Dang-kwang sword

The Dang’-kwar (Shinasthana: 尚官; dang-kwar) is a class of highly-regarded swords thought to have been produced by the royal household between 426 and 532. As there is no surviving record how or when they were produced and as early provenances are unverifiable, it is uncertain whether any dang-kwar sword is extant today, and some historians believe that dang-kwang swords were completely fictional and only created by later writers.

History

Origins

The first mention of the Dang’-kwar sword is dated to 585, when a cache of 360 swords were given by Emperor Lang to his ambassador to the subcontinent the Baron of Qri, telling him that "the swords are the royal possession of the former ruling house of Sungh (先宋君其御); they are Dang’-kwar goods (尚官物)." This record itself, however, is from a 764 book called the Antiquities of the Meng (孟故事), compiled by the Dzei court as the authoritative history of the preceding Restored Meng dynasty that ruled Themiclesia between 543 and 753.

It is notable that the Emperor did not actually say these were "Dang'-kwar swords", but rather that they were "Dang'-kwar goods". It is known that the relevant emperor was an avid antiquarian who liked collecting old objects, especially those associated with royalty before him, and it appears the cache of old swords had become interesting and valuable to him, even though this attitude may not have been shared by others.

The widely-acknowledged issue, however, is that dang'-kwar is not the name of a known royal household workshop, and no object bearing this inscription has ever been found in Themiclesia, other than on forgeries specifically on swords. One theory is that the term dang'-kwar collectively refers to the royal household departments most intimately connected with personally serving the monarch, since these departments had names all beginning with the word dang'. In this context, the word kwar could be understood simply to mean "office", and so the dang'-kwar would therefore mean the offices of these departments. However, this abbreviation is not attested outside of the name of this type of sword.

Another theory is that dang'-kwar was a graphical error and stood in lieu of dang'-kung (尚宮), which is an attested royal household department responsible for making the monarch's stationery. This error was a common one, and if this theory is true, it probably indicates the whole millieu of dang'-kwar swords originated with someone who wasn't aware the name was actually a mistake in writing, because it is implausible that all instances of dang'-kwar could be mistakes for dang'-kung.

At any rate, the name would suggest the swords were originally manufactured for royal use and, according to later writers, would indicate superior quality.

Characteristics

Blade

There are two kinds of blade shapes that are associated with the dang'-kwar sword, differing mainly in the treatment of the tip—the cut tip and the spear tip.

Blade inscription

百鍊青岡 上噟青光 下副弗祥

Culture

dang'-kwar swords are what Themiclesians generally call a nim-bu or a "memento for thought" or "memento for reflection", type of antique; its value for sentimentality increases as it passes through different hands. As such, a pristine condition may not necessarily be preferable to a seasoned one if wear has been wrought by history. This evaluation has been present since the swords were first mentioned in history, by Emperor Lang, who valued them for being royal possessions of a previous ruling dynasty in Themiclesia; later in history, their mystique would only increase as successive generations affirmed their value.