Royal swords from 1800 years ago, along with ancient bamboo shards inscribed with texts from The Art of War,are on show at Beijing's Military Museum.

The sword was the personal weapon of the Yue Dynasty Emperor, Goujian, 1,800 years ago.

One of the most arresting exhibits is this sword. It was the personal weapon of the Yue Dynasty Emperor, Goujian, 1,800 years ago.

It remains a mystery how the rhombic patterns, the embedded color-glaze and the concentric circles were inscribed onto the sword. The question remains a subject of debate even today.

Three other royal swords are on display. They represent the acme of ancient Chinese foundry. The swords are on loan from museums in east China's Zhejiang and Anhui provinces.

This unassuming case houses the most prized exhibit. It's a military map from the Western Han Dynasty, dating back to 200 BC. It's the first time the map has been publicly displayed.

The 20 bamboo shards of the Art of War are stored in a protective liquid in glass tubes. The Art of War is a Chinese military treatise written by Sun Zi, during the 6th Century BC. Behind the glass, spectators are able to read the precise words of the Chinese classic. The bamboo shards were unearthed at Yinque Mountain more than 30 years ago.

In all, there are 180 exhibits from 19 museums in the show. Half of those exhibits have never been shown to the public before.