The Crossbow In Ancient China

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The crossbow was invented in Ancient China during the Zhou dynasty, around the year 700 BC. A Chinese text, from about 200 BC, gives credit to a Mr. Ch'in of Ch'u for inventing the crossbow. It consisted of a horizontally mounted bow, with a stock and trigger mechanism added. The crossbow is derived from the horizontally mounted bow-trap used by other civilizations around the same time. They had a range of up to 650 feet. The crossbow had a firing mechanism, which was so complicated that it would have been nearly impossible for an enemy to understand how it worked, thus reducing the chance that the crossbow could be copied by hostile civilizations. The crossbow was not invented as an instrument of war, but as a peacemaking device. It was invented

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