Ancient Chinese Warfare (88 page)

35
Even though China has a lengthy tradition of employing masks in theater and street display, bronze face masks seem to have been extremely rare in antiquity, as well as virtually unknown in pre-imperial written materials. (The
Chung-kuo Ku-tai Ping-ch’i T’u-chi
[38] has a photo of a round bronze plate in the shape of a human face with large eye holes that was intended as a shield decoration, and a picture of a rare bronze face mask similarly characterized by large eyeholes appears on 41.)

1
Various dates have been given for the earliest Chinese arrowhead discovered at Shuo-hsien in Shanxi, including Yang Hung’s 28,945 BP (1985, 190, based on Chia Lan-p’o KKHP 1972:1, 39-58) and subsequent radiocarbon dating (SHYCS Yen-shih, KK 1997:3).

2
Two important reports among the many that have described ancient finds are Wang Chien et al., KKHP, 1978:3, which discusses black flint arrowheads from a site dated roughly to 23,900- 16,400 BP, and Hsi K’o-ting, KK 1994:8, 702-709, which reports on a Paleolithic site dated to 18,000-12,000 BP.

3
For example, see K.C. Chang,
Archaeology of Ancient China,
93, for a summary of P’ei-li-kang sites dating to about 6,500 to 5,000 BCE where, despite extensive agricultural development and the raising of domesticated animals, bone arrowheads and spearheads show that hunting was still important.

4
One Ma-chia-pang site in northern Zhejiang dated to 5,000 BCE contains seven wooden arrowheads as well as others fabricated from bone and antlers (Chang,
Archaeology of Ancient China
, 201).

5
Rather than a surpassing effort to save civilization from some sort of environmental disaster, this legend is interpreted as a vestigial memory of the Yi people having vanquished nine enemy tribes. (The character for Yi depicts a man bearing a bow on his back, suggesting that they were particularly distinguished for their archery skills.)

6
See, for example, Jim Bradbury,
The Medieval Archer
, especially chapters 1 and 9.

7
“Chou Pen-chi,”
Shih Chi
. He similarly shot Chou’s two concubines with three arrows each.

8
See Yang K’uan,
Hsi Chou Shih
, 1999, 701-704.

9
“She Yi,”
Li Chi
, translated by James Legge, 448, used here because of the sonorous quality of his translations of the ritual writings. (A late Warring States compilation, the
Li Chi
heavily reflects Confucian theory and idealizations. Although an unreliable guide to historical practice, the contents reveal archery’s deep psycho-emotional importance.)

10
Li Hsüeh-ch’in, WW 1998:11, 67-70. (Others attribute the vessel to King Mu’s reign.)

11
Huang Jan-wei, 1995, 189-191. Although generally awarded in combination, bows and arrows were also granted separately.

12
Tso Chuan,
Duke Wen, fourth year.

13
Tso Chuan,
Duke Hsiang, eighth year.

14
Tso Chuan,
Duke Ting, eighth year.

15
Tso Chuan,
Duke Chao, first year.

16
Tso Chuan,
Duke Chao, twenty-fifth year.

17
The issue, first raised by Kelly DeVries (1997, 454-470), prompted a rebuttal by Cliff Rogers (1998, 233-242), who cited extensive evidence of knights and other armored soldiers having been slain by arrows in the medieval period. (For further discussion of the bow’s efficacy see, for example, Jim Bradbury,
The Medieval Archer
, and Robert Drews,
The Coming of the Greeks,
especially 113-129.)

18
If 8 inches are taken as the equivalent of one Chou foot, based on the average bow size of 6 feet 3 Chou inches (per the
K’ao-kung Chi
), the range (computed at 50 modern inches for a bow) would have been slightly less than 210 feet. In comparison, the great archery competition at Sanjusangendo in Kyoto took place on the great wooden temple’s verandah over a total distance of some 375 feet. Because the overhanging roof precluded arcing the shot more than about 15 degrees, great initial velocity and thus a very powerful bow were required. However, because the archers shot all day and the victor’s hits numbered in the thousands, it was also a test of endurance.

