The Seven Star Precious Sword (Qīxīng bǎodāo 七星寶刀) is a fictional weapon that was given to Cao Cao by Wang Yun in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. With it, Cao Cao attempted to assassinate Dong Zhuo.
The name of the sword has been translated variously. Some examples are:
- Seven Star Blade
- Seven Star Dagger
- Seven Star Sword
- Sword with Seven (Rare) Gems
- Sword with Seven (Rare) Jewels
The hanzi means:
七 = seven
星 = star, planet or any point of light
寶 = treasure, jewel or prescious, rare
刀 = a type of Chinese sabre in the shape of a large knife
Seven Stars[]
Seven Stars, or qixing 七星, is not an uncommon term to be used in a name for a sword. The Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu-Yue (Wu-Yue chunqiu 吳越春秋) tells us that a certain Wu Yun 伍員 of the Wu state 吳國 during the Spring and Autumn period (722–481 BC) possessed an expensive sword which "contained the seven stars".[1]
References[]
- ↑ "「此吾前君之劍，中有七星，價直百金，以此相答。」"
Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu-Yue, chapter 2.
