Young Chinese female swordsmith introduces ancient Longquan sword-making technique to netizens via livestreaming

Zou Qi, a 28-year-old female swordsmith from east China's Zhejiang Province, is leveraging livestreaming to showcase swords made in Zhejiang's Longquan city, which is renowned for its traditional sword-making craft.

Born into a family of swordsmiths, Zou has been learning to forge swords for four years, following in the footsteps of her father Zou Jianming.

Zou Qi, a 28-year-old female swordsmith from Longquan city, east China's Zhejiang Province, learns to forge sword blanks under the guidance of her father Zou Jianming. (Yangtse.com/courtesy of Zou Qi)

Zou Jianming is a provincial-level representative inheritor of the Longquan sword-making technique, which has been designated as a national-level intangible cultural heritage.

According to Zou Qi, Longquan swords have developed four defining characteristics over the craft's thousands of years of history: toughness and sharpness, a balance of strength and flexibility, a dazzling shine, and exquisite decorations.

Zou Qi's family operates a time-honored sword workshop established by her great-grandfather during the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The workshop, known as Yuanyuan sword workshop, is currently situated in Longquan sword town, a Longquan sword-themed tourist attraction in Guangyuan street, Longquan city.

Zou Jianming is the third-generation successor of the workshop. He excels in traditional techniques such as hand-engraved copper reliefs and soldering, and has innovatively blended traditional carving techniques with Longquan sword forging craftsmanship over the past 40-plus years since he took over the workshop.

As the future head of the workshop, Zou Qi has not only learned Longquan sword-making technique from her father, but received guidance from Shen Xinpei, a master swordsmith in Longquan who has been appointed as a national-level inheritor of the Longquan sword-making technique.

Zou Qi, a 28-year-old female swordsmith from Longquan city, east China's Zhejiang Province, learns to carve intricate patterns on swords. (Yangtse.com/courtesy of Zou Qi)

In her livestreaming shows, Zou Qi displays various types of Longquan swords in detail and provides in-depth cultural insights into the swords. She also engages with viewers by answering their questions about Longquan swords, helping them understand how to distinguish between swords made with different techniques and the characteristics of swords in the Han Dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.) and sabers in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

According to Zou Qi, the creation of a sword mainly consists of tasks involving three major parts: the blade, decorations, and scabbard, each requiring familiarity with hundreds of steps and methods.

The sword-making industry today has condensed these steps into 28 key steps, including refining, forging, shaping, filing, engraving, copper inlaying, cold forging, quenching, polishing, and more, she said.

As her short videos and livestreaming shows caught the attention of more and more netizens, many internet users praised her decision to choose a career as a swordsmith, while some doubted whether her identity as a female swordsmith is just a marketing gimmick.

"Can a woman really persist in wielding such a heavy hammer?" they questioned.

Zou Qi explained that she is not the only woman learning sword-making, and there are several highly skilled female swordsmiths in Longquan.

Although women may not match men in physical strength, they have their own advantages, she said, noting that Longquan swords are renowned for their intricate decorations, and female swordsmiths can give full play to their meticulousness and excel at designing and creating delicate sword decorations.

Zou Qi, a 28-year-old female swordsmith from Longquan city, east China's Zhejiang Province, performs with a sword crafted in a sword-making workshop run by her family. (Yangtse.com/courtesy of Zou Qi)

Moreover, in the era of short videos and livestreaming, women can play an important role in introducing Longquan swords to more people and expanding their market through online platforms, she added.

With her father's assistance, Zou Qi has successfully forged several swords, with her proudest work being a sword named "phoenix rebirth."

She explained that while men often prefer dragon motifs, the phoenix, which symbolizes rebirth, can strike a chord with female customers.

The name also reflects her own journey of leaving her comfort zone to enter the sword-making industry, Zou Qi disclosed.

Sword-making is a niche industry that involves toilsome, messy, and tiring tasks, with a lengthy learning process, Zou Qi said. Nowadays, few young people, especially women, choose to enter this trade, she added.

Zou Qi majored in business administration during her university studies, and worked in Hangzhou, capital Zhejiang Province, after graduation.

Growing up in the workshop of her family, which is filled with the clanging of hammers and the smell of rust and coal, Zou Qi didn't find sword-making particularly remarkable when she was young, and was eager to explore beyond her hometown, she recalled.

As she explored the outside world, she realized that Longquan, her hometown, is quite famous, and many people with a dream of becoming a martial arts expert admired her background as a member of a family of swordsmiths. This experience led Zou Qi to develop a new appreciation for her father's profession.

In addition to taking on apprentices, her father also serves as a specially appointed teacher at a local vocational school, where he often teaches students and passes on his skills. This prompted Zou Qi to reevaluate her family's traditional craft.

Seeing her father aging, she felt a sense of responsibility to learn and carry on this craft.

Four years ago, she quit her job in Hangzhou and returned to her hometown to study the craft of sword-making.

Zou Qi said that her parents have two daughters, and her younger sister is currently studying medicine at a university in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, and may pursue a career as a doctor in the future.

"One of us should stay here to take over and pass on the craft," she said, adding that despite the daily hammering, she finds joy in her work.

Determined to persist in learning and preserving the sword-making culture, Zou Qi wants swords to be not only displayed in museums but also integrated into people's lives as unique decorations.

Swords represent a romantic symbol that belongs to the Chinese people, she said.