Chinese bow

For millennia, Chinese archery has played a central role in Chinese society. Archery, in particular, played a prominent role in ancient Chinese culture and philosophy: Archery was one of the Six Noble Arts of the Zhou Dynasty; archery was a virtue for Chinese emperors; Confucius himself was an archery instructor; and Lie Zi (a Taoist philosopher) was also an avid shooter. Because the cultures associated with Chinese society span a wide geographical and temporal range, the techniques and equipment associated with Chinese archery vary. The improvement of firearms and other circumstances in 20th-century China led to the decline of archery as a military and ritual practice. For much of the 20th century, only one traditional bow and arrow workshop remained. However, the early 21st century saw a revival of interest among artisans who wished to construct bows and arrows and practice techniques in the traditional Chinese style.

The practice of Chinese archery can be referred to as the Way of Archery, a term derived from the 17th-century Ming Dynasty archery manuals written by Gao Ying.

warfare

China has a long history of mounted archery (shooting from horseback). Before the Warring States period (475–221 BC), chariot shooting was the primary form of archery on the battlefield. A typical arrangement was for each chariot to carry a driver, a halberdier, and an archer. The earliest recorded use of mounted archery by Han Chinese occurred with the reforms of King Wuling of Zhao. Despite opposition from his nobles, Zhao Wuling's military reforms included the adoption of the archery tactics of the neighboring Xiongnu tribes, which entailed shooting from horseback.

For infantry, the crossbow was the preferred projectile weapon, as firing such a weapon required less training than firing a bow. As early as 600 BC, Chinese crossbows used sophisticated bronze trigger mechanisms that allowed for very high draw weights. However, crossbow trigger mechanisms returned to simpler designs during the Ming Dynasty. Nevertheless, infantry archery with bow and arrow served important functions in training as well as in naval battles.

Ritual and test

In the Zhou Dynasty (1146–256 BC), nobles regularly held archery rituals that symbolized and reinforced order within the aristocratic hierarchy. The typical arrangement consisted of pairs of archers shooting at a target in a pavilion, accompanied by ceremonial music and wine. In these rituals, shooting with proper form and posture was considered important for hitting the target. Confucius himself was an archery teacher, and his own view of archery and archery rituals was: "A refined person has no sense of competition. However, if he cannot avoid it, then let him compete through archery!"

Although civilian archery rituals fell out of favor after the Zhou Dynasty, examinations inspired by Zhou-era rituals became an integral part of the military curriculum in later dynasties such as the Han, Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing. These examinations provided a merit-based means of selecting military officials. In addition to archery on foot, the examinations also included strength tests using specially designed strength bows.

Football and archery were practiced by the Ming emperors. Equestrian sports and archery were favorite pastimes of He Suonan, who served under Hongwu in the Yuan and Ming militaries. Archery towers were built by the Zhengtong Emperor in the Forbidden City. Archery towers were built on the Xi'an city walls built by Hongwu. Houhu Lake was guarded by archers in Nanjing during the Ming Dynasty.

In Guozijian, in addition to Confucian classics, law, mathematics, calligraphy, equestrianism, and archery were emphasized by the Ming Hongwu Emperor and required in the imperial examinations. Archery and equestrianism were included in the examination by Hongwu in 1370, just like archery and horseback riding for non-military officials. The area around the Meridian Gate of Nanjing was used for archery by guards and generals under Hongwu.

The imperial examination included archery. Horse archery was practiced by Chinese living near the border. Wang Ju's writings on archery were followed during the Ming and Yuan dynasties, and the Ming developed new methods of archery. Archery competitions were held in the capital for hand-picked soldiers from the guards' garrison.

hunting

Hunting was an important discipline in Chinese archery, and scenes of hunting with horseback archery feature prominently in Chinese artwork.

Aside from the use of regular bows and arrows, two distinct subgenres of hunting archery emerged: poultry with a pellet bow, and waterfowl with a tethered arrow. Pellet bow shooting uses a lightweight bow with a pouch attached to the string, designed to shoot a stone pellet. The discipline of pellet bow shooting was reputedly the precursor to bow and arrow shooting, and the practice of pellet shooting lasted for many centuries. In contrast, hunting with a tethered arrow (designed to capture rather than pierce the target) was mentioned in early paintings but appears to have died out before the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD).

In contrast to Korean and Japanese archery (whose traditions were preserved through direct transmission), the circumstances of 19th and 20th century China made the direct transmission of Chinese archery traditions difficult to this day.

