Longquan Baojian 龙泉宝剑
Longquan Baojian is the brand of the Longquan Sword Factory, a sword-making house in Longquan, Zhejiang. The archive traces the craft at the site to the Spring and Autumn period, when the smith Ou Yezi is recorded as casting three iron swords at Qinxi Mountain; the present factory was established in 1956. Its swords are forged from local iron sand, quenched in spring water, and finished on local whetstone. It was designated a China Time-honored Brand in 2011.
Archive record
China Time-honored Brand Digital Museum, Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)
- Founded
- 1956
- Origin
- Longquan Zhejiang, China
- Category
- 金属工艺
- Status
- China Time-honored Brand
- Designated
- 2011-01-26 Ministry of Commerce
The Archive
The House
The archive's history begins with Ou Yezi, a swordsmith of the state of Yue, who is recorded in the Yuejue Shu as casting three swords — Longyuan, Tai'e, and Gongbu — at Qinxi Mountain in the late Spring and Autumn period, which the archive describes as the beginning of iron sword-making in China. Longyuan became the name of the district; in the Tang dynasty the character yuan was avoided as a naming taboo and the name became Longquan. The swords were known for sharpness, toughness, and a cold gleam, and the archive records that afterwards fine swords were spoken of by the name Longquan.
From 1956 the county gathered its remaining sword-makers into a production group, then a cooperative, and finally the Longquan Sword Factory, bringing the old hand craft back into production. The archive records that until the 1980s reforms no other workshop in the county made Longquan swords. The "Longquan Baojian" trademark was registered in 1979, and the factory was restructured in 2003 as Zhejiang Longquan Sword Factory Co., Ltd.
The archive records that the workshop's head, Zhang Yesheng, took over the factory in 2003 after a competitive bid among eleven local sword-making firms. The team he leads revised the traditional process and materials, set down quality standards and a process flow for Longquan swords, and moved production toward high-end custom work, art pieces, and collectibles.
What They Make
Swords, forged and finished by hand. The archive ties the craft to three local materials: tieying, an iron-rich sand from Qinxi Mountain used since antiquity and still sought by swordsmiths; a hard, lustrous whetstone also quarried there, on which the blades are ground to a keen edge; and the cold, clear spring water of the district, used for quenching, which the archive says directly affects the quality of the finished sword. Dense local forest supplied the fuel for the forges.
The archive notes that the Longquan custom has moved toward high-end bespoke orders and toward pieces made as art and as collectibles rather than as weapons.
Timeline
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| Spring and Autumn period (c. 500 BCE) | Ou Yezi casts three iron swords at Qinxi Mountain |
| 1956 | Longquan county organizes local sword-makers into a production group, later the Longquan Sword Factory |
| 1979 | The "Longquan Baojian" trademark is registered |
| 2003 | Restructured as Zhejiang Longquan Sword Factory Co., Ltd. |
| 2011 | Designated a China Time-honored Brand |
Passing It On
Zhang Yesheng was born in Longquan in 1968 and began as a forging apprentice in 1986. In 2003, during the restructuring of the state-owned factory, he took it over after a competitive bid among eleven sword-making firms. The archive records him as a senior craft artist and a Zhejiang provincial craft master, and as the holder of the "Longquan Baojian" registered trademark.
Source: China Time-honored Brand Digital Museum, Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). Original record: lzhbwg.mofcom.gov.cn. Translated and condensed from the official Chinese archive; no information has been added. Statements of standing are reproduced as recorded by the source.
Sources
Historical facts on this page are compiled from China Time-honored Brand Digital Museum, Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). Designation recorded 2011-01-26. This page is editorial content; it is not a product listing and nothing here is an offer for sale.
Independence. Time-Honored Goods is an independent multi-brand store. We are not the official site of Longquan Baojian, and we do not speak for the house. See Independence & Sourcing.