thanks to the work of people like Stephen Selby and the extremely small but growing number of Chinese archers like myself and forum member Wujiang, Chinese archery make a return to the realm of existence sometime in the next few decades.

however, other than economic factors (stabilization of a Chinese middle class with the time and money to bother even doing archery), the complete lack of any standardization in the modern form of traditional Chinese archery.

Korean and Japanese archery were able to make a come back partially due to the standardization of the modern traditional form. for example, most modern traditional korean archery such as the Korean Equistrian Martial Arts Association use the archery syllabus from the Yi Dynasty era Korea.

Chinese archery has millenia to choose from but i think all will agree that we should focus on the Imperial Age (IE no one wants to learn to shoot from a chariot)

Han dynasty

Pros: due to the crossbow's dominance of infantry. actual archery IE with recurve bow was relegated to either Horse archery or (standing)ritual archery based on Zhou dynasty era rituals. This would be a perfect combination of military aspects (horse archery) and cultural aspects (ritual) of Chinese archery

Cons: lack of solid syllabus from the era

Tang Dynasty

Pros: thanks to Empress Wu Zetian, a specific detailed standardized archery syllabus exists. Archery's popularity as a sport in this era also provides rules and regulations for competitions.

cons: lacks ritual aspects. also, no recurve bows made today are styled in the Tang (or earlier for that matter) style.

Ming dynasty:

Pros: synthesis of millenia of indigenous and nomadic influences. the final gasp in the Chinese archery continum (Qing era archery could be argued to be a deviation from previous). Solid syllabus existing from Tang times as well as writings by practical military leaders like Qi Ji Guang. Some what availability of Ming style bows (the modern korean bow is based on Ming era bows)

Cons: from a purely practical point of view, Ming based standardization is the best other than the fact that simply the Ming dynsaty does not have the prestige of the Han and Tang dynasties.

Qing Dynasty: Most recent. as most traditional Chinese culture viewed today is essentially based on Qing era habits and customs, it would follow logically for archery. availability of bows (any Mongol style bow made by Kassai Lajos and Csba Grozer works easily as a Qing bow)

Cons: lack of continuity from previous dynasties (which has nothing to do with pro-Han feelings). the Qing bow is quite different than previous dynasties combined with the fact that this era would be the rise of complete domination in warfare by firearms. why celebrate something at the end of its life when you can celebrate it at its height.

Ming era archery would be the best choice. Archery manuals from this period are still extant, and Ming style bows can be purchased from Korean bowyers.

Actually I have an interest in ancient Chinese archery. One of the reasons is that archery is one of the six basic arts practiced by Zhou Dynasty nobles. It is a form of sport/martial art that Confucius would approve.

However, the chances of me learning Chinese archery in the near future is virtually zero. I don't know where I can get a Chinese bow, (at least with Hanfu there are websites you can buy it from) and there are most likely no Chinese archery groups probably within 3000 kilometres from where I live now.

But suppose there is a way for me to get a Chinese bow and there is a Chinese archery group nearby, I would join it.

Actually I'm not so sure about that. Chinese archery formally originated in the Zhou Dynasty as an art form, so Zhou Dynasty archery would be very important from a historical point of view. Also as a Confucian Christian I have a rather romantic view of the golden age of the Western Zhou Dynasty under the first Zhou kings.

The problem would be that we know quite little about exactly what is practiced during the Zhou Dynasty.



Ming Dynasty is a good choice but ideally the older the better.

The problem is that unlike Japan and Korea, so much of the tradition has been lost.

actually, we know alot about Zhou dynasty archery rituals both from primary sources from the era as well as Han dynasty commentary on the rituals

you don't have to use a "Chinese bow". attaching ethnic terms to recurve bows is utterly stupid especially since Chinese recurve bows changed design from dynasty to dynasty. Most of the good bowyers today like Csba Grozer and Kassai Lajos attach ethnic terms to their bow design as a form of advertising. Although Grozer does stick to the originals as much as possible (he makes Chinese bows to) but Kassai is more modern about his approach.

i have 4 traditional recurve bows of varying size and draw weight. i could use any of them as a substitute for a Chinese bow. as long as you're using a traditional recurve bow, it doesn't matter.

