Editing Jian (section)

==Parts of the ''jian''==

A guard or [[hilt]] protects the hand from an opposing blade. Guard shapes varied, but often had short wings or lobes pointing either forward or backward, the latter sometimes having an "ace of spades" appearance. Early ''jian'' often had very small, simple guards. From the [[Song dynasty|Song]] and [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] periods onward, guards could feature [[Zoomorphism|zoomorphic]] shapes, or have crossbars and quillons. A minority of ''jian'' featured the disc-shaped guards associated with ''[[Dao (Chinese sword)|dao]]''.

The jian's hilt can accommodate the grip of both hands or one hand plus two or three fingers of the other hand. Two-handed ''jiàn'' of up to {{convert|1.6|m|in|abbr=off|sp=us}} in length, known as ''shuangshou jian'', existed but were not as common as the one-handed version. The longer two-handed handle could be used as a lever to lock an opponent's arm if necessary. Grips are usually of fluted wood or covered in [[shagreen|rayskin]], with a minority being wrapped with cord.

The end of the handle was finished with a [[Hilt#Pommel|pommel]] for balance, to prevent the handle from sliding through the hand should the hand's grip be loosened, and for striking or trapping the opponent as opportunity required—such as in "withdrawing" techniques. The pommel was historically [[peening|peened]] onto the [[Tang (tools)|tang]] of the blade, thereby holding together as one solid unit the blade, guard, handle, and pommel. Most ''jian'' of the last century or so are assembled with a threaded tang onto which the pommel or pommel-nut is screwed.

Sometimes a [[tassel]] is attached to the hilt. During the Ming Dynasty these were usually passed through an [[openwork]] pommel, and in the [[Qing Dynasty|Qing]] through a hole in the grip itself; modern swords usually attach the tassel to the end of the pommel. Historically these were likely used as [[lanyard]]s, allowing the wielder to retain the sword in combat. There are some sword forms which utilize the tassel as an integral part of their swordsmanship style (sometimes offensively), while other schools dispense with sword tassels entirely. The movement of the tassel may have served to distract opponents, and some schools further claim that metal wires or thin silk cords were once worked into the tassels for impairing vision and causing bleeding when swept across the face.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}} The tassel's use now is primarily decorative.{{sfn|Sugawara|1998|p=204|ref=Sugawara}}{{sfn|Zhang|1998|pp=38-39}}

The blade itself is customarily divided into three sections for leverage in different offensive and defensive techniques. The tip of the blade is the ''jiànfeng'', meant for stabbing, slashing, and quick percussive cuts. The ''jiànfeng'' typically curves smoothly to a point, though in the Ming period sharply angled points were common. Some antiques have rounded points, though these are likely the result of wear. The middle section is the ''zhongren'' or middle edge, and is used for a variety of offensive and defensive actions: cleaving cuts, draw cuts, and deflections. The section of blade closest to the guard is called the ''jiàngen'' or root, and is mainly used for defensive actions; on some late period jian, the base of the blade was made into a [[ricasso]]. These sections are not necessarily of the same length, with the ''jiànfeng'' being only three or four inches long.<ref>Rodell 2003, pp.22-23</ref><ref>Zhang 1998, pp.37-38</ref>

Jian blades generally feature subtle profile taper (decreasing width), but often have considerable distal taper (decreasing thickness), with blade thickness near the tip being only half the thickness of the root's base. Jiàn may also feature differential sharpening, where the blade is made progressively sharper towards the tip, usually corresponding to the three sections of the blade. The cross-section of the blade is typically lenticular (eye-shaped) or a flattened diamond, with a visible central ridge; ancient bronze jian sometimes have a hexagonal cross-section.