The Origins of Mechanized Ranged Combat:The Development of the Chinese Crossbow

2. Historically China has had many factors which have driven
innovation and invention, of which perhaps one of the greatest
forces has been that of the ever present need for new military
technological. To this end, what may have had its humble
origins as a strung and unattended bow used as an animal trap,
went on to became one of China’s most devastating long range
weapons. It is this weapon technology, that of the crossbow and
its advancements, that may have given rise to countless other
technologies in its wake. Where it not for the strides made in
ranged warfare other aspects of Chinese civilization may not
have developed as they did.

5. One of the first advantages to be realized through the use of
crossbows during the Eastern Zhou period was as an effective
means of turning a peasant militia into an effective ranged unit.
With the bow string held in place by the mechanism and stock,
farmers could be made into useful archers with little training.
There was some trade off in terms of draw control and reload
time, but this was made up for in accuracy and simplicity of use.

6. Another advantage to the use of crossbows, over that of normal
bows, came about thorough the discovery of new ways of
handling the stringing of the bow and projectile delivery of the
crossbows. These advancements occurred in several forms as
follows.
 Scaling up of the technology
 Increased complexity of the technology
 Refinement of the primary principles and mechanics related
to the production and use of the technology

7. The Mohist version of the
crossbow, descried by Mozi
to have been used during the
middle Spring and Autumn
period, appears to have been
an oversized version of the
standard hand held crossbow
that may have used a crank
system to pull the enormous
draw of the weapon back, as
opposed to the hand drawing
used on smaller crossbows.

8. The Lian Nu may have
been developed during the
Spring and Autumn period
but came into use during
the Warring States period
continued advancement by
using multiple projectiles
which rode on groves set in
the stock or track. This
increased the number of
projectiles, but at a cost of
reducing their power on
hand held crossbows.

9. The Zhuge Nu, which was
most likely invented during
the late Spring and Autumn
period, increased the number
of projectiles that could be
launched from crossbows by
means of an auto loading
magazine that did not reduce
firepower. Some models later
used both multiplier methods
for devastatingly dense, yet
under powered, close range
barrages.

10. Rapid Fire Mechanism

11. The Chuangzi Nu, created during the
Warring States period brought about
the final major evolution of crossbow
technology by means of allowing for
multiple bows to be strung in such a
way as too multiply its power and
range. The increase in power made it
an armor piercing weapon at short
range, while the increased range
allowed for it to be used effectively
at incredible long distances to fire at
unarmored targets.

12. One hypothetical, yet highly plausible outcome of the creation of
Chinese crossbows can be found in the design of modern weapons.
Though many possible factors come into play, it is highly unlikely
that the shape of pistols, rifles, and missile barrage trucks do not
reflect some influence based on the thousands of years these types
of weapons existed prior to gunpowder, in the form of kinetic
energy transfer via a Crossbow and its release mechanism.
Additionally, the concept of modular units for weapon repairs is a
legacy that is still being improved on today in such forms as quick
replace modular units in military vehicles and structures.

13. During China’s evolution of ancient military technology, the
crossbow may have brought about more than the ability to
attack foes at greater distances or with less skilled combatants.
In reality there may exist a number of other advances to
Chinese culture that can be directly linked to the increasing
demands for crossbows and the technology that went into their
production and use. Such examples include the following.
 Concept of mass production
 Refinement of metallurgy specific to mechanics
 Increase understanding of gear mechanics

14. Originally, the production of bronze mechanism that allowed
for the operation of the crossbow was handled by skilled
craftsman whose job it was to produce each individual
mechanism for a crossbow. This process soon gave way to what
is perhaps the first example of mass production, line
assembly, and modular application of a mechanized weapon
design in history. By means of producing completely self
contained trigger and release mechanisms, the Chinese where
able to assemble parts from mass produced molds that could be
plugged directly into stocks and secured by two bolts. This
process also allowed for quick and easy replacement of broken
units or removing the units for transport as an added security to
prevent them from falling into enemy hands.

15. Example Trigger Housings

16. Though Chinese metallurgy would have advanced regardless of the
invention of the crossbows, it would seem unlikely to consider that
it would have progressed at the same pace. One reason for this
would be that even though arrow heads where being produced in
the millions, the creation of peasant militias equipped with the new
ranged weapons would have facilitated the need to make these bolt
tips faster and easier to met the demands of the millions more that
would be used. This demand would have spurred the use of sets of
multi pour molds to make the heads of the bolts without shaping,
while also increasing the demand for metals that where easier to
produce yet sufficiently strong. This may have strengthened the
adoption of iron as a the new metal for military purposes.

17. One of the greatest inventions of the Chinese culture was that of the
mechanical clock. Yet little is said of the knowledge that must have
already been possessed to make such a device. Even though knowledge
of the gear, such as those used in a crank mechanism where known to
the Chinese prior to crossbows, the constant refinement of triggers,
levers, and cranks for the purpose of making crossbows faster, easier,
and more powerful would have advanced this technology along at a
greater pace as well. For example, the Crossbow guilds of the Tang
dynasty did not exist merely as a meeting place for those that liked to
used crossbows, but as a place of knowledge and study in the art of
crossbow manufacture and its related mechanics.

18. As many advances in technology throughout history have
resulted in civil and military applications, so to has the Chinese
creation of the crossbow. While remaining at the foreground of
ranged weapon technology for nearly two thousand years, this
would not have been possible were it not for the mechanical
advancements that were needed to facilitate its constant progress.
In this way, the Chinese crossbow will always be viewed as a
effective and long lasting weapons technology, but should not be
over looked as one of the primary precursors to the industrial age
of mass production that depended on mechanical parts and the
technology that went into their production.

19. Ebrey, Patricia. Cambridge Illustrated History of China. Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Benn, Charles. China’s Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang Dynasty. Oxford University Press, 2004.
Sun Tzu, The Art of War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.
Williams, David, Mass-Produced Pre-Han Chinese Bronze Crossbow Triggers: Unparalleled
Manufacturing Technology in the Ancient World, Arms & Armour, Vol. 5 No. 2, 2008, 142–153
Mayer, K.P., On Variations in the Shapes of the Components of the Chinese nu-chi (Crossbow Latch) T'oung
Pao, Second Series, Vol. 52, Livr. 1/3 (1965), pp. 1-7

20. http://ctext.org/mozi
http://www.grandhistorian.com/chinesesiegewarfare/index-english12122007.html
http://www.atarn.org/chinese/bjng_xbow/bjng_xbow.htm
http://www.atarn.org/chinese/rept_xbow.htm
http://ancientstandard.com/2007/06/29/a-brief-history-of-the-crossbow-ca-4th-c-bc-%E2%80%93-onward/