冷兵时代的远攻之王

文/五花肉

上一期，专栏介绍了由礼及用的杯中乾坤。本期，我们聚焦古代战场，关注冷兵时代的远攻之王。

In the last issue, the column introduced etiquette in the culture of alcoholic beverages in ancient China. In this issue, we focus on long-range weapon of bow in the Cold Weapon Era.

从后羿射九曜的神话传说，到黄帝战蚩尤的古代战场，弓都成为了决定战事结果的决定性因素，被誉为冷兵时代最具杀伤力的远攻之王。

From the legend of Yi shooting down Nine Suns to the ancient battlefields of Huang Di and Chi You, bow became the decisive factor in determining the victory or defeat in the war, and was regarded as the most lethal long-range weapon in the Cold Weapon Era.

选材是基础Material Selection Standards

决定弓品质的因素很多，选材是第一步。反曲弓是古代军队最常见的标准制式装备，由“干、角、筋、胶、丝、漆”六材组成。作为最核心的主体，弓干的选材可分七等，柘木最优，木次之，竹为下品，不同材质决定了弓的韧性和强度不同，进而直接影响弓的射程。

There were many factors that determine the quality of bow, and the selection of material was the first step. Recurve bows were the regular equipment in ancient army, composed of "rod, horn, tendon,glue, silk and lacquer" six material. As the core of the main body, the bow rod was divided in seven grades, wood of Cudrania Tricuspidata was the best, ring-cupped oak wood was the second,bamboo was inferior, difference in toughness and strength of material decided the range of the bow.

射程是王道Longer Range of Crossbow

到了春秋战国时期，日趋成熟的青铜工艺逐渐应用到军事领域，一种弓的升级版武器——弩，开始在各国推广，尤以秦国为最。相比有效射程通常不足百米的弓，弩的最高射程可以突破三百米，能够实现拉弦、上箭、瞄准的分解发射，在大幅提高稳定性和精准性的同时，射程更远，杀伤力也更大。

汉代骑射影像（广富林文化遗址）

立射俑和跪射俑（秦始皇帝陵博物院二号坑）

In the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, the increasingly mature Bronze process was gradually applied to the military field. A crossbow,an upgraded version of bow, began to be popularized in various countries, especially in the Qin State.Compared with the bow of less than 100 m in eあective Range, the crossbow had a maximum range of over 300 m, and could be divided into three steps, namely string pulling, arrow loading and aiming. Being improved in stability and veracity, crossbow boasted a longer range and greater lethality.

编队显战力Formation of Long Range Weapon

为了最大化发挥弓弩的战斗力，秦国军队还规定了作战时的标准方阵编队，“万人之军，强弩六千”，前端三排重装弩射步兵轮替远射，身后长兵器和战车方阵向敌正面压迫，两翼轻装弩射步兵配合远距离杀伤敌阵侧翼，辅以骑兵机动冲击，取得了卓越的战绩，为平定六国、一统天下立下赫赫战功。

In order to maximize bow and crossbows' combat force, the Qin army also stipulated a standard formation of phalanx in combat, namely "an army of 10,000 men, with 6,000 strong crossbows," with three rows of heavy crossbows in front row with rotation shooting. Pole weapons and the chariot phalanx in back row were pressing the enemy face to face. The two wings of light crossbows infantry attacked the wing of enemy with long range weapons supported by cavalry charging, which achieved outstanding victory in destroying the six states and unifying the ancient China.

结 语Conclusion

“工欲善其事，必先利其器”，从弓弩的选材制作、工艺升级到战阵编队，每一个环节的精益求精，都是为了最大程度的挖掘和释放其远攻优势，夺取最终的胜利。

As the saying "Sharp tools make good work", from the material selection and manufacturing of bow and crossbow's, technique upgrading, and army formation,the continuous improvement of each link aims to maximize the advantage of long range weapon to win the fi nal victory.