Weapon
Gudingdao 古錠刀
About this item
The Gudingdao (Ancient Ingot Blade) is, in the Romance, the blade wielded by Sun Jian. In Chapter 5 of the Romance, Sun Jian, who has volunteered to lead the vanguard of the lords attacking Dong Zhuo, arrives before Sishui Pass and, clad in silver armor, wrapped in a red headcloth, holding the Gudingdao across his saddle and riding a horse with a dappled mane, rails at those on the pass. Romance, Ch. 5 §16–17 · 23
The Romance mentions the Gudingdao only once, in Chapter 5, and reveals neither its appearance nor its history. The Gudingdao does not appear in Chen Shou's text or in Pei Songzhi's commentary. The Biographies of Sun Jian and Sun Ce in Chen Shou's text record only that Sun Jian always wore a red woolen headcloth and that, when pursued by Dong Zhuo's cavalry, he escaped harm by having a close follower put it on; they do not record the blade he used. Romance, Ch. 5 §23Records, Wu 1 §17
In the Romance
In Chapter 5 of the Romance, Yuan Shao, the leader of the alliance, calls for one man to serve as vanguard and go straight to Sishui Pass to offer battle, and Sun Jian volunteers and charges toward Sishui Pass at the head of his own troops. Sun Jian arrives before the pass with his four lieutenants, and the Romance depicts him at this moment with silver armor, a red headcloth, the Gudingdao and a horse with a dappled mane. When Sun Jian rails, "You wretches who abet evil, why do you not surrender at once?", Hu Zhen, Hua Xiong's lieutenant, comes out with 5,000 men to meet him, but within a few bouts he is stabbed in the throat and dies. Romance, Ch. 5 §13 · 16–17 · 22–23
The Gudingdao does not appear again after this scene. In the same chapter, Sun Jian is attacked at night by Hua Xiong and flees; as he tries to shoot a third arrow, his bow carved with a magpie design snaps and he throws it away, and he exchanges his conspicuous red headcloth for a subordinate's helmet and escapes by a side road. Romance, Ch. 5 §26–27
Written by 3KDEX (not yet reviewed) — The tags at the end of each paragraph link to the exact passage in the Records volume or Romance chapter it is based on.
Ownership history
| Owner | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sun Jian | 190~ | Romance 「孫堅披爛銀鎧，裹赤幘，橫古錠刀」 「初平元年春正月」 |
Ownership is checked against the source texts (3KDEX) — each entry rests on the passage where the item changes hands. Owners not in the People index are not shown.