After telling a short story, Chu Chen continued, "Shangfang was actually an office in charge of manufacturing and supplying imperial utensils. It had already existed during the Qin Dynasty and was most famous during the Han Dynasty. The Shangfang Sword referred to the sword used by the emperor."
"In this story, requesting the Shangfang Sword merely compared the sword to the emperor, expressing the hope that the emperor would take the prime minister's embezzlement seriously. In fact, the Book of Later Han: Biography of Cai Lun recorded that Emperor He of Han, Liu Zhao, once ordered, 'Palace Attendant Cai Lun was granted the position of Shangfang Commander and supervised the production of swords, hence the name Shangfang Sword. Imperial utensils may not be privately used by ministers or commoners.' Therefore, it was only during the Eastern Han that the emperor's personal sword was explicitly called the Shangfang Sword."
"Judging from the form and other characteristics of the Zhanma Sword in my hands, it should have been made during the Western Han. Although its decorations display the characteristics of an imperial sword, according to historical records, it cannot be considered a true Shangfang Sword."
When they heard this, everyone felt somewhat disappointed. After all that talk, it turned out not to be the Shangfang Sword after all!
Seeing their disappointed expressions, Chu Chen smiled and said, "What is the Shangfang Sword? Isn't it simply the emperor's personal sword? What difference does it make whether this is one? Besides, the Shangfang Sword really isn't anything remarkable. Its practical use was nowhere near as exaggerated as television makes it seem."
"Huh? Really?" Everyone revealed astonished expressions.
Chu Chen explained with a smile, "Absolutely. Historical records mention examples from the Han Dynasty in which emperors bestowed their personal Shangfang Swords on ministers. For example,