The more interest there is in Chinese archery, the more bowyers will start looking into designs from various dynasties. So one day, we'll have "Tang Bows" and "Han bows" and "Ming bows" and "Song Bows" for sale. Even though the categorizations would be relatively shallow and pointless anyways.

Stephen Selby has written a great book, translated thousands of years of primary sources on Chinese archery and teaches classes (both standing and mounted archery). the tradition is far from lost. Korean archery only revived in the past decade or so

my friend and i learned archery ourselves since we were young teenagers. we read as much as we could on Chinese and Inner Asian archery styles and taught ourselves instead of whining about lost traditions. We do everything from target shooting, to hunting and horseback archery (well, the mounted archery, i've only done once so far but)

i've gotten my girlfriend into archery and a couple of other people as well.

we've even created our own modern version of a specific Zhou Dynasty archery ritual involving lots of drinking.

put down the PS2, get a recurve bow

I've been meaning to take up Chinese style archery for some time. But It's problematic where I live--their isn't anywhere nearby to practice.

you'd be surprised how many archery ranges are out there. almost all gun clubs in Massachusetts have an archery range. in fact, theres two ranges within a 30 minute drive from my apartment building

you have to be creative. during high school, my friend and i created a dummy out of various materials like thin sheet metal, an old punching bag and card board and set it up in his huge basement and we'd shoot there.

How did you get your first Chinese bows? I suppose I will simply have to order

Archery is quite bad***. "Divine" indeed

as i told people a million times. any traditional recurve bow will do. bows changed from dynasty to dynasty so it would be hard to pinpoint a specific "Chinese bow" . This goes for any ethnic group's recurve bow actually. Example, the traditional Korean bow of today is based on Choseon era bows (which were based on Ming bows), they do not resemble other korean bows lets say from Koguryo era.

so until a large group of Chinese archers gets together to form a Chinese Archery federation and then standardizes a type of recurve bow based on a specific dynasty, then any "Turkish" or "Mongol" recurve bow will do

any recurve bow with these specs can be used for Chinese archery

1. draws up at least 32 inches
2. draw weight over 40 pounds (preferably at least 60 if you're a male)
3. anywhere between 45 to 55 inches in length (strung)
4. can be a composite of either all natural materials (woodcore, sinew,horn) OR modern materials (fiberglass, leather etc) AS LONG as it is of traditional design

www.grozerarchery.com

you can order them from this guy

HOT sh-t

2. draw weight over 40 pounds (preferably at least 60 if you're a male)


Stephen SELBY doesn't advocate training with such heavy bows ! even in traditional western archery it would be frustrating and dangerous to ask males to shoot with 60 pounds bows at the beginning.

Especially with Chinese Archery where your goal would be to respect the original form of shooting as much as possible, with proper gesture, stance, long draw, harmonious release, etc, you should be better off starting with a 30# bow or lower.

Don't forget that the thumb skin is heavily sollicited at the beginning (and even after !)

with respect to ancient/medieval ways...all natural composite recurve bows generally don't exist and have never existed under draw weights of 30 so if you're gonna base the assumption on "sticking to the old ways", you should at least shoot with 40. even if you had a severe back problem, that should be no problem

not to mention Chinese archery has traditionally used heavy draw weights both for training and actual combat

i started shooting at the age of 13 with a 40 pound bow, i had no trouble drawing it. hell, right now my girlfriend is barely 103 pounds (5'7 height) and she uses a 30 pound bow

it is true that if someone were to start with a bow even a few pounds too much for them, they'll more than likely develop a poor release and have too much handshock and essentially ***** up the shot but drawing 40 pounds effectively shouldn't be too much to ask for a male in his early teens

as far as safety is concerned. if i let off an arrow with a 30 pound fast (as in good relex action) bow and you're within 10 yards of me, you'll be hurt regardless. having a lighter bow wouldn't make anything more safe

heavier draw weights would also reinforce certain disciplines IMO

honestly though, you're exaggerating my point. i said for starters, 40 is ideal and 40 is not remotely heavy. even the most effeminate Chinese male (plenty out there) eats enough meat to have the protein for the muscle build to draw that weight

I am considering ordering a bow soon enough. Any revisions to this topic and advice you might add?