Hello Joe,
I honestly appreciate your enthusiasm - please keep it!
Quote:
some notes
Shaolin being the external art and Wudang internal
by 1980 only a handfull of shaolin monks remained
at one point shaolin monks were fighting pirates
Taoism banned in 1949
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Having said that, I feel you need to validate your sources more critically: Not all information (online, printed, whatever) is of equal value. Separating the wheat (or rice) from the chaff is crucial for any real progress.
For example, one might ask oneself, when the first record of a Shaolin monastery with special fighting ability of its monks got mentioned in official gazetteers or any other imperial documents. A quote from any accepted translations will do for a start...
Or when any Taiji jian (or Taijiquan in general) practise entered the Shaolin curriculum? Or the curriculum of the Wudang crowd? Or, for that matter, which jian practise entered Taijiquan where and when?
Have fun slaying ghosts!
Actually, none of this bears much on the actual use of the jian since its early versions predate any of the extant martial arts (most codified fairly late) and jian having been in use all over China (and beyond) in many fighting styles. Certainly no need to focus on taijiquan despite its popularity (some of it well deserved, some of it not deserved).
Back to the current piece: I can't read the metal of the blade from the pics - some cleaning and light etching might allow additional insights. Please also add the weight of both pieces (without scabbard).
I believe though that you need to follow-up on the advice given by the most experienced members like Philip in your earlier thread here:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=26884 (IMNSHO worth re-reading till the very end).
Regards,
Kai