Abstract
This article provides a brief survey of the main styles of bows that historically have been in fashion in the area now covered by the People’s Republic of China. The survey draws on surviving bows, archaeological evidence as well as literary and graphic sources. The survey must of necessity be regarded as incomplete, given the period of roughly 3000 years that it covers, the vast area, and cultural diversity of the peoples who occupied it. Furthermore, the archaeological evidence is fragmentary and can be open to different interpretations. Bows and related sources that are available for study suggest that the great majority in the northern regions were made of wood or bamboo supplemented by horn and sinew; however, that was not universally the case—especially in the more humid southern regions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
For an excellent survey of the relationship between “China” and her neighbors in pre-Han times, see Nicola Di Cosmo, Ancient China and Its Enemies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2002).
- 2.
“Central States” were those states (largely governed by members of the extended family of the Zhou rulers) that succeeded the state of Zhou after about 700 BCE. They were in turn gradually joined by voluntary tributary states such as Wu, Yue and Chu.
- 3.
For beautiful illustrations and a description of these contacts, see Jenny F. So and Emma C. Bunker, Traders and Raiders on China’s Northern Frontier (Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution 1995).
- 4.
The description of the contents of the coffin from grave #4 at Cemetery #95 at Niya was published in Wang Binghua, “Niya 95 yihao mudi 3 haomu fajüe baogao [Excavation report on the no.3 tomb, no.1 tomb site, Niya 95],” in Xinjiang wenwu [Xinjiang cultural relics], issue no. 2 (Urumqi: Xinjiang weiwu’er zizhiqu wenhuating and bowuguan 1999b), 27. There is some further comment in Wang Binghua, eds., Xinjiang gu shi: Gudai Xinjiang jumin ji qi wenhua [The ancient corpses of Xinjiang: The peoples of ancient Xinjiang and their culture] (Urumqi: Xinjiang People's Press 2002). Further background information and illustrations is provided in Liu Wei, ed., Zhonghua wenming chuanzhen [Chinese civilization in a new light], vol. 4 (Hong Kong: Commercial Press 2001).
- 5.
There is a photograph of Marc Aurel Stein squatting in one of his “excavations” with one of these bows cast casually to one side in his book Marc Aurel Stein, On ancient Central Asian tracks: brief narrative of three expeditions in innermost Asia and Northwestern China, vol. 1 (London: Macmillan, 1933).
- 6.
“Five stars” refers to the main visible astral bodies in the Han period. Their alignment was thought to portend auspicious political change. Sima Qian: “When the Five Planets are disposed in mid-heaven and gather in the east, China benefits, when they gather in the west, foreign kingdoms using weapons gain.” See also David W. Pankenier, Astrology and Cosmology in Early China (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 308.
- 7.
The bow and quiver are on display at the Turfan Museum.
- 8.
For example, see “The Horn Bow” in the “Xiaoya” section of the Book of Songs.
- 9.
Chinese archaeologists have adopted a term “bow tip” to describe bronze objects that were made for attaching to the tips of the spokes of umbrellas that were used as parasols on chariots.
- 10.
The Koreans strongly assert that their traditional bows are indigenous. See the chapter by Ki-hoon Kim in this volume.
- 11.
A number of museums in China display Qing bows erroneously labelled as being from the Ming or even Tang dynasties.
- 12.
It is likely that there were specialized bows at earlier times; but details of them have not yet come to light.
- 13.
Tradition has it that two different styles of bow were made in the northern part of China and Central China. Northern bows (bei gong) had cores made of bamboo. Their limbs were narrower, and they were wrapped with birch bark but not lacquered. Southern bows (nan gong) had relatively broader limbs, shorter siyahs and were heavily lacquered to resist moisture.
- 14.
“Secret” makers’ marks were sometimes added in the form of a simple pattern in peach bark on the side of the string bridges.
References
Andrews, Roy Chapman, and Yvette Borup Andrews. 1918. Camps and Trails in China: A Narrative of Exploration, Adventure, and Sport in Little-Known China. New York: D. Appleton & Company.
Beckwith, Christopher I. 2009. Empires of the Silk Road. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Boltz, William G. 1994. The Origin and Early Development of the Chinese Writing System. New Haven, CT: American Oriental Society.
