Arrows of the Ming Dynasty

Archery had always been one of the most important cultural aspects of China. Considered one of the Six Gentlemanly Arts in Confucian philosophy, archery played important roles in military, hunting, communication, and entertainment. China was also the first to create formalised ceremonial archery in Asia (which later influenced/inspired similar customs in Korea and Japan), and one of the last to gave up archery as a serious military weapon.

Naturally, Chinese people's high regard of archery led to the development of various specialised arrows suitable for different purposes. By Ming period, there was already a wide variety of arrows in use, with a peculiar focus on anti-horse arrow.

Bow-launched arrow

Drawing of a Dian Tong Jian (highlighted), from 'San Cai Tu Hui (《三才圖會》)'.

• Dian Tong Jian (點銅箭, lit. 'Bronze head arrow'): A general term applicable to any arrow with a bronze arrowhead.

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Gong She Huo Zhe Liu Jian (弓射火柘榴箭)

Drawing of a Gong She Huo Zhe Liu Jian, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

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Bows of the Ming Dynasty

Despite the importance of archery in Chinese culture and warfare, very little is known about Ming bows because of their eventual complete replacement by Manchu bow and its derivatives. In fact, much of the knowledge about Ming bows come from studies of written records, period artworks as well as experimental reconstructions. While these studies produced fruitful results, they remain (and will continue to remain) speculative.

Generally speaking, Ming bows exhibited strong influence from other Asiatic composite recurve horsebows such as Mongol, Tartar and Turkish bows. They could be categorised into two general groups: Xiao Shao Gong (小稍弓) and Da Shao Gong/Kai Yuan Gong (大稍弓/開元弓).

Xiao Shao Gong (小稍弓, small siyah bow)

Drawing of a Xiao Shao Gong, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

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Bian Jian (邊箭)

MINOR UPDATE OCTOBER 9, 2024

Drawing of a Bian Jian, from 'Bing Lu (《兵錄》)'.

A Bian Jian (邊箭, lit. 'Border arrow' or 'Side arrow'), formerly known as Tong Jian (筒箭, lit. 'Tube-arrow') during Tang period, was a special short arrow that had a long history of use in China. Designed to be used in conjunction with an arrow-guide/overdraw device, the tiny arrow could achieve a much higher velocity and range compared to an ordinary arrow, and therefore difficult to spot and even harder to dodge. Furthermore, it could not be reused by the enemy unless they brought arrow-guides of their own.

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