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His Story Collections Presents
A Weapon from the Age When Seven Kingdoms Fought for China
More than two thousand years ago, before China became a unified empire, armies marched across a land divided among competing kingdoms.
At the end of an ancient arrow was an object like this.
Certified as a Warring States–Han Double-Wing Openwork Bronze Arrowhead (戰漢 雙翼鏤空箭鏃), this remarkable artifact measures approximately 113 mm — more than 4.4 inches long — and weighs 17.2 grams.
Its wooden shaft and feathers disappeared centuries ago.
The bronze survived.
And within this small object is the story of one of the greatest transformations in Chinese history.
THE STORY — THE SEVEN WARRING STATES
By the late Warring States period, seven major powers dominated the Chinese world:
Qin · Chu · Qi · Yan · Han · Zhao · Wei
They competed through diplomacy, alliances, espionage—and increasingly enormous armies.
This was warfare on a scale very different from the aristocratic conflicts of earlier centuries.
Mass infantry armies appeared. Cavalry became increasingly important. Fortifications stretched across frontiers. Most significantly for the history represented by this artifact, the bow and especially the crossbow became formidable components of Chinese warfare.
Arrowheads and crossbow-bolt heads were therefore not minor accessories.
They belonged to the military technology through which kingdoms survived—or disappeared.
THE BRONZE ENGINEERING
This example is particularly fascinating because of its construction.
The broad pointed blade terminates in an elongated tang designed for attachment to a shaft.
Between them lies its most visually distinctive feature:
four elongated openwork sections.
This is why the certification describes the piece as 鏤空 — openwork.
Rather than simply casting a completely solid bronze head, the maker incorporated carefully formed openings into the structure.
The result is an artifact that looks surprisingly sophisticated even to modern eyes.
At approximately 113 mm, this is also an impressively large example.
Hold the dimensions in mind: more than four inches of ancient bronze originally formed only the front portion of the complete projectile.
THEN CAME QIN
For generations the kingdoms fought.
Eventually one became overwhelmingly powerful.
Qin.
In 221 BC, King Zheng of Qin completed the conquest of the remaining rival states.
He adopted a new title:
Qin Shi Huang — the First Emperor of Qin.
The political map that had been divided among rival kingdoms was transformed into the first unified Chinese imperial state.
Weights and measures were standardized. Writing was standardized. Roads connected the empire. Earlier frontier walls were incorporated into defensive systems that would contribute to what later generations called the Great Wall.
The Warring States age was over.
The age of imperial China had begun.
FROM THE FIRST EMPEROR TO THE HAN EMPIRE
The Qin Dynasty did not survive for long after the First Emperor's death.
But the concept of a unified empire survived.
In 206 BC, the Han Dynasty emerged from the conflicts following Qin's collapse.
Over the next four centuries, Han rulers created one of the great powers of the ancient world.
Chinese armies moved deep into Central Asia.
Envoys traveled west.
Trade networks expanded across Eurasia.
Silk, horses, precious metals, glass, spices and ideas traveled along interconnected routes that would eventually become known collectively as the Silk Road.
The cultural impact of this empire became so profound that more than two millennia later, the term Han remains fundamental to Chinese identity.
AN OBJECT THAT WAS NEVER MEANT TO SURVIVE
There is something particularly fascinating about an ancient projectile point.
An imperial bronze vessel might have been treasured.
A ritual object might have been preserved.
A coin might circulate for decades.
But an arrowhead was fundamentally a piece of working technology.
It was made to be attached to a shaft, carried by an archer and ultimately fired.
The wooden components disappeared.
The binding disappeared.
The feathers disappeared.
Yet after roughly two millennia, the bronze head remains recognizable.
Its green, brown and reddish mineralized surfaces are now part of its archaeological character.
113 MILLIMETERS OF HISTORY
At first glance, 113 millimeters does not sound enormous.
But place this piece beside an ancient Chinese cash coin and the difference becomes striking.
This is a substantial artifact.
The pointed blade, openwork construction and long surviving tang allow us to understand immediately how the object functioned.
And that is one reason ancient weapons can be so evocative.
You do not need to be an archaeologist to understand what you are looking at.
Someone made this to fly through the air more than two thousand years ago.
CERTIFICATION
Attribution: Warring States–Han Double-Wing Openwork Arrowhead
Chinese Attribution: 戰漢 雙翼鏤空箭鏃
Material: Bronze / copper alloy
Length: 113.0 mm
Recorded measurement: 6.2 mm
Weight: 17.2 g
Assigned Grade: 極美88
Certification: 致臻 / Baocui Rating
Certificate No.: B002060597
The certification information can be independently checked through the certification number/QR information shown in the photographs.
As with any ancient artifact, the historical dating presented here follows the attribution provided by the third-party certification service.
WHY THIS PIECE STANDS OUT
This is not simply another ancient bronze arrowhead.
Its combination of large 113 mm size, double-wing construction, distinctive openwork design, surviving tang and third-party certification gives it exceptional display appeal.
More importantly, its attributed period encompasses an extraordinary sequence of events:
The Warring States → Qin's unification → the First Emperor → the rise of Han → the opening of the Silk Road world.
Few small artifacts provide such a direct physical bridge to this formative period of Chinese civilization.
HIS STORY COLLECTIONS
At His Story Collections, we believe history becomes most meaningful when we encounter the objects people actually made, carried, wore and used.
Coins tell us what people spent.
Ornaments tell us what they valued.
Medals tell us what societies honored.
And weapons tell us about the struggles that changed the course of history.
This bronze arrowhead survives from the world in which competing kingdoms became an empire.
Carry History With You.
