What gold medals and swords are there in history?

People who watch costume dramas should be familiar with Sword on the Square and Gold Medal for Avoiding Death. Whenever these two things appear at a critical moment, the story will turn around and come to the bottom. The bad guys are severely punished, the good guys are at large, and then everything will be fine. Let's discuss the ins and outs of "the sword on the square" and "the gold medal from death" to see who has more power. Both came from the supreme imperial power. "Fang Shangjian" is a gift from the emperor. It not only has preemptive power, but also is a symbol of status and power. "Fang Shangjian" is a sword that is exercised in the square, also known as the potential sword. Fang Shang (pictured above) is an organization responsible for supplying and manufacturing knives, swords and other utensils used by emperors. This institution was established in the Qin Dynasty, and the officials in charge were Shang Fangling and Shang Fangcheng. Fang Shangjian was originally a horse-chopping sword, which is very sharp and can cut off a horse. Because it is hidden in the square, it is nicknamed "Fang Shangjian". "Death-free gold medal" generally refers to the iron coupon of Dan Shu, which is a certificate given to heroes by ancient emperors to enjoy preferential treatment from generation to generation or be exempted from punishment. The iron coupon of Dan Shu is written in cinnabar and made of iron. It began with the Emperor Gaozu, and was followed by later generations. In order to win the trust of the world and prevent forgery, the iron coupon was cut open, the left part was awarded to the holder, and the right part was hidden in the court treasury. If anything happens, the iron coupons will be combined as evidence. After the Northern and Southern Dynasties, it began to have the function of avoiding sin and death. Liang used silver to write words, that is, silver coupons, and Sui used gold to write words, also known as gold coupons and gold books. Therefore, later generations called the iron coupon the golden book iron coupon, and because the iron coupon can be passed down from generation to generation, it was also called the world coupon.

The National Museum has a collection of iron coupons, which were given to Yue in 896 AD for crusade. Iron coupons are cast in iron, shaped like tiles, with 350 gold characters embedded on them. Among them, there is the content of "Qing forgives nine deaths, and three children and grandchildren die". Who can hold Fang Shangjian? Of course, he is a respected official trusted by the emperor. Holding the sword in your hand means that you have almost the same judicial power as the emperor, and you can take action against the criminal officer before he acts, even if the other party ranks among the three public officials. Death gold medal is a kind of amulet. Officials who win death gold medals are usually great heroes. In order to thank them for their contribution to the country, the emperor gave them a gold medal to avoid death, which can save their lives when they commit capital crimes (except treason) in the future. It can be seen that the sword on the side is used to take people's lives, while the gold medal to avoid death is used to save themselves. Then, when an imperial envoy with a royal sword was ready to use the power of action to kill people before the action, he found that the other party was actually holding a gold medal to avoid death. What should he do in this case? In other words, when the sword on Fang meets the gold medal to avoid death, who is stronger? Who obeys who? This imperial sword and the gold medal for avoiding death are one that can slay criminal officials at any level, and the other that has criminal immunity and can escape any responsibility except treason. The two functions are opposite, but the power is equal. It seems that they can contain each other, but they cannot suppress each other. Most of us know the sword on the side and the gold medal to avoid death from novels, plays and film and television works. However, we have never seen the two at the same time. In the above-mentioned works, as long as there is a good sword, there is often no gold medal for avoiding death. As long as the gold medal from death comes on the stage, the sword on the side must be hidden in the horizon, and the two will never touch it. These two precious things can only be given by the emperor himself, and the quantity is very small. How can the emperor "cover the child's shield with the child's spear"?