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Use of the crossbow by China in wars
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The crossbow was invented around the year 700 bc. The crossbow was introduced into during the (481-221 BCE). Developing over the centuries into a more powerful and accurate weapon, the crossbow also came in versions light enough to be fired with one hand, some could fire multiple arrows, and there evolved a heavier artillery model which could be mounted on a rotating and movable base. The crossbow was a major factor in the success of the Chinese states against foreign armies and in establishing the dominance of the and Sung empires, in particular. Crossbows were in use in China by the fifth century BCE and quickly became an important element in the warfare of the Warring States period. Where other bows rely on the strength of the archer, the …show more content…
The Qiang class of spears were believed to have evolved from the prehistoric spear that was known as the Mao. The common Qiang could be described as a spear that had a long staff, and had a steel, iron, or bronze mounted tip.Usage by the Chinese Army The Mao was a weapon that was used since prehistoric times. It was upgraded, according to the need into many types of Qiang class spears during the Shang Dynasty (17th century BC – 11th century BC). At that time the Qiang had a bronze tip. By the end of the Zhou Dynasty of Eastern China (770 BC – 256 BC), it was replaced with a steel tip. This weapon was so effective that by the end of the Western Han Dynasty the Qiang had replaced the Chinese halberd known as the ji. The Qiang was used by the Chinese army for long distance combat that involved throwing these spears and firearms were introduced by the Qin Dynasty. In ancient China the Dao was one of the most widely used weapons. Dao was a term that referred to any kind of long weapon. The Dao could be classified into many different weapons. A common Dao appeared like a short spear that was used in hand-to-hand combat and was not thrown at the opponent like a normal
The Met museum said that the most popular used weapons were “spear, sword, axe, and the bow and arrow.” These weapons and tactics of fighting then became the backbone of weapons today, such as guns. Spears, bows and arrows allow knights to fight from a distance, such as hand grenades and guns used in today’s military.
Long distance weapons were essential to European combat. The main long distance weapons used by Europeans during that time were the longbow and the crossbow. Each form of weaponry had its unique advantages and their pejorative. The long bow (shown in figure 1) was the original form of distance weapons. The term ‘bow’ means to be made from wood, iron or steel. The Welsh, who inhabited England, were the first people to use longbows. Longbows were 6-7 feet long and had a range of 250 yards, and still had the ability to pierce a knight’s armor (Byam 12). A well trained archer could shot 10- 12 arrows in a single minute. Despite these pro’s the longbow had a lot of disadvantages as well. One draw back was only skilled archers, who were costly to train, could use a longbow. Another disadvantage was it didn’t have a ready loaded arrow (Edge 34). The crossbow (shown in figure 2) on the other had been emphatically different. The crossbow had a span of 2-3 feet and could kill a knight on horseback with one shot, because of good aim (Byam 30). Crossbows had ready loaded projectiles, while the longbow didn’t and the crossbow could be used by anyone since it didn’t require any skill. The crossbow did have a down side though, it had slow reloaded because of a crank and it was expensive. Crossbows were also used for other thi...
At the time when humans were learning to use spears constructed out of sticks and stones and the
The earliest model was the trebuchet. It started by using a large weight on one end of a pivoting arm. The arm was pulled back the missile was placed and then let go. The weight went down, the arm went, and the missile launched. The later model gained its power from a tightly wound skein of rope, hair, and skin. the skeins were twisted incredibly tight and then had a wooden arm up to sixty feet long placed in between them. The arm was pulled back using pulleys and rope, the missile was placed in the wood cup and then the arm was released. The arm sprang to a 90 degree angle where it was stopped by a large padded piece of wood. The arm was then brought back down and fired again.
The samurai were the warriors for the shogun in the feudal times of Japan. The samurai were one of the highest ranked class. The samurai’s from Japan used a variety of weapons. Some were quite different in design and size and some were very similar. The variety of weapons had a variety of purposes. Most people know of the samurai sword and the shuriken or more commonly known as the ninja or throwing star. What most people don’t know is that there were a lot more then just those weapons. Some of those being the Naginata, Tetsubo and the Kunai Knife.The Samurai
and pulleys to bend the bow's limbs, which are usually much stiffer than those of
Chang, Kwang-chih 1968 The Archeology of Ancient China Yale University Press, New Haven & London
The crossbow is a weapon of antiquity. There is plausible evidence that the Chinese developed the weapon as early as 1500 BC Surviving examples exist in China from as far back as the third century BC These Han dynasty relics display a great deal of sophistication. The lock (chi) is comprised of a cast bronze box which holds a rotating nut and a two-lever seer and trigger that locks the release in a set position. Roman soldiers captured and ransomed in Sogdiana in central Asia in the first decades of modern reckoning are credited with bringing the technology of the crossbow to the West.
Crossbows are a highly effective weapon for hunting and war even in today's standards. The first records of crossbows are from China in the 6th century BC. The knowledge then spreads slowly to the west into Europe during the time of the Roman Empire, the greatest empire of all times. The crossbow remained the favored weapon of war and hunting in Rome until the 15th century when gunpowder was also introduced from China.
With the creation of gun powder the Chinese were anxious to use this, in order to do that they needed something to be created so they made the fire lance it was a small cannon on a stick several feet long this is the earliest firearm ever discovered it is thought to be from the late 12th century. This was more of an addition to the soldiers spear than a gun it was not until later that the first hand cannon was made unlike the fire lance this was a weapon of its own and could shoot almost anything that the soldier could jam in the barrel that they could find on the battlefield. Both of these were fired...
For using in siege warfare, people believe that catapult history began probably in the 300s AD.
The Erhu instrument is under the "huqin" family together with gaohu, zhonghu, sihu, etc. The name huqin was first commented in the Song dynasty (960-1279). Earlier on, the remark to ji qin first appeared in the Tang dynasty (618-907). Ji Kang (223-263), a well-known literati musician, was aspected as its maker. Later, the remark to xi qin, named after a northern nomadic tribe Xi, first came in Song dynasty (960-1279). These two instruments were both first described as plucked string instruments, and later as having two strings and being played by pressuring the strings with a strip of bamboo, suggesting that the earliest Chinese bowed instruments were derived from plucked stringed instruments. These various instruments were perhaps assimilated over a long historical period. Ultimately in the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), under the Mongolian's law, both the sketch of huqin in
Bow and arrow improved this long-distance effect, have mechanized it and made it more efficient. Now, the extended arm could reach farther and the distance to the target became larger and more secure. From the beginning, man has used this weapon not only for hunting, but also for armed conflict, murder and raids.
A weapon, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is defined as “a thing designed or used to inflict bodily harm or physical damage”. Due to the fact that humans have always fought and killed each other, it is hard to determine an exact time in which weapons were first used, but according to ancient cave paintings dating back from 10,000 to 5,000 BC weapons such as bows were used. Over centuries weapons steadily advanced until the 16th century when guns were invented. In the beginning of the 19th century, a man by the name of Sir William Congreve engineered the first rocket used in warfare. The rocket was not a very good one, it lacked accuracy, but because of a need to have the best and most powerful weapon, improvements and other designs were created which lead to the first super weapons being built.