The sword of sovereignty: Chi Xiao
Ten famous swords in China's ancient times
In the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC), there was a young man who liked to talk big. One day he got a rotten steel rod and told people that it was a sword he got from an immortal living in Nanshan Mountain, and named it Chi Xiao, always carrying his “sword.” He also boasted that he was the incarnation of a red dragon from Heaven, and that he had known Emperor Qin, who, according to him, was the incarnation of a white dragon. He even said that the incarnation of the Emperor had turned from a white dragon into a white snake wandering around Feng Xize, claiming that he, with more magic power now than the Emperor Qin, would replace him as the emperor.
People all around knew that he was a braggart and did not believe his nonsense. However, people’s distrust toward him changed after what happened one night. On that night, a few dozen young people, including the braggart, carrying his sword, went to the town of Feng Xize to do some apprentice work. On the way there, they were confronted by a huge white snake. Terrified by it, no one dared to move. It was the braggart who volunteered to kill the snake, chasing it into the woods. The others waited for him to return, but he did not come back that night. Finally, they returned home, believing that he had become the supper of the snake.
The next day, people found the snake killed and the young man lying nearby. His rotten steel rod had been replaced by a glittering sword, with two characters on it reading: “Chi Xiao.” Astounded by this scene, people realized that what the braggart said was all true. The young man was Liu Bang, who later defeated Emperor Qin and founded the Han Dynasty. The sword Chi Xiao was the one he used to kill the snake and lead battles in his revolution against the emperor. Hence, the white dragon was replaced by Liu’s red dragon, and Chi Xiao became known as a sword of sovereignty.