The origin of the bow and crossbow is not the Ming Dynasty, and the peak of its manufacturing skills is not in the Ming Dynasty, but the role of the bow and crossbow is maximized in the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty is in a period of war, in the war period weapons are artifacts, is the Ming Dynasty to guard the dynasty of weapons, in the use of crossbows, the Ming Dynasty on the basis of the original bow and crossbow, the transformation. In the Ming Dynasty, the bow and crossbow was used to protect the integrity of the country, protect the well-being of the people of the world, and protect them from the suffering of war, although the bow and crossbow was a representative of war in the Ming Dynasty, it was also a symbol of peace.
The development process of the bow and crossbow: The characteristics of the bow and crossbow in the Ming Dynasty are integrated into the characteristics of the bow and crossbow of each dynasty, and the function of the bow and crossbow is maximized in the improvement
The bow and crossbow was one of the indispensable weapons of various dynasties, and it was used to resist war, so the bow and crossbow occupied an important position in the dynasty. The bow and crossbow is one of the necessary weapons of the army, the long-range lethality of the bow and crossbow is extremely strong, the local cities and pools in the Ming Dynasty are mainly high walls, which are specially built to prevent the enemy's attack, and are also built to protect the safety of the people of the world, from the damage caused by the war, it can be described as easy to defend and difficult to attack, the walls of the city are very high, and the walls are also very thick, which increases the difficulty and increases the casualties for the expansion of the territory.
Bow in ancient times has appeared, mainly used for hunting, is the basis of survival, bow is also used in the war, at first the bow manufacturing technology is too simple, the lethality is also extremely weak, can not be used in the war, and later with the passage of the dynasty, the bow manufacturing technology continues to be exquisite, there are also a variety of bows, such as Kaiyuan bow, long bow, lattice bow. As early as the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, the bow was used in war, the lethality of the bow and crossbow in large-scale wars can reflect its advantages, in the "Record of Examination Workers" there are records of "bow people" and "Yaren", for the manufacture of crossbow materials and manufacturing techniques have strict requirements.
For the record of bows and crossbows, in the "WuBi Zhi" is particularly detailed, the Ming Dynasty in the army's weapons, in addition to the use of crossbows left over from the previous dynasty, there are several kinds of bows and crossbows such as the Ming Dynasty's self-made Xifan wooden bows, due to the increasing demand for bows and crossbows in the war, the form of the bow and crossbow has also changed, the two most representative crossbows of the Ming Dynasty are: double flying crossbows and nest crossbows, double flying crossbows are mainly used to guard the city, the lethality of the enemy army is the largest, is one of the indispensable weapons in war, Nest crossbow is mainly used to sneak attack the enemy army, to kill the other side by surprise, can also be used to prevent the enemy army, generally mainly used in the place where the army is stationed, more used to prevent the enemy army, in addition to these two crossbows, but also conducive to long-range shooting of the crossbow, there are also highly lethal crossbows.
In the development process of the crossbow, the Ming Dynasty crossbow can be said to be a combination of the characteristics of the bow and crossbow of various dynasties, optimized, in the appearance of the bow and crossbow has been transformed, but also on the basis of the original, improved, the role of the bow and crossbow to the maximum, but also for the Ming Dynasty in the war to reduce a lot of casualties, although the bow and crossbow is one of the scourges of war, but also a symbol of peace.
Firearms instead of crossbows? With the continuous development of the Ming Dynasty, the emergence of firearms, in the gradual formation of the position of replacing the bow and crossbow, and finally lost to the "characteristics" of the bow and crossbow
The Ming Dynasty in the cost of crossbow materials are different, what material to make what type of crossbow, in the army soldiers also according to the level of the position distribution of crossbows, but also according to the size of the enemy to distribute what lethal crossbow, are strict regulations, the manufacture of a large number of bows and crossbows is also a very time-consuming thing, there is no way to mass output, the drawbacks of bows and crossbows also gradually appeared, at this time the Ming Dynasty appeared firearms, simple manufacturing technology, simple manufacturing materials, so that the momentum of the development of firearms once overshadowed the momentum of the bow and crossbow , there is a phenomenon of replacement.
The fire attack situation mainly appeared in the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty was turbulent, in the face of the crisis, only to deal with, gunpowder has been indispensable in the war since ancient times, but the shortcomings of gunpowder are flammable and explosive, and it takes a lot of manpower and material resources to make it, its cost is also extremely high, the demand for the amount of gunpowder is large, in the face of a series of problems, the Ming Dynasty thought of using gunpowder in the bow and crossbow, combined with the bow and crossbow, to create greater power.
Fire attack in the war is the most common occurrence, but also the army strictly guarded, the limitation of fire attack is that a short distance can be, but the distance is not feasible, so the Ming Dynasty lit the fire on the crossbow, the use of the crossbow long-distance shooting ability, break the enemy's defense, in order to achieve victory. Gunpowder weapons are made differently, and the difficulty of making crossbows is not great.
