Chinese crossbow
| Chinese crossbow | |
|---|---|
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| Information | |
| Weapon type: | Bow weapon, crossbow |
| Designations: | Chinese crossbow, Chinese Crossbow |
| Region of origin / author: |
China , gunsmiths |
| Distribution: | China |
| Lists on the subject | |
A Chinese crossbow is a crossbow made in China.
description
A Chinese crossbow is made of wood, horn and bronze parts. It has a long tradition in China and was used as early as the Warring States Period , around 475 BC . It is usually designed differently than the European crossbows. The crossbow does not have a stock , but only a handle that sits near the trigger , similar to a modern pistol grip . The bow is made of wood or horn, the shaft of wood. The special feature of this crossbow is the trigger mechanism, which is made of bronze and was already mass- produced at the time of the Qin Dynasty (221 BC - 207 BC) . It consists of four individual parts, was manufactured extremely precisely, could be taken into the field by the troops as a spare part and easily replaced if necessary.
The lock is simple but effective. The series production allowed the military leadership to equip large armies quickly. The penetration power of these crossbows was not as high as their European counterparts, but the amount of weapons used made up for this disadvantage. In order to increase the effectiveness of the projectiles, the tips were often prepared with poison .
literature
- Henry Hodges: Technology in the ancient world. Barnes & Noble Publishing, 1992, p. 265, ISBN 978-0-88029-893-3
- Joseph Needham, Krzysztof Gawlikowski: Military technology: missiles and sieges . Cambridge University Press, 1994, ISBN 978-0-521-32727-5
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Grant Hardy, Anne Behnke Kinney: The establishment of the Han empire and imperial China-Greenwood guides to historic events of the ancient world . Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005, p. 61, ISBN 978-0-313-32588-5
- ^ Ralph Payne-Gallwey: The Crossbow: Its Military and Sporting History, Construction and Use . Skyhorse Publishing Inc., 2007, p. 237, ISBN 978-1-60239-010-2