Chinese Jian

[Yu-Ming Chang]

I've seen this specific Yazi guard quite often in late era, early 20th century jian. Most often they were on decorative chang jian that had the characters for Lung Chuan and a dragon carved into the forte, but I've seen them on "user" pieces as well. The rest of the fittings on those pieces are variations of the ones seen in this jian. Based on those examples, I think that everything is ensuite on this jian in terms of fittings and that the Yazi guard is contemporary to the rest of the fittings.

I see what look to be cold shuts delineating the edge from the softer cheeks, suggesting sanmei. The cheeks don't look like they have much grain or laminations, which is consistent with a Republican era pieces that I seen/own.