Chinese archery

China has a long history of mounted archery (shooting on horseback). Prior to the Warring States period (475–221 BCE ), shooting from chariot was the primary form of battlefield archery. A typical arrangement was that each chariot would carry one driver, one halberdier, and one archer. Eventually, horseback archery replaced chariot archery during the Warring States period. The earliest recorded use of mounted archery by Han Chinese occurred with the reforms of King Wuling of Zhao in 307 BCE. Despite opposition from his nobles, Zhao Wuling's military reforms included the adoption of archery tactics of the bordering Xiongnu tribes, which meant shooting from horseback and eschewing Han robes in favor of nomadic-style jodhpurs.[10]

For infantry, the preferred projectile weapon was the crossbow, because shooting one required less training than shooting a bow. As early as 600 BC,[11] Chinese crossbows employed sophisticated bronze trigger mechanisms, which allowed for very high draw weights.[12] However, crossbow trigger mechanisms reverted to simpler designs during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644 CE), presumably because the skill of constructing bronze trigger mechanisms was lost during the Mongolian Yuan dynasty (1271–1368 CE), or due to the increasing prominence of hand cannons in late Medieval Chinese warfare.[11] Nonetheless, infantry archery using the bow and arrow still served important functions in training as well as naval battles.[13]

Chinese archer, photographed in the 1870s

In the Zhou dynasty (1146–256 BCE), nobles regularly held archery rituals[14] which symbolized and reinforced order within the aristocratic hierarchy. The typical arrangement involved pairs of archers shooting at a target in a pavilion, accompanied by ceremonial music and wine. In these rituals, shooting with proper form and conduct was seen as important in order to hit the target.[13][15] Ritual archery served as a counterpoint to the typical portrayal of archers, who were often skillful but brash. Confucius himself was an archery teacher, and his own view on archery and archery rituals was that "A refined person has no use for competitiveness. Yet if he cannot avoid it, then let him compete through archery!"[16]

Although civil archery rituals fell out of favor after the Zhou dynasty, examinations inspired by the Zhou-era rituals became a regular part of the military syllabus in later dynasties such as the Han,[17] Tang,[18] Song,[19] Ming[20] and Qing.[21] These exams provided merit-based means of selecting military officials. (Imperial examination#Military) In addition to archery on foot, the examinations also featured mounted archery, as well as strength testing with specially-designed strength testing bows.[22]

Football and archery were practiced by the Ming Emperors.[23][24] Equestrianism and archery were favorite pastimes of He Suonan who served in the Yuan and Ming militaries under Hongwu.[25] Archery towers were built by Zhengtong Emperor at the Forbidden City.[26] Archery towers were built on the city walls of Xi'an erected by Hongwu.[27] Lake Houhu was guarded by archers in Nanjing during the Ming dynasty.[28]

Math, calligraphy, literature, equestrianism, archery, music, and rites were the Six Arts.[29]

At the Guozijian, law, math, calligraphy, equestrianism, and archery were emphasized by the Ming Hongwu Emperor in addition to Confucian classics and also required in the Imperial Examinations.[30][31][32][33][34][35] Archery[36] and equestrianism were added to the exam by Hongwu in 1370 like how archery and equestrianism were required for non-military officials at the 武舉 College of War in 1162 by the Song Emperor Xiaozong.[37] The area around the Meridian Gate of Nanjing was used for archery by guards and generals under Hongwu.[38]

The Imperial exam included archery. Archery on horseback was practiced by the Han Chinese living near the frontier. Wang Ju's writings on archery were followed during the Ming and Yuan and the Ming developed new methods of archery.[39] Jinling Tuyong showed archery in Nanjing during the Ming.[40] Contests in archery were held in the capital for Garrison of Guard soldiers who were handpicked.[41]

Equestrianism and archery were favored activities of Zhu Di (the Yongle Emperor) and his second son Zhu Gaoxu.[42]

The Yongle Emperor's eldest son and successor the Hongxi Emperor was disinterested in military matters but was accomplished in foot archery.[43]

Archery and equestrianism were frequent pastimes by the Zhengde Emperor.[44] He practiced archery and horseriding with eunuchs.[45] Tibetan Buddhist monks, Muslim women and musicians were obtained and provided to Zhengde by his guard Ch'ien Ning, who acquainted him with the ambidextrous archer and military officer Chiang Pin.[46] An accomplished military commander and archer was demoted to commoner status on a wrongful charge of treason was the Prince of Lu's grandson in 1514.[47]

Archery competitions, equestrianism and calligraphy were some of the pastimes of Wanli Emperor.[48]

Archery and equestrianism were practiced by Li Zicheng.[49]

Hunting was an important discipline in Chinese archery, and scenes of hunting using horseback archery feature prominently in Chinese artwork.[50][51]

Aside from using normal bows and arrows, two distinct subgenres of hunting archery emerged: fowling with a pellet bow, and waterfowling with a tethered arrow. Shooting with a pellet bow involved using a light bow with a pouch on the bowstring designed to shoot a stone pellet. The discipline of shooting the pellet bow was allegedly the precursor to shooting with the bow and arrow, and the practice of pellet shooting persisted for many centuries. By contrast, hunting with a tethered arrow (which was meant to ensnare rather than pierce the target) was featured in early paintings, but seemed to have died out before the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE).[52]