Firearms and crossbows were common in the wars of the Ming Dynasty, and they were indispensable weapons, but how to distinguish the status of the two in weapons? The Ming Dynasty adopted the simplest method, that is, combination, the characteristics of the bow and crossbow are long-range attacks, which can disrupt the deployment of the enemy army and reduce the casualties of the army, and the characteristics of firearms are close attacks, in close attacks, firearms can play a huge role in helping the army to win victories in short-distance wars. The combination of the two is that the Ming Dynasty maximized the value of weapon force in the war and helped the army to win the victory.
In fact, weapons are necessary in war, but it is people who can maximize the value of force, and without the appreciation of Bole, even the best weapons are just weapons.
What contributions did the crossbow make to the taiping of the Ming Dynasty, and what position did it occupy?
The most important weapon of the soldier family, everyone is proud of having a bow and crossbow, the bow and crossbow can open up the territory and expand the territory and defend the country, but also improve the life of the peasants at that time, because of the prevalence of the bow and crossbow, led to the development of the hunting industry at that time, hunting has become one of the activities of some officials' children. During the Taiping Period, the Ming Dynasty had strict requirements for its people, in addition to piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, there were also requirements in riding and shooting, to be familiar with the art of war, to understand the art of riding and shooting.
The so-called world peace, prosperity and prosperity, guotai min'an, but there is a strong military force and economic strength behind the support, the Ming Emperor knows that the heavens are not easy, want to defend the world, to protect the world's people from the pain of war, only to build the army, the Ming Dynasty is also a dynasty that advocates force, in the royal nobility, the education of children is particularly important, especially in terms of riding and shooting, there is a special Mr. to teach, there is no distinction between men and women, as long as there is a family with a strong family background, The teaching of his children is not limited to piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and he has made great achievements in riding and shooting.
Bows and crossbows occupy an irreplaceable position in the wars of the Ming Dynasty, the elite soldiers who are honed on the battlefield, weapons are the foundation of a strong army building, in peacetime, weapons are used to protect the well-being of the people, is the basis for the people to live a good life, so the Ming Dynasty paid so much attention to the bow and crossbow, spent a lot of energy to study the manufacturing skills of the bow and crossbow, and strive for excellence.
Just to let the minority nationalities see that the ming dynasty's strong strength, in the combat effectiveness of the army, the Ming Dynasty did a good job of controlling the use of people and people's hearts, the use of people is very bold, attaches importance to talent, as long as there is a real ability, regardless of origin, as long as you want to defend the family and defend the country, you can join the army, especially in the selection of soldiers and training the army, the Ming Dynasty required the army to do day after day training, there must be no slackness, can not hold a fluke mentality.
"The horse crossbow shoots two hundred steps, the arm crossbow shoots three hundred steps, and the winch crossbow shoots seven hundred steps"
- "General Code"
The heyday of the development of the crossbow was during the peaceful years of the Ming Dynasty, in the face of the world's peace, the rulers of the Ming Dynasty did not slacken off, and the importance of the bow and crossbow was more than all. The Ming Dynasty experienced eight years of war, during which how many casualties were exchanged for the current prosperity of the world, and it was also a wake-up call for successive rulers and future rulers, so that they must have a sense of distress at any time, not covet pleasure, and must not forget the cruel scene of war.
The rulers of the Ming Dynasty had a very sense of distress, which proved the status of the bow and crossbow in the Ming Dynasty, and also proved the strength of the Ming Dynasty, and the prosperity and strength of the Ming Dynasty were justified. The children of the royal nobility are good at riding and shooting, advocating force is a major feature of the development of the Ming Dynasty, just like the combination of bows and crossbows and firearms, combining two extremely powerful weapons together to make them exert greater power, while the Ming rulers combined young children and force, so that they slowly fused together to defend the Ming Dynasty.
The war caused by the crossbow is also ended by the crossbow, but the characteristics of the crossbow are not ended by the end of the war, and the lessons learned are recorded and passed on to the people, which is a protection of culture and one of the decisions of the ruler to rule the world.
From the original basis of survival to the weapon of protecting the integrity of the country, the development of the crossbow has been thousands of years, and the characteristics of the crossbow have changed with the transformation of the times, but in essence, they are all about protecting the homeland and are a symbol of peace. The rulers of the Ming Dynasty have been making bows and crossbows during the years of peace, not to compete for the land of his dynasty and fulfill their desire to unify the world, but to protect the people of Dawn and let them be free from the harm caused by war forever. Under the symbol of peace of the bow and crossbow, the development of the bow and crossbow is also the development of the Ming Dynasty, which is the product of the background of the times.
bibliography:
《Examination Skills》
History of the Ming Dynasty
"Wu Bi Zhi"