The jian also contributed to a dashing appearance. In the view of Professor Chen Pingyuan of Peking University's Chinese literature department, "Bearing a jian makes one handsome and dignified; it confers a heroic air." Chen notes that it would have been hard to travel far carrying a heavy dao or a pair of axes. Moreover, being adrift with book and sword carries strong connotations of refinement.
何況武俠小說中的大俠，遊走江湖，居無定所，講究輕便俐落，風神俊秀，「負劍形象美觀大方，不失壯士風度，」在北京大學中文系教授陳平原眼中，扛大刀或持雙斧實在難以遠行江湖，「書劍飄零」在文學作品中是個相當高雅的「意象」。