Page 58 - 2019 September 10th Sotheby's Important Chinese Art Junkunc Collection

The inscription identifies the present sword as belonging to someone named Cong, who was the son
of the Marquis of the Cai state. This name, however, does not appear to be recorded in any historical
texts. The history of the Cai state goes back to the very beginning of the Zhou dynasty. According to
Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian), the first King of Zhou, King Wu, granted his brother Cai Shudu the
territory of Cai (today’s Shangcai county, Hennan province). The Cai state had a brief moment of glory,
but soon was overshadowed by its powerful neighbors. In the late Spring and Autumn period, the Chu
state invaded Cai, and forced it to relocate its capital to Zhoulai (today’s Shouxian, Fengtai and Huinan in
Anhui province) in 493 B.C. Although Cai survived the Chu’s attack, it was eventually conquered by the
King Hui of Chu in 447 B.C.

According to Anhui tongzhi jinshi guwu kaogao [Manuscript of studying archaic bronze and antiquities
from Anhui], vol. 16, Anhui, 1936, p. 6, the present sword was discovered in Shouxian, Anhui province. This
narrows Cong’s dates to a relatively short period, from the relocation of the Cai’s capital in 493 B.C. to
its downfall in 447 B.C. During this time span of 46 years, five monarchs ruled Cai successively, including
Marquis Zhao, Marquis Cheng, Marquis Sheng, Marquis Yuan, and Marquis Qi. Cong, therefore, would
likely be the son of one of these five marquises.

The style of the inscription on the present sword is called niaochongzhuan (bird-worm seal script). As
the name suggests, this type of seal script incorporates pictorial elements into the calligraphy, creating
highly artistic characters resembling abstract forms of birds and worms. Although it is still unclear when
exactly it was invented, niaochongzhuan was a very popular form of calligraphy during the Eastern Zhou
dynasty, mostly among the states in the southern regions, including Cai, Chu, Wu, and Yue. Following the
collapse of the Zhou dynasty, this extraordinary form of writing was gradually replaced by other styles of
calligraphy, but has survived as an art form to this day.

據《安徽通志金石古物考稿》，期16，安徽，1936 劍上銘文作鳥蟲篆。顧名思義，此類篆體融圖像入書
年，頁6，此劍出自安徽壽縣，故知公子從之生平當 法，所成文字恰似抽象鳥蟲紋，精美絕倫。鳥蟲篆何
在前493年蔡國遷都之後、前447年覆國之前。其間 時發端暫不可考，然東周時期尤為風靡，南方地域多
四十六年，蔡國共遞五世，經昭侯、成侯、聲侯、元 有採用，如蔡、楚、吳、越列國。周朝滅後，此類書
侯、齊侯，公子從應為其一之子。 體漸被取代，然作為一類書法藝術形式，尚存至今。

Above The present lot illustrated in Exhibition of Chinese Arts, C.T. Loo & Co., New York, 1941, cat. no. 104.
上 本品錄於《Exhibition of Chinese Arts》，盧芹齋，紐約，1941年，編號104

56 JUNKUNC: ARTS OF ANCIENT CHINA II