Taoist Ritual Sword (detail)

Qing dynasty, 18th century
Steel, brass, and rayskin  l. 77 cm
The Art Institute of Chicago;
lent by Mrs. E. F. Jeffery cat. no. 59

Taoist Ritual Sword
Swords were used in Taoist rituals to purify the sacred altar of negative energies. As such, they were primarily tools of exorcism. Swords were symbolic rather than real weapons and were probably never actually sharpened. However, this sword was constructed and balanced in exactly the same way as a combat sword, and the ritual dances in which it was used resembled forms of martial arts.

One side of the blade bears an inscription modeled after that on a sword given to Emperor Xuanzong (r. 712—756) of the Tang dynasty¹ approximately one thousand years earlier. On the other side of the blade are inlaid images of important constellations in the Taoist heavens: the 28 Lunar Mansions² and the Northern Dipper (Big Dipper). Taoists believed that the sword contained the energies of these constellations, especially the Northern Dipper, which was a powerful symbol of exorcism. The scabbard is decorated with the scaly skin of a ray dyed mineral green. Upon it are two dragons, symbols of yang energy.

¹  Tang dynasty (618—906)  At its height, Tang China was the largest and most powerful empire in the world. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, a professional civil-service bureaucracy rose to prominence. Tang power and influence was felt throughout Asia and even the Middle East. The blend of new and foreign ideas contributed to a rich mixture of tradition and cultural fruition. Many ideas from the West made their way into China along the Silk Roads during this period. Buddhism was the strongest foreign influence. When China began to suffer from foreign invasion toward the end of the Tang, Buddhism suffered imperial persecution. Taoism, however, flourished during this period and gained much imperial support. The Tang emperors, in fact, believed themselves to be the descendants of Laozi.