What does "a bow with two stones" mean?

It takes two stones to pull apart, which is an ancient way to measure the hardness of a bow, and it is also used to show that someone has extraordinary power.

Han Dynasty: At that time, one stone was equal to four Jun, one Jun was equal to four Jin, and the second stone bow was a bow of 32 Jin.

Why did ancient people like to use bows and arrows?

bow and arrow

Bow and arrow is a long-range weapon with sharp edges, which was fired with a bow in ancient times. Bow consists of elastic bow arm and flexible bow string. Arrows include arrows, shafts and feathers. The arrow is made of copper or iron, the shaft is made of bamboo or wood, and the feathers are carved or eagle feathers. Bow and arrow is one of the important weapons used by China's ancient army. The invention of bow and arrow is a great progress in human technology, which shows that people have learned to use the energy stored by machinery.

Historical development?

In the era of cold weapons, bows and arrows are the most terrible and deadly weapons. The appearance of bows and arrows may date back to distant mythological times. The legend that Hou Yi shot nine obsidians has always been very popular, which is also the most effective advertisement about the power of bows and arrows-a demigod hero actually shot nine of the ten suns in the sky! ?

bow and arrow

The prototype of the word "bow" in Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty is obviously an image of "anti-bow". It is concluded directly from this that this is a compound bow. Compound bow increases strength while keeping the bow short, but in a narrow environment, such as a carriage or horseback, the bow must be short. Ge is also a special weapon used in carriages.

Another example is the "deflection bow" in the Book of Songs. This poem may have been written in the early Eastern Zhou Dynasty. The poem not only explicitly mentions the angle bow, but also mentions the characteristics of the anti-bow. It is extremely complicated to make the angle bow, but it is not superior to the ordinary wooden bow in launching power, and the angle bow just takes up less space. You need such a bow on horseback or in a carriage. The conclusion is that the aristocratic tradition of battlefield shooting in Shang and Zhou dynasties is closely related to the technology of driving a carriage. The use of high-tech bows and arrows in fixed chariots can only be afforded by wealthy nobles.

It is difficult to verify the development of bow-making industry in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Although the development and application of crossbows are clear, it is difficult to verify the nature and development of the Eastern Zhou bow. Archaeological excavation unearthed a horn bow, but it was too missing to piece together the prototype. Although there are many comments on Chu bows in historical documents, the unearthed cultural relics show that they are only painted wooden long bows or bows made of bamboo sticks. Many unearthed cultural relics clearly prove that the Scythians or legendary bows are very popular in the northern and eastern borders of China. The pattern on the ritual vessels of the Western Zhou Dynasty shows that many infantry shoot arrows in a standing position with swords and short bows, and the arrows to be used are all pointing downwards and inserted into the surrounding ground. At the same time, China people quickly learned riding and shooting techniques from their northern neighbors, and retaining the anti-angle bow is beneficial to riding and shooting.

The patterns of Han dynasty still reflect the scenes of riding and shooting and using crossbows. However, according to the exquisite unearthed bows in Kohotan area and the area near Loulan, it can be found that a different style of bow was introduced in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and early Western Jin Dynasty. This kind of bow has a unique design, which is especially suitable for use on horseback, especially when the two armies are fighting fiercely, because more riding and shooting techniques cannot be used at this time.

Bow opening pattern: bow opening without bow on the left, small bow in the middle and double wooden bow on the right.

From the Tang Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, there was a record of using crossbowmen in a row. The crossbowman is divided into three rows, shooting in the front row, preparing in the middle row and shooting in the back row. In the mechanical device diagram of the Tang Dynasty crossbow unearthed, there are images of westerners bowing down, indicating that the crossbow was used by the west to deal with Turks. During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, it was not the Mongolian bow that was widely used, but the Turkic bow. The Turks used this bow and arrow against the Palestinian crusaders. It is said that this is the result of the Mongols hiring a large number of Turkish mercenaries. In the works of Li Chengfen and Gao Ying in the Ming Dynasty, we can also find the technology mentioned in the documents of European Arabic guards in the14th century, and even find that they quoted the words in the documents sentence by sentence. The Ming army preferred to use light armour and light cavalry, emphasizing speed and taking arrows quickly in gallop.

Then he issued an order to all people: "When you see what I shoot with a cymbal, you can shoot arrows together. If you don't violate the law, smash it! " Since then, modu chanyu often leads troops out hunting. As soon as he rings the cymbal, all the troops will gather together, and if there is a slight delay, they will be killed by the sword. They are too scared to neglect. One day, modu chanyu took out his beloved good horse and killed it with a gong. His men are also vying for it. Seeing it in a rash way, I smiled and rewarded it again and again. However, Morton was not satisfied with this. He shot his beloved wife and the good horse of King Tou Man with a cymbal. All the people heard the sound of the fire, and those who hesitated a little died immediately. From then on, as long as the cymbals rang, all the arrows flew, and no one dared to violate them. Modu chanyu thinks the time is ripe. On this day, he invited the king to go hunting together, followed his horse and shot at Tou Man with a gong. All people shoot with the same sound. Tou Man, the king of Xiongnu, died under the disorderly arrows, and he killed his father and became king. "Gong Ming" in Ming and Qing Dynasties is a small whistle made of bones or horns on the arrow. The development of arrows is developed with the continuous improvement of crossbows. The appearance of strong bow and crossbow requires the arrow to have good penetrating power, so the requirements for the arrow are also constantly improving.