Forged from fire: how swords shaped China and Europe's cultural histories

Forged 2,600 years ago, the Longquan Sword was the first of its kind to be made from iron in Chinese history. At around the same time, Toledo in Spain was becoming a centre for swordmaking, with first Carthaginian general Hannibal and then the Romans becoming aware of the quality of the city's steel.

The Longquan sword is one of China’s most iconic weapons and is listed as a national intangible cultural heritage item.

The iron sand found in Longquan gives the blades made here extra resilience and strength. Taking the unique minerals found in local rivers, bladesmiths in Longquan continue to follow the ancient forging process. This is achieved through a complex hammering process where the iron is repeatedly reheated to remove impurities to eventually forge the steel.

In days gone by only the very best craftsmen in China were permitted to become swordsmiths. Once forged, a special knife is used to shape and grind the sides of the blade. Getting the right balance is a real challenge and the swordsmith uses all his skill to alter the thickness and angle of the blade. Once this is done it is then reheated and quenched one last time before being polished and decorated.

Hu Xiaojun is one of Longquan’s most renowned swordsmiths. Passionate about tradition, his famous ‘Swords of heaven’ are forged from meteoric iron.

Showing a large piece of meteoric iron, he explains: “This is called the Widmanstatten pattern. It’s crystallised iron and nickel after hundreds of millions of years of cooling. It’s very complex."

Famed since Roman times, the quality of Toledo steel made it a hotbed for sword making. Bladesmiths in the city spent centuries refining the forging process - a secret that would make the swords from this part of Spain feared