The military use of firearms began in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD), and the widespread use of gunpowder weapons began in the Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD). Despite this assumption, bows and crossbows remained an essential part of the military arsenal due to the slow rate of fire and unreliability of early firearms. This situation changed toward the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911 AD), when the availability of reliable firearms made archery less effective as a military weapon. As such, in 1901, the Guangxu Emperor removed archery from the military examination curriculum.

Between the collapse of Imperial China in 1911 and the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), there were only short-lived efforts to revive traditional archery practices. After World War II, traditional bow makers were able to continue their craft until the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976).

Modern reconstruction and revitalization

In 1998, Ju Yuan Hao resumed bow making and until recently was the only active workshop building bows and arrows in the traditional Chinese style.

With the dedicated efforts of artisans, researchers, patrons, and enthusiasts, the practice of traditional Chinese archery has experienced a revival in the 21st century. Since 2009, they have established an annual Chinese traditional archery seminar. Through renewed understanding and reconstruction of these archery practices, their goal is to create a new, vibrant tradition for Chinese archery. Hanfu enthusiasts have also revived the traditional archery ritual.

Technology

Many variations of archery technique have developed throughout Chinese history, making it difficult to fully specify a canonical Chinese style. The Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) had at least seven archery manuals in circulation (including one by General Li Guang), and the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD) had at least 14 different schools of archery and crossbow theory. In the Qing Dynasty, books from 14 different archery schools were published. The commonality of all these styles is that they placed great emphasis on mental concentration and focus.

The drawing style most commonly associated with Chinese archery is the thumb draw, which was also the predominant drawing method for other Asian peoples such as the Mongols, Tibetans, Japanese, Koreans, Indians, Turks, and Persians. However, in earlier periods of Chinese history (e.g., the Zhou Dynasty), the three-finger draw was common at the same time that the thumb draw was popular.

In addition, the different styles of Chinese archery offered different advice on other aspects of archery technique. For example, how to position the feet, how high to anchor the arrow, how to position the bowhand finger, whether to draw the bowhand, whether to let the bow rotate in the bowhand after releasing the bow, or whether to extend the drawarm after releasing the bowhand.

The dichotomy between ritual/examination archery technique and battlefield archery technique provides a significant example of the contrasts between various Chinese styles. Wang Ju, a Tang Dynasty author, favored a ritual/examination style that incorporated a follow-through, with the bow rotating in the bow hand and the drawing arm reaching straight back. In contrast, certain authors such as Zeng Gongliang (Song Dynasty), Li Chengfen (who was influenced by the Ming Dynasty generals Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang), and Gao Ying (Ming Dynasty) eschewed aesthetic elements (such as Wang Ju's follow-through) to develop a more practical technique.

arches

Historical sources and archaeological evidence suggest that a variety of historical bow types existed in the area of ​​present-day China. Most types of Chinese bows were horn bows (horn-wood-sinews composites), but longbows and wood composites were also used. Modern reproductions of Chinese-style bows have taken on forms inspired by historical designs. In addition to using traditional construction methods (such as horn-wood-sinews composites), modern craftsmen and manufacturers have incorporated modern materials such as fiberglass, carbon fiber, and fiber-reinforced plastic.

Horn bows in Scythian style

Horn bows of this style tended to be asymmetrical and adopted a pronounced, curved deflex-reflex profile (colloquially known as the "Cupid's bow" shape). Archaeologists have excavated examples of Scythian-style bows from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770–256 BC) at the sites of Subeixi and Yanghai.

Longbows (self-made bows)

Longbows and composite wood bows were popular in southern China, where the humid climate made the use of horn bows difficult. An excavated example of a Chinese longbow was dated approximately to the Warring States - Western Han Dynasty period (475 BC - 9 AD). Its dimensions were 1.59 m long, 3.4 cm wide, and 1.4 cm thick.

Wood laminated sheets

Wood-laminated bows were popular in southern China due to the humid climate. Based on excavated bows from the Spring and Autumn period up to the Han Dynasty (770 BC–220 AD), the typical construction of a Chinese wood-laminated bow was a reflex bow made of several layers of wood (such as bamboo or mulberry), wrapped in silk and varnished. The typical length of such bows was 1.2 to 1.5 meters.

Long-Siyah Horn Bows

Bows with long siyahs were popular in China from the Han Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty (206 BC–1368 AD). (Siyahs are the non-flexible end sections of Asian composite bows.) The design bears similarities to Hunnic horn bows.