Chen Yuanliang 陳元靚 [Song dynasty] et al. eds. 1995. “Shilin guangji 事林廣記 [Miscellany of sundries],” fascicle 13, the latter instalment (houji 後集). In Xuxiu Siku quanshu 續修四庫全書 [Extended Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature], the Masters section (zi bu 子部), encyclopedia (leishu lei 類書類). Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe 上海古籍出版社.
Cheng Ziyi 程子頤 [Ming dynasty]. 2015. “Wubei yaolüe 武備要略 [Outline of military preparedness],” fascicle 14. In Zhongguo gudai wuyi zhenben congbian (shangji) 中國古代武藝珍本叢編 (上輯) [Collection of ancient Chinese martial arts rare books (Part one)], edited by Ma Mingda 馬明達 and Ma Lianzhen 馬廉禎. Jinan: Qilu shushe 齊魯書社.
Cheng Zongyou 程宗猷 [Ming dynasty]. 2015. “Sheshi 射史 [History of archery],” fascicle 8. In Zhongguo gudai wuyi zhenben congbian (shangji) 中國古代武藝珍本叢編 (上輯) [Collection of ancient Chinese martial arts rare books (Part one)], edited by Ma Mingda 馬明達 and Ma Lianzhen 馬廉禎. Jinan: Qilu shushe 齊魯書社.
Cosmo, Nicola Di. 2002. Ancient China and Its Enemies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Liu Wei 刘炜, ed. 2001. Zhonghua wenming chuanzhen 中华文明传真 [Chinese civilization in a new light], volume 4. Hong Kong: The Commercial Press.
Mao Yuanyi 茅元儀 [Ming dynasty]. 2000. Wubei zhi 武備志 [Treatise on armament technology], edited by Li Shengzhao 李升召, fascicle 3. Haikou: Hainan chubanshe 海南出版社.
Pankenier, David W. 2013. Astrology and Cosmology in Early China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Rhoads, Edward J. M. 2000. Manchus & Han: Ethnic Relations and Political Power in Late Qing and Early Republican China, 1861–1928. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Selby, Stephen. 2003a. Archery Traditions of Asia. Hong Kong: Museum of Coastal Defense.
Selby, Stephen. 2003b. Chinese Archery. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.
So, Jenny F. and Emma C. Bunker. 1995. Traders and Raiders on China’s Northern Frontier. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution.
Stein, Marc Aurel. 1933. On Central Asian Tracks: Brief Narrative of Three Expeditions in Innermost Asia and Northwestern China, volume 1. London: Macmillan.
Tan Danjiong 譚旦冏. 1951. “Chengdu gongjian zhizuo diaocha baogao 成都弓箭製作調查報告 [Survey report on the bow- and arrow-making in Chengdu].” Zhongyang yanjiuyuan lishi yuyan yanjiusuo jikan 中央研究院歷史語言研究所集刊 [Bulletin of the Academia Sinica Institute of History and Philology] 23, 199–243.
Tan Weisi 谭维四. 1989. Zenghou yi mu 曾侯乙墓 [The tomb of Marquis Yi of the Zeng state]. Beijing: Wenwu chubanshe 文物出版社.
Wang Binghua 王炳华. 1999a. The Ancient Corpses of Xinjiang. Translated by Victor Mair. Urumqi: Xinjiang renmin chubanshe 新疆人民出版社.
Wang Binghua 王炳华. 1999b. “Niya 95 yihao mudi 3 haomu fajüe baogao 尼雅95一号墓地3号墓发掘报告 [Excavation report on the no.3 tomb, no.1 tomb site, Niya 95].” In Xinjiang wenwu 新疆文物 [Xinjiang cultural relics]. Issue no. 2. Urumqi: Xinjiang weiwu’er zizhiqu wenhuating & bowuguan 新疆维吾尔自治区文化厅和博物馆.
Wang Binghua 王炳华, eds. 2002. Xinjiang gushi: Gudai Xinjiang jumin ji qi wenhua 新疆古尸: 古代新疆居民及其文化 [The ancient corpses of Xinjiang: The peoples of ancient Xinjiang and their culture]. Urumqi: Xinjiang renmin chubanshe 新疆人民出版社.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Selby, S. (2023). The Bows of China. In: Chao, H., Ma, L., Kim, L. (eds) Chinese Archery Studies. Martial Studies, vol 1. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8321-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8321-3_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-16-8320-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-16-8321-3
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)