takes a skill craftsman one whole working day to assemble our sword to a precision fit.

Few individuals come to be known as both a warlord and a “sword saint.”  Even by the standards of China’s tumultuous 1920s, the carving out of two such notable public personas was an impressive achievement.  Yet General Li Jinglin managed to leave his stamp on both Chinese politics and the development of the nation’s traditional martial arts.

Still, there can be no doubt that Li Jinglin (1885 – 1931) deserves more attention than he typically receives.  Beyond his role as a political figure in the turbulent warlord era, he was a dedicated martial artist.  Li studied with several important teachers, tirelessly promoting both Yang style Taijiquan and the Wudang sword tradition.  When not exchanging techniques with China’s most famous martial artists he was bringing them together as he created one martial arts association after another, eventually becoming a chief architect of the KMT’s Guoshu movement.

See the full article here

For the Wudang 2 person training form developed by Li JingLin, see here