Military use of firearms began in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644 CE), and general use of gunpowder weapons as early as the Song dynasty (960–1279 CE). Despite this adoption, bows and crossbows had remained an integral part of the military arsenal because of the slow firing rate and lack of reliability in early firearms. This situation changed near the end of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911 CE), when the availability of reliable firearms made archery less effective as a military weapon. As such, the Guangxu Emperor abolished archery from the military exam syllabus in 1901.[13]

Between the collapse of Imperial China in 1911 and beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), there was a short-lived effort to revive traditional archery practice. After World War II, traditional bow makers were able to continue their craft until the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), when circumstances forced workshops such as Ju Yuan Hao to suspend the manufacture of traditional Chinese bows.[53]

In 1998, Ju Yuan Hao resumed bow making and until recently was the only active workshop constructing bows and arrows in the traditional Chinese style.[5][54]

However, with the dedicated efforts of craftsmen, researchers, promoters and enthusiasts, the practice of traditional Chinese archery has been experiencing a revival in the 21st century. Starting in 2009, they have established an annual Chinese Traditional Archery Seminar.[6][7] Through new understanding and reconstruction of these archery practices, their goal is to create a new living tradition for Chinese archery.[55] Hanfu enthusiasts have also revived the traditional archery ritual.

Horn bows of this style tended to be asymmetric and adopted a distinct, curvy deflex-reflex profile (colloquially known as the "cupid bow" shape). Archaeologists have excavated examples of Scythian-style bows dating to the Eastern Zhou dynasty (770–256 BCE) from the Subeixi and Yanghai sites.[69][70]

Longbows and wood composite bows were popular in southern China, where the humid climate made horn bows more difficult to use. An excavated example of a Chinese longbow was dated to approximately the Warring States – Western Han dynasty period (475 BCE–9 CE), and its dimensions were 1.59 m long, 3.4 cm wide and 1.4 cm thick.[71][72][73]

Illustrations of Ming dynasty bows from Wu Bei Yao Lue (left three) and Wubei Zhi (right three). From left-to-right: general-purpose bow (通用弓), big-siyah bow (大弰弓), Taiping village bow (太平寨弓), Xifan wooden bow (西番木弓), small-siyah bow (小稍弓), and Kaiyuan bow (开元弓).

Wood laminated bows were popular in southern China because of the humid climate. Based on excavated bows from the Spring and Autumn period through the Han dynasty (770 BCE–220 CE), the typical construction of a Chinese wood laminate was a reflex bow made from multiple layers of wood (such as bamboo or mulberry), wrapped in silk and lacquered.[74] The typical length of such bows was 1.2–1.5 meters.

Bows with long siyahs were popular in China from the Han dynasty through the Yuan dynasty (206 BCE–1368 CE). (Siyahs are the non-bending end sections of Asiatic composite bows.) The design shares similarities with Hunnic horn bows.

The Niya, Gansu and Khotan bows are examples of long-siyah bows dating from the late Han to Jin time period (about 200–300 CE).[75][76] During this period, the siyahs tended to be long and thin, while the working sections of the limb were short and broad. However, during the Yuan period, long-siyah bows tended to have heavier siyahs and narrower working limbs than their Han/Jin-era predecessors.[77]

Unstrung

Strung

Reproduction of a Ming dynasty Kaiyuan bow by Chinese bowyer Gao Xiang. This is a horn, bamboo, sinew composite.

Shorter bow designs became popular during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644 CE).[78] Wubei Zhi (Chapter 102) describes several bow styles popular during the Ming dynasty: in the North, the short-siyah bow, grooved-siyah bow, grooved-bridge bow, and long-siyah bow; in the South, the Chenzhou bow, short-siyah bow, as well as bamboo-composite bows finished with lacquer; the Kaiyuan bow was used in all parts of Ming China.[79] The small-siyah bow (小稍弓) differed from earlier Chinese designs in that its siyahs were short and set at an angle forward of the string when at rest. Its design is possibly related to the Korean horn bow.[80] The Kaiyuan bow (开元弓) was a small-to-medium size bow which featured long siyahs, and it was the bow of choice for high-ranking officers.[79]

Wu Bei Yao Lue (Chapter 4), another classic Ming dynasty military manual, depicts a set of bows that is distinct from those discussed in Wubei Zhi. These include the general-purpose bow, the big-siyah bow (which was used for infantry as well as by cavalry), and the Taiping village bow (which resembled a Korean 高丽 bow design and was favored in northern and southern China for its superior craftsmanship).[81]

Although Ming bows have been depicted in literature and art, archaeologists have yet to recover an original Ming bow sample.[82]

Bannerman[83]

The Manchurian Bow[84] design became popular in China during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911 CE).

The Manchurian bow has influenced modern-day Tibetan and Mongolian bow designs, which are shorter versions of the Qing horn bow.[85]

• Kay Koppedrayer (2002). Kay's Thumbring Book. Blue Vase Press.
• Stephen Selby (2000). Chinese Archery (Paperback). Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 962-209-501-1
• Stephen Selby (2003). Archery Traditions of Asia. Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence. ISBN 962-7039-47-0
• Stephen Selby (2010). "The Bows of China". Journal of Chinese Martial Studies, Winter 2010 Issue 2. Three-In-One Press. pp. 52–67.
• Jie Tian and Justin Ma (2015). The Way of Archery: A 1637 Chinese Military Training Manual. Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7643-4791-7