19
At 50 paces the large center square probably reached one
chang
or 10 Chinese feet per side or roughly 80 inches. (Based on a range of fifty bow lengths and a bow length of 6 feet, Steele,
Yi Li
, 120, concludes the range was 300 Chou feet and the complete target an enormous 40 Chou feet in width. Some commentators, including the compilers of the
K’ao-kung Chi
, believe the target’s shape approximated that of a man with his arms and feet stretched out and was therefore 8 feet at the top and 6 feet at the bottom, but this seems unlikely in a strongly Confucianized ritual competition.)

20
“What can kill men beyond a hundred paces are bows and arrows.” (“Discussion of Regulations,” in the
Wei Liao-tzu,
a Warring States work.) Throughout Chinese history bows with a maximum effective range of just 100 paces were considered inferior. (Note “Ch’i-hsieh” in the
Wu-pei Chih
.)

21
See Wang Ching-fu,
K’ung Meng Yüeh-k’an
23: 4 (1984): 56.

22
In another display of power and accuracy, while hunting the king killed a “rhinocerous”—probably some sort of wild buffalo—that attacked his chariot with one shot (“Ch’i-yü, 1,”
Kuo-yü
).

23
Duke Ai, second year.

24
Duke Ch’eng, sixteenth year.

25
The archer had even had a prophetic dream about the incident and his own dire fate. Eye wounds seem to have been fairly common. (See, for example,
Tso Chuan
, Duke Chao, fifth year.)

26
Duke Hsüan, fourth year.

27
Duke Ch’eng, sixteenth year. (Although the incident may be a later fabrication inserted by antiwar editors during the
Tso Chuan
’s compilation, it may well reflect prebattle bow tests. It is also recounted in the
Lieh-nü Chuan
, showing that it struck the imagination.)

28
Duke Hsiang, eighteenth year.

29
Duke Ai, fourth year.

30
For example, see Duke Chao, twenty-eighth year, and Duke Ai, sixteenth year.

31
For example, in the “Hsi Chou” section of the
Chan-kuo Ts’e
it is pointed out to an archer who successively hit a willow leaf at a hundred paces that his achievement stems from combining strength and concentration, so if either fails his accomplishments will be dashed. (This insight would subsequently be adapted as a Taoist-flavored persuasion on true skill and not being skillful.)

32
Noticeable in the “Ch’i-yü” section of the
Chan-kuo Ts’e
.

33
Consecutive queries during Wu Ting’s era ask whether an ancestor of the Chü clan or if another man named Pi should be ordered to instruct 300 archers (HJ5772; for further discussion see Ho Ching-ch’eng, KK 2008:11, 54-70).

34
“Determining Rank.”

35
“Encouraging the Army,”
Liu-t’ao
.

36
“Tactical Balance of Power in Defense,”
Wei Liao-tzu
.

37
“Controlling the Army.”

38
“Martial Cavalry Warriors,”
Liu-t’ao
.

39
“Preparation of Strategic Power,”
Sun Pin Military Methods
. When China developed the crossbow in the Warring States period, it immediately gained a decided, if temporary, advantage in range over mounted steppe peoples even though the crossbow had a much slower rate of fire.

40
The most important include Shih Chang-ju’s pioneering reconstruction of Shang bows and arrows in “Hsiao-tun Yin-tai te Ch’eng-t’ao Ping-ch’i”; Yang Hung’s “Kung ho Nu” (1985), especially 190-206; and
Military Technology: Missiles and Sieges
, 101-119. Unfortunately, dramatically in contrast to the masterful section on the crossbow, the discussion is surprisingly cursory.

41
The
K’ao-kung Chi
, an enigmatic work filled with archaic terms but often cited in technological histories and increasingly deemed well founded and informative (Kao Chih-hsi, WW 1964:6, 44), is thought to be a second-century BCE compilation. (Although it concisely ponders the issues and techniques of bow and arrow making, as a seventeenth-century BCE effort the
T’ien-kung K’ai-wu
is of limited use for the Shang.) A number of Western works on traditional bow and arrow making are also useful, including Flemming Arlune’s
Bow Builder’s Book
and Tim Baker’s
Traditional Bowyer’s Bible
.

42
See Shih Chang-ju, BIHP 22 (1950): 33-35. (Shih’s analysis of the characters for bow and shooting, his reconstruction of the bow’s shape and dimensions, and other fundamental conclusions have become so generally accepted that their tentative basis has largely been forgotten.)

