Green Destiny
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The Green Destiny is a powerful fictional sword owned by master of Wudan Kung-Fu Li Mu Bai in the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
[edit] History
The Green Destiny's name comes from the fact that numerous dragons, decorated in green enamel, are engraved along the length of the blade on both sides. Hailing from before the Qin Dynasty, it is over four hundred years old. This implies that the film is set at some time during the Han Dynasty or later, perhaps during the Three Kingdoms period; however, the sets, costumes and other major details of the film indicates it is set over a millennium later in the Qing Dynasty. It is possible that the film is meant to take place in a mythological China bearing many of the features of the Qing Dynasty but taking place in China's imaginary ancient past (compare romantic depictions of King Arthur that picture him as an idealized ruler of the High Middle Ages, when the stories were written, rather than the 7th century ruler the historical Arthur would have been). Alternatively, the dialogue referring to "four centuries" could simply be an error, and the blade could be meant to be far more ancient -- at least 2,000 years old if it was forged in the time of Qin and the story takes place during the Qing dynasty.
The blade was engraved with a technique that, by the time of the Han Dynasty, was long lost.
The metal that the Green Destiny is forged of remains a mystery, though it is rumored to be made of a fallen meteorite. Li Mu Bai received the sword as a gift from Phoenix Wei when traveling to Beijing after besting Wei in combat, and Wei damaging Li's sword. Li used it to battle Golden Spear Chueng, whom was the original owner of the Green Destiny. Phoenix Wei and his brother had stolen the sword from Chueng previously.
[edit] Specifications
The blade of the Green Destiny is thirty-three inches long and one-tenth of an inch wide, engraved with green-enameled dragons along the length of the blade on both sides. It has an eight-inch hilt (long enough for two-handed use if necessary) that is two-sixths inches wide and seven-tenths of an inch thick, with several rubies missing from the guard.
Like fictional Chinese swords, the blade is very flexible and light, but at the same time is strong enough to parry the blows from other weapons. It is forged of an unknown metal, which is far stronger and more durable than steel. Because it is so thin and light, the Green Destiny is very maneuverable and extremely sharp. A light tap from the blade is enough to cause deep wounds, shown to be able to cut a ceramic pot in half. More amazingly, the Green Destiny is able to cut or break through other steel weapons. No matter how strong, the sword will eventually destroy the weapon.
The most common name for a blade of this type is Jian, With the invention of chain mail and plate armor, a piercing blade was favorable. Jian were typically made of brass, iron or steel. They were used for 2,500 years.
