WEBVTT - The Artifact: The Sword of Gōu Jiàn

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of

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<v Speaker 1>My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and

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<v Speaker 1>this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow Your Mind, focusing in on particular objects, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>and moments in time. As we've discussed before on Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow Your Mind, gold is a special element. Particles

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<v Speaker 1>of gold can linger on a river bed for centuries

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<v Speaker 1>and retain all their luster and beauty, and the same

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<v Speaker 1>can be said for golden artifacts buried in the earth,

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<v Speaker 1>but not so with other metal creations. Consider the sword.

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<v Speaker 1>As instruments of war, they require strength and sharpness, so

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<v Speaker 1>malleable gold is a poor choice of materials, and so

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<v Speaker 1>swords tend to rust, whether dropped on the field of

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<v Speaker 1>battle or buried in a stately tomb. In the film Conan,

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<v Speaker 1>the Barbarian our muscular hero liberates a word from an

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<v Speaker 1>ancient crypt and it's ready to use, sharp and unrusted,

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<v Speaker 1>despite untold century stuck away in a tomb. We can

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<v Speaker 1>forgive the film for this, since it deals with the

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<v Speaker 1>world of magic, and perhaps it's Atlantean Smith's mastered arts

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<v Speaker 1>that allowed it to endure. One of the closest things

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<v Speaker 1>in real life however, is the sword of Gojin. Archaeologists

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<v Speaker 1>believe this resplendent bronze weapon belonged to Gojin, who ruled

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<v Speaker 1>the Kingdom of You from four to four sixty five

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<v Speaker 1>b c. His ownership is identified in writing on the

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<v Speaker 1>blade itself. When the king died, his sword was buried

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<v Speaker 1>with him and remained there for more than two thousand years. Then,

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen sixty five, a team of archaeologists in Hubei

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<v Speaker 1>Province unearthed the water logged tomb, and amid the many

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<v Speaker 1>undisturbed artifacts, they found the sword. Suffice to say, a

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<v Speaker 1>cone in the Barbarian would have been pleased because the

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<v Speaker 1>sword of Gojin was remarkably well preserved. Not only was

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<v Speaker 1>it largely untarnished, but it was sharp, reportedly able to

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<v Speaker 1>cut through twenty pieces of hard paper. According to the

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<v Speaker 1>Hubei Department of Culture, Again, this was no Atlantean magic sword,

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<v Speaker 1>but a bronze blade. How had it survived so long

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<v Speaker 1>in a flooded tomb. Part of it is the sword's composition.

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<v Speaker 1>According to Chu lang Hu in a study published in

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<v Speaker 1>Chinese Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology,

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<v Speaker 1>the sword was smelted from tin bronze, and the pattern

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<v Speaker 1>of decoration on the surface contains black copper sulfide. The

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<v Speaker 1>tin and the weapon's edges helped it retain its sharpness,

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<v Speaker 1>and the sulfur helped decreased tarnishing. More to the point, however,

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<v Speaker 1>the sword passed the centuries in a sheath that was

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<v Speaker 1>nearly air tight. It's just like if the Lady of

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<v Speaker 1>the Lake stored Excalibur in a big ziploc bag before

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<v Speaker 1>taking it with her into the depths. Tune in for

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<v Speaker 1>additional editions of the artifact every week, hosted by either

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<v Speaker 1>Joe or myself. As always, you can email us at

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<v Speaker 1>contact at stuff to Blow your Mind dot com. Stuff

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<v Speaker 1>to Blow Your Mind is production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart

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