Since the Qing Dynasty, "Baodaoheng" has stood out in the north, and it is a metal craft brand with national characteristics and royal style. There is a folk saying that there is a Longquan sword in the south and a treasure knife scale in the north.
The name "Baodaoheng" has a history of 270 years. In the 11th year of Kangxi in Qing Dynasty (AD 1672), the ancestor of Hengjia was given the surname of Hengjia by Emperor Kangxi. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, a sword was made for Emperor Qianlong, which was called "Qianlong Sabre".
The first generation of Bao Daoheng family is Heng Shengzhi, the second generation is Heng, and the third generation is Heng Longyou. Passed to the fourth generation of Henglizong. From the initial following troops, I made treasure scales and swords, and began to make knives specifically for the Qing emperor and ouchi.
From the 29th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1903), Heng Hongchang, the fifth descendant of Hengjia, broke the tradition in the late Qing Dynasty and opened a sword shop at the west entrance of Jinyu Hutong (school yard), namely Dongan Market. The factory is located at East Trade Hutong 17. The sixth generation of descendants used Harmony as a trademark to export folding knives to Germany and Japan. He used to make wood carving, seal cutting and oil painting knives for Qi Baishi and Xu Beihong.
1958 is a public-private partnership. The knife and scissors factory of Henglianjiang, the seventh generation successor, expanded its production scale behind Banqiao in Chongwen District to produce civil kitchen knives and scissors. All the martial arts instruments produced by Baodaoheng stopped production, and the factory moved to Shahe, Changping District, and was renamed Beijing Knife and Scissors General Factory. HengLianjiang, the seventh generation descendant of Hengjia, is mainly responsible for the knife and scissors factory.
1992, hengqitong officially became the eighth generation successor, and 1995 began to restore the traditional technology and manufacturing process of "Baodaoheng".
"Baodaoheng" has always insisted on manual forging. The technological process includes more than ten processes such as blank selection, forging, quenching and grinding. The made nod and sword have six characteristics: hard texture, smooth cutting, bright color, cold voice, heavy body and complete concealment.
The technological process of making a sword includes more than ten processes, such as blank selection, forging, quenching and polishing. Obviously, it is very difficult to forge a billet weighing dozens of kilograms into a sword weighing more than one kilogram. Hengtongqi explained that forging is the key step to solve this problem, because the impurities contained in the raw steel will cause weapons to be easily deformed and broken. At the same time, the strength of the sword is also enhanced by forging. But it will take a long time. "Forging 30 kilograms of steel in five months, the blade or sword head is only about one kilogram."
"And if a sword wants to be a treasure knife, it needs to go through another extremely important process, that is, quenching." Heng revealed that if the quenched sword collides with the unquenched sword, the quenched sword has no gap, and the unquenched sword has a gap of more than half a centimeter. Moreover, this quenching temperature is handled purely by personal experience and skills, and others can't learn it.
In the store with a small "Bao Dao Heng", there is a huge sword in the most conspicuous position, which is the "Huaxia Sword" that Heng Qitong regards as his masterpiece.
"In the past, our swords were more practical, but now everyone is more for decoration, so I want to do some creation." Heng said that since 1997, he has been planning, designing and making this "giant sword" with a length of 1.3 meters and a weight of 8 kg and 42 liang. At that time, because the sword head was too big, there was no way, so I had to make another big stove. The scabbard is carefully carved with mahogany, and the decoration on the scabbard is carved with jade. "Because it was too time-consuming and laborious, my wife once strongly opposed it." However, after three years and nine months, this exquisite handicraft, which has been inherited for a hundred years, has finally been made. What makes him even more proud is that this work was exhibited in China Millennium Monument and four European countries, and now this sword has become a heirloom of Hengqitong.
In addition, Heng also found a new way and made a sword 15 cm long. Because the machine can't be used in the production process, it is completely handmade and requires very accurate precision, so it has become a sought-after product of "Baodaoheng".
In Heng's view, judging whether a treasure knife or a treasure knife is excellent should be "hard texture, smooth knife technique, bright color, cold sound, weight and complete storage". Texture simply refers to whether the hand-forged blade or sword head has reached the specified hardness. Smooth cutting refers to a well-made treasure knife and sword, which can not hurt the user anywhere except the tip and tip. Bright colors mean that the polishing degree of the cutter head and sword head should reflect all colors like a mirror. Cold sound refers to the cold light and cold sound of forged blade and sword head. The heavy volume means that a well-made treasure sword should be beautiful and not impetuous, so that it can last for a long time and stand the permanent appreciation of this work. Hidden integrity means that a good work must be complete.
In view of the query that "China sword is not as sharp as Japanese sword", Heng believes that this is caused by the different sword cultures of the two countries, and the sharper the sword, the better. Not all the swords in Bao Daoheng have blades, but this does not affect the attack power of China's sword. Heng said that Japanese sword-making technology was indeed handed down from China in the Tang Dynasty, and the shape of Japanese sword is very similar to that of tangdao. Japanese swords have blades, while China's nod has no blades, but it can also cut paper and steel bars, which can be found in China's traditional martial arts.
He said that because the martial arts culture in China pays attention to reciprocity, the first few moves generally show respect by prevarication and beating. Once you really use the Force, even a dull sword can hurt your opponent's bones and muscles. And just relying on the sharpness of the sword can sometimes only hurt people. However, Heng also admitted that China's sword really needs to be improved in terms of new materials, new technology and management, because Japanese products were listed earlier than China.
"Because I used to be an official in the palace and ouchi, in order to maintain the skill of safeguarding family interests, from the first generation to my generation, I have always followed the old saying that' words and deeds, only the surname is constant'." Heng Tongqi said that because Hengjia has its own set of strict methods and technologies, it must not be passed on to outsiders. Therefore, after a hundred years of "Bao Daoheng", its production technology is deeply buried in its heart. Now this has brought great difficulty to the inheritance and protection of "Baodaoheng".
"When I was a child, several children of our generation learned this craft." But now he is the only one who can do "all the work". Others will only do part of it or simply don't want to continue this business. In order to pass on the century-old brand "Baodaoheng" and prevent this ancient craft from being lost, Hengqitong officially announced that it would pass on the ancestral craft to the next generation-his 17-year-old son Hengbao. At the same time, he also broke the tradition of not letting outsiders know his craft, and selected two disciples who loved traditional culture and had certain skills to teach.
In addition, the Dongcheng District Cultural and Cultural Committee also organized specialized personnel to consult information in major libraries and archives and collect and sort out existing information. Break the centuries-old way of inheritance, record the centuries-old production methods and technical secrets of Baodaoheng in detail, and leave precious wealth for future generations in the research and improvement of skills.
Now Hengqitong is used to carrying a laptop with him and selling his sword materials to domestic and foreign customers at any time, unlike the old brands and other customers. At the same time, he also sent his son to business school to study, hoping that future generations could package this traditional skill and push it to the market, and continue to write the family history of "Baodaoheng" for hundreds of years.
"Baodaoheng" has many secrets and unique skills in the manufacturing process, which concentrated the highest manual forging skills in China at that time, such as making knives and swords. It has historical value and academic research value for studying the forging technology of cold weapons in China. Baodaoheng maintains the style of traditional Chinese cold weapons, and retains the artistic features of royal elegance, nobility and exquisiteness. It has artistic appreciation value, and its practicality and use value are self-evident. At present, it is exhibited and sold in the "Old Beijing Street" underground of Sun Dongan in Wangfujing, Beijing.