Chinese swords have a very long and rich history in China, From the beginning where stone were used in their creation to a more advanced period were swords were made of iron and steel, China as always produced a great variety of swords.

I wrote a small article about the history of Chinese swords, though you might want to read it. Feel free to leave your comments.

Here are few books you should consider reading if you are interested in medieval weapons and swords in general:

• Swords of the Viking Age
  by Ian Peirce, Ewart Oakeshott
• Records of the Medieval Sword
  by Ewart Oakeshott
• The Sword in the Age of Chivalry
  by Ewart Oakeshott
• The Book of the Sword
  by Richard F. Burton
• Swords and Daggers: An illustrated Handbook
  by Eduard Wagner
• The Encyclopedia of the Sword
  by Nick Evangelista

These are just a few of the book you can read to learn more about this passionate subject. Personally i would recommend you start with the books written by Ewart Oakeshott, this guy is probably one of the greatest expert in the medieval arms and armour.