Abstract
Ritual was a prominent element of religious observance, politics, law, and social control in China during the Zhou dynasty. Among the rituals practiced were several archery rituals which, it was believed, allowed the ruling class to observe loyalty and skill among the middle levels of aristocratic society. “Through archery, one can observe virtue” is a concept that any student in modern China can quote. However, it is far from clear why observing a group of individuals shooting with bows and arrows in a non-military context could achieve that objective. This article explores how the archery rituals might have operated in the Zhou period, examines the specific rituals involved in all their connected aspects, and attempts to reach a conclusion about what the Zhou ruling class understood by “virtue” and how they set about observing it through the rituals.
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Notes
- 1.
Oral communication from Xu Kaicai, former chief national archery coach of the PRC.
- 2.
Although China has native martial arts traditions, archery is not exclusively a Chinese invention. It developed in several prehistoric societies worldwide and spread to most parts of the world over the millennia following the last Ice Age, some 20,000 years ago.
- 3.
The World Archery Federation was formerly known as FITA, the acronym for the French name Fédération Internationale de Tir à l’Arc.
- 4.
The full name of Master Cui in this image is not known.
- 5.
For the relationship between law and ritual in Confucian thought, see Chai and Chai 1967, vol. 1, xxxix.
- 6.
Commentary of Zuo, Chenggong chapter, 16th year.
- 7.
Commentary of Zuo, Xianggong chapter, 14th year.
- 8.
The Practice of Government (Weizheng) chapter, Analects.
- 9.
Eight Lines of Eight Dancers (Bayi), Analects.
- 10.
Shang oracle bone inscriptions are almost entirely concerned with the actions of the king and his immediate family members.
- 11.
The king frequently mentioned as the founder of the Zhou, King Wen, actually died before the defeat of Shang. Ascribing the foundation of Zhou to him fulfilled a ritual purpose.
- 12.
The English translated term “Son of Heaven” (tianzi) is probably too heavily influenced by early Christian missionaries who undertook the pioneering translations of the Chinese classics. “Heaven” (tian) was the location of the spirits of the ancestors of all the previous ruling houses, together with the Shang’s “supreme deity” (di). The character zi had a range of meanings, one of which was an heir in the male line.
- 13.
Book of Changes, Treatise on the Appended Remarks.
- 14.
For the latter, one particular bronze ritual vessel is in the shape of a turtle pierced by four arrows, also known as the “zuoce ban bronze turtle.” Although this ritual item has received a lot of attention, its actual origin of not known. It was not excavated in an archaeological context. There are also a number of problems with the text of the inscription. For this reason, it is better to omit it from this study in favor of more reliable material.
- 15.
Note that there are varying interpretations about the people cited in this inscription.
- 16.
Two other inscriptions refer to a “jing,” but neither seem to be directly related to this one. One of the other inscriptions is on the Jing fang ding (a fang ding is a bronze vessel with four sides) may be much earlier than the example and refers to “Jing” as a descendant of the Shang royal line. The other reference on the inscription about the minor official Jing (xiao chen Jing) on a gui (a bowl-shaped ritual vessel) is of doubtful authenticity.
- 17.
The left-hand element of the character includes a hand with an object on the thumb. It is one stroke different from the character guai.
- 18.
Author’s photograph. Note that the bow illustrated belonged to a non-Chinese culture, possibly Saka.
- 19.
This image is from the aforementioned Vessel of Chang Fu.
- 20.
The term yang, to be understood as “overshoots,” appears in the archery rituals described in the Yili: Da she li [Book of Etiquette and Rites: Great archery ritual]. The original Chinese text reads, 「大射正立於公後, 以矢行告於公。下曰畱, 上曰揚, 左右曰方。公既發, 大射正受弓而俟, 拾發以將乘矢。」See also https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=gb&id=54778.
- 21.
In early texts, the Chinese word yu, commonly translated as jade, appears to cover a wide variety of precious and semi-precious stones. In fact, thumb-rings were mostly made of agate, with quartz and white jade. Less common is turquoise and gold. As with rings from subsequent eras, such as the Qing dynasty, one cannot be of use whether the rings were intended for practical use of were symbolic. It seems that gold thumb-rings would be of limited practical use.
