page_title: History of crossbows
section_title: China
hierarchical_section_title: History of crossbows / China
caption_attribution_description: English: This image illustrates what the author refers to as the ancient technique of "ten thousand crossbows shooting in concert" (萬弩齊發). The crossbowmen on the right are at the fore and are shooting. The ones in the middle are ready to shoot. The ones to the left are in the back reloading. "In this way," writes the author, "they revolve and take turns firing a constant stream, and the crossbows sound without cease." From Cheng Zongyou 程宗猷, Jue zhang xin fa 蹶張心法, in Jue zhang xin fa, chang qiang fa xuan, dan dao fa xuan 蹶張心法 1 卷長槍法選 1 捲單刀法選 1 卷 ca. 1621.
context_page_description: It is not clear where and when the crossbow originated, but it is believed to have appeared in China and Europe around the 7th to 5th centuries BC. In China the crossbow was one of the primary military weapons from the Warring States period until the end of the Han dynasty, when armies composed of up to 30 to 50 percent crossbowmen were not unheard of. The crossbow lost much of its popularity after the fall of the Han dynasty. One Tang dynasty source recommends a bow to crossbow ratio of five to one as well as the utilization of the countermarch to make up for the crossbow's lack of speed. The crossbow countermarch technique was further refined in the Song dynasty, but crossbow usage in the military continued to decline after the Mongol conquest of China. Although the crossbow never regained the prominence it once had under the Han, it was never completely phased out either. Even as late as the 17th century, military theorists were still recommending it for wider military adoption, but production had already shifted in favor of firearms and traditional composite bows.
  In Europe a crossbow known as the gastraphetes was described by Heron of Alexandria in the 1st century AD.
caption: Illustration of a Ming volley fire formation using crossbows. From Cheng Zongyou 程宗猷, Jue zhang xin fa 蹶張心法 ca. 1621.
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