Horn bows of the Ming Dynasty

Shorter bow designs became popular during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD). Wubei Zhi describes several bow styles that were popular during the Ming Dynasty: in the north, the short siyah bow, the grooved siyah bow, the grooved bridge bow, and the long siyah bow; in the south, the Chenzhou bow, the short siyah bow, and lacquer-finished bamboo composite bows; the Kaiyuan bow was used in all parts of Ming China. The small siyah bow differed from earlier Chinese designs in that its siyahs were short. Its design is possibly related to the Korean horn bow. The Kaiyuan bow was a small to medium-sized bow with long siyahs and was the bow of choice for high-ranking officers.

Wu Bei Yao Lue, another classic military manual of the Ming Dynasty, depicts a number of bows that differ from those in Wubei Zhi. These include the general-purpose bow, the Big Siyah bow (used for both infantry and cavalry), and the Taiping village bow.

Horn bows of the Qing Dynasty

The Manchurian bow design became popular in China during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911 AD). Unlike other Asian composite designs, Qing horn bows were large (up to 1.7 m long when strung) and featured long, heavy siyahs (up to 35 cm long) with prominent string bridges. The general principle behind this design was to trade arrow speed for stability and the ability to efficiently fire long and heavy arrows, sometimes more than a meter long.

The Manchurian bow has influenced modern Tibetan and Mongolian bow designs, which are shorter versions of the Qing horn bow.

Thumb ring

Because Chinese archers typically used their thumbs, they often required thumb protection in the form of a ring or leather guard. Historically, thumb ring materials included jade, metal, ivory, horn, and bone (although obtaining samples from organic materials has been difficult). Due to the importance of archery, the significance of thumb rings extended beyond the battlefield: rings were frequently worn as status symbols and were also grave goods until the end of the Han Dynasty (220 AD). Although the archaeological record of Chinese thumb guards is incomplete, the designs of excavated and ancient rings indicate that a variety of designs became popular over time.

The earliest excavated Chinese thumb ring comes from the Shang Dynasty tomb of Fu Hao (who died around 1200 BC). The ring was a slanted cylinder with the front, which contained a groove for holding the bowstring, higher than the back. An excavation in Quwo County, Shanxi, uncovered a Western Zhou jade thumb ring that had a lip pattern but featured taotie decorations similar to the Shang Dynasty Fu Hao ring. From the Warring States period through the Han Dynasty (475 BC–220 AD), excavated rings typically had a lip pattern with a prominent spur on the side (there are several theories about the spur's function). Rings from the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) were round or D-shaped cylinders.

Aside from the examples above, it is difficult to describe thumb ring designs from other periods. For example, thumb rings are absent from the archaeological record between the Han and Ming dynasties (220–1368 AD), although contemporary literature (such as Wang Ju's Archery Manual from the Tang Dynasty) indicates that Chinese archers still used the thumb pattern. Furthermore, evidence suggests that various ring shapes were popular during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD). Li Chengfen's Archery Manual advocated the use of rings with oval openings, and Gao Ying's Archery Manual described the use of lip rings and included illustrations depicting an archer wearing a lip ring. However, to date, the only recovered rings claimed to be from the Ming Dynasty have cylindrical designs, which differ from Qing thumb rings.

To date, there are very few (if any) excavated examples of draw-hand guards for Chinese archers using the three-finger draw. However, Xin Ding San Li Tu (a Song Dynasty illustrated guide to Zhou Dynasty archery rituals) shows a red reed flap to protect the index, middle, and ring fingers while drawing the string.

Legends

Legends of archery permeate Chinese culture. An early story describes how the Yellow Emperor, the legendary ancestor of the Chinese people, invented the bow and arrow:

Once, Huangdi went hunting with a stone knife. Suddenly, a tiger leaped from the undergrowth. Huangdi shook a mulberry tree to escape. Being a patient creature, the tiger sat at the base of the tree to see what would happen next. Huangdi saw that the mulberry wood was supple, so he used his stone knife to cut a branch to make a bow. Then he saw a vine growing on the tree and cut a piece to make a string. Next, he saw some bamboo nearby that was straight, so he cut a piece to make an arrow. With his bow and arrow, he shot the tiger in the eye. The tiger ran away, and Huangdi was able to escape.
Another myth was that Hou Yi shot the sun. Other myths also say that Hou Yi fought a series of monsters (which were metaphors for natural disasters) with his vermillion bow.

"There once lived a man named Cheyn who lived in a village at the foot of a mountain. One day, he was attacked by a rabid rabbit. To save himself, he took a branch from a tree and the tendon of a nearby dead deer. He picked up a stick from the ground and, using his new device, fired the stick, killing the rabbit. When he returned, he was hailed as a hero by the village and declared king."