Description
This work was named after its inscriptions of six characters located on the blade and the descending edge, which state, "Cai Hou Chan Zhi Yong Ge (Ge Dagger for the Use of the Marquis Chan of Cai)." The inscriptions are inlaid with gold thread, and kui dragon decorations can be seen to the top and left (such as with the characters, Hou, Chan, Zhi, and Ge). The elongated characters are written in artistic script that resembles dragons or birds, and bear the unique characteristics of the bird-insect script of the Cai State during the late Spring and Autumn Period to the early Warring States Period.