43
Shih Chang-ju, 35.

44
Shih Chang-ju, 35. Based on proportions shown in oracular and bronze inscriptions, Shih Chang-ju reached this conclusion in his 1950 article. Nevertheless,
K’ao-kung Chi
materials apparently confirm his conclusions, however imaginatively based, and early Western bows had similar dimensions.

45
Shih Chang-ju, 35.

46
“Ta Lüeh,”
Hsün-tzu
.

47
Commenting on these bows, the
Chih
notes that although the names might have been different, the bows were actually the same.

48
These gradations refer to martial capabilities rather than rank.

49
“Ch’i-hsieh, 1,”
Chih
.

50
See, for example, Yang Hung’s overview in “Kung ho Nu,” 1985, 203-206.

51
Translation of these wood species follows
Military Technology
, 110.

52
China has well over 200 species of bamboo, ranging from 6-inch grasses to monstrous eighty-foot culms with 8-inch diameters, many of which provide materials suitable for applications as diverse as weaving and timbering. Larger species such as
Meng-chung
can be split into resilient laminates nearly 0.5 inch thick and 1.5 inches wide that have high tensile strength and well resist fracturing and chipping. (The World War II production facilities at Ch’eng-tu were still using bamboo cores for their compound bows.)

53
As pointed out in
Military Technology
, 111-112.

54
The
T’ian-kung K’ai-wu
similarly emphasizes seasonality in making bows and weapons.

55
The relative strength and flex of the arms had to be adjusted. (However, it is said that the upper limb of a bow should be slightly stronger than the lower one so that it will lift the arrow upon release. [See Alrune, “Bows and Arrows 6000 Years Ago,” 18, or Jorge Zschieschang, “A Simple Bow,” 39-45.])

56
Alrune,
Bow Builder’s Book
, 18; Zschieschang, 39-45.

57
A scientific study of the tensile and sheering strength of the various materials in archery application, as well as the impact of seasonal specificity, is still awaited.

58
T’an Tan-chiung’s study, BIHP 23 (1951): 199-243, of essentially the last traditional bow shop in 1942, preserves valuable information on how the materials were selected, processed, and assembled. It also describes the steps involved in arrow fabrication and adds a short note on shooting techniques, numerous useful diagrams, and a table of terminology. Traditional European bow makers similarly advise cutting the timber between late November and mid February, even coordinating with the waning phases of the moon when “the wood is drier and more resistant” (Konrad Vögele, “Woods for Bow Building,” 102). Natural drying can take up to three years, showing that early Chinese methods were neither extreme nor unfounded.

59
“Ch’i-hsieh, 1,”
Wu-pei Chih
.

60
The episode is found in the records for both Chao and Wei in the
Chan-kuo Ts’e
, as well as in various forms in the
Shih Chi
(“Han, Chao, and Wei
Shih-chia”
), the
Huai-nan Tzu
(“Chien Hsün”),
Shuo Yüan
(“Ch’üan Mou”), and other parts of the
Han Fei-tzu
(“Shuo Lin, Shang” and “Nan San”). However, the two main versions appear in the
Chan-kuo Ts’e
, right at the beginning of the “Ch’ao Ts’e,” and in the
Han Fei-tzu
as part of the “Shih Kuo” or “Ten Excesses” chapter. It ranks among the most famous Warring States stories, well-known throughout the centuries, and has been translated by Burton Watson (“The Ten Faults,”
Han Fei-tzu Basic Writings
, 56- 62) and J. I. Crump (
Chan-kuo Ts’e
, #229 and #230, 278-283.)

61
Jürgen Junkmanns, “Prehistoric Arrows,” 58.

62
For a useful discussion of parameters and practice, see Wulf Hein, “Shaft Material: Wayfaringtree Viburnum,” 75-80.

63
Although cracking and crazing are less of a problem for small-diameter bamboos that can be employed as simple shafts, drying methods for bamboo tend to be relatively complex and time-consuming. The high sugar content attracts insects and sustains bacterial growth,
while the culms have a tendency to split if the moisture content is reduced too quickly, particularly in the timber bamboos.

64
Shih Chang-ju, BIHP 22 (1950): 45.

65
Calculated by Shih Chang-ju and reported in his “Hsiao-t’un Yin-tai te Ch’eng-t’ao Pingch’i.” Early Western arrows were frequently this length and had a maximum diameter of about 0.9 cm.

66
For a discussion see Flemming Alrune, “Bows and Arrows 6000 Years Ago,” 30-32.