- 22.
“Sheyi” [Meaning of Archery], in Liji [Book of Rites], Chinese Text Project (online version): https://ctext.org/liji/she-yi/zh.
- 23.
The original quotation from the Virtuous Discussions from the White Tiger Hall (Baihutong delun) compiled by the early historian Ban Gu is: 「《禮》曰: …贄用雁者, 取其隨時南北, 不失其節, 明不奪女子之時也。又取飛成行, 止成列也, 明嫁娶之禮, 長幼有序, 不相逾越也。」
- 24.
The “notes” (ji) to the Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial provide some elaboration, but the dating of the “notes” is uncertain.
- 25.
“Bow with horns (Jiaogong)” in the Book of Songs and the “Bowyer (Gongren)" essay, Record of the Scrutiny of Crafts for the Winter Offices (Dongguan kao gong ji) in the Rites of Zhou.
- 26.
Zhou thumb-rings are frequently excavated, and most are small for modern hands.
- 27.
In the “Meaning of Archery” essay, it is explicitly stated that ritual archery does not involve a test of strength to pierce armor (she bu zhu pi, wei li bu tong ke 射不主皮, 為力不同科).
- 28.
See the “Arrow maker (Shiren)” essay, Record of the Scrutiny of Crafts for the Winter Offices in the Rites of Zhou.
- 29.
This image is from a late Eastern Zhou bronze vessel.
- 30.
Korean national archery seems to preserve this tradition.
- 31.
See the “Cabinet maker (Ziren)” essay, Record of the Scrutiny of Crafts for the Winter Offices in the Rites of Zhou. The original quote is: 「惟若寧侯。毋或若女不寧侯, 不屬于王所, 故抗而射女。強飲強食, 詒女曾孫諸侯百福。」About how and why cabinet makers made targets, see Wenren 2013, 89–91.
- 32.
Despite having examined large numbers of these thumb rings, I have never seen a paired set. I deduce that there was no particular requirement to shoot with the right hand.
- 33.
Image from XXX, www.baidu.baike.com.
- 34.
For further discussion of the equipment used in the archery rituals, see Selby 2000, 59–61.
- 35.
See the references section of this chapter for the URL.
- 36.
The relevant quotation from the “Rites of the District Archery Ritual” in the Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial is “The conductor faces east and commands the band-master, ‘Play Zouyu with regular beats.’” 「樂東面命大師, 曰: 奏《騶虞》, 閒若一。」
- 37.
The inconsistency of writing on Qin dynasty bronze weapons from the official armories suggests that his attempts were not entirely successful.
- 38.
Zhou li: Xiaguan sima 周禮·夏官司馬 [Rites of Zhou: Offices of Summer on the army], fascicle 7, accessed June 3, 2021, https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=55288. The original Chinese text reads, 「鼓戒三闋, 車三發」
- 39.
The original quotation from the “Interdictions and Encouragements” (Jinshi) section of the Book of Lord Shang (Shangjun shu) is: 「今夫騶虞, 以相監不可, 事合而利同者也。若使馬焉能言, 則騶虞無所逃其惡矣, 利異也。」
- 40.
The original quotation from the Mao Commentary (Maoshi guxun zhuan) is: 「騶虞, 義獸也, 白虎黑文, 不食生物, 有至信之德則應之。」
- 41.
The original quotation is: 「《狸首》者, 樂會時也。」
- 42.
Li was a form of wine flavored with turmeric (yujinxiang) which was drawn into the mouth and then spat out.
- 43.
Zhong means “to be at the center” as well as “to hit the center of a target.”.
- 44.
From the “District Counsellor (xiang dafu),” Local Officials (di guan) in the Rites of Zhou.
- 45.
As explained above, King Wen never actually ruled after the fall of the Shang.
- 46.
As illustrated in the extensive campaign recorded on the Duoyou Tripod (Duoyou ding).
- 47.
Detail of a design on a ritual vessel from Baihuatan, Sichuan, re-drawn by Li Xiating in Major and So 2000, 20 (Fig. 1.7).
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Selby, S. (2023). A Socio-political Study of the Chinese Archery Rituals of the Zhou Dynasty. 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_4
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