He carries that sword with him as he wanders the world repaying kindness and avenging wrongs. In these circumstances, a jian is not merely an instrument of death. It is a symbol of the knight-errant's spirit, an expression of his force of character, and a physical embodiment of cultural traditions. "
「俠客撫劍獨行游，為人間平不平，報恩仇，這其間，劍不只是一種殺人利器，而且是一種大俠精神的象徵，一種人格力量乃至文化傳統的表現，」陳平原指出。