Editing Crossbow (section)

=== China ===
[[File:Warring States or Western Han crossbow.jpg|thumb|A bronze crossbow trigger mechanism and butt plate that were mass-produced in the [[Warring States period]] (475–221 BC)]]
[[File:20230208 Painted lacquer crossbow.jpg|thumb|Remains of a [[lacquered]] crossbow. China, Warring States period (475–221 BC)]]

In terms of archaeological evidence, crossbow locks dated {{circa|650 BC}} made of [[cast bronze]] have been found in China .{{sfn|Loades|2018}} They have also been found in Tombs 3 and 12 at [[Qufu]], Shandong, previously the capital of [[Lu (state)|Lu]], and date to the 6th century BC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atarn.org/chinese/bjng_xbow/bjng_xbow.htm|title=A Crossbow Mechanism with Some Unique Features from Shandong, China|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080518053806/http://www.atarn.org/chinese/bjng_xbow/bjng_xbow.htm |date=18 May 2008|archive-date=18 May 2008|publisher=Asian Traditional Archery Research Network|access-date=20 August 2008}}</ref> Bronze crossbow bolts dating from the mid-5th century BC have been found at a [[Chu (state)|Chu]] burial site in Yutaishan, [[Jiangling County]], [[Hubei]] Province.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wagner| first=Donald B.|year=1993|title=Iron and Steel in Ancient China: Second Impression, With Corrections|publisher=Leiden: E.J. Brill|isbn=9004096329|pages= 153, 157–158}}</ref> Other early finds of crossbows were discovered in Tomb 138 at Saobatang, [[Hunan]] Province, and date to the mid-4th century BC.{{sfn|Mao|1998|pp=109–110}}{{sfn|Wright|2001|p=159}} It is possible that these early crossbows used [[Bullet-shooting crossbow|spherical pellets]] for ammunition. A [[Western Han]] mathematician and music theorist, [[Jing Fang]] (78–37 BC), compared the moon to the shape of a round [[bullet-shooting crossbow|crossbow bullet]].<ref name="needham 1986 vol 3 p227">Needham, Joseph (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth''. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd, p. 227.</ref> The ''[[Zhuangzi (book)|Zhuangzi]]'' also mentions crossbow bullets.{{sfn|Needham|1994|p=89}}

The earliest Chinese documents mentioning a crossbow were texts from the 4th to 3rd centuries BC attributed to the [[Mohist|followers]] of [[Mozi]]. This source refers to the use of a giant crossbow between the 6th and 5th centuries BC, corresponding to the late [[Spring and Autumn period]]. [[Sun Tzu]]'s ''[[The Art of War]]'' (first appearance dated between 500 BC to 300 BC<ref>James Clavell, ''The Art of War'', prelude</ref>) refers to the characteristics and use of crossbows in chapters 5 and 12 respectively,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/132/132.txt |title=The Art of War, by Sun Tzu |access-date=3 May 2018 |archive-date=4 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504124447/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/132/132.txt |url-status=dead }}</ref> and compares a drawn crossbow to "might".{{sfn|Needham|1994|p=34}} The ''[[Huainanzi]]'' advises its readers not to use crossbows in marshland where the surface is soft and it is hard to arm the crossbow with the foot.{{sfn|Needham|1994|p=141}} The ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'', completed in 94 BC, mentions that [[Sun Bin]] defeated [[Pang Juan]] by ambushing him with a battalion of crossbowmen at the [[Battle of Maling]] in 342 BC.{{sfn|Needham|1994|p=139}} The ''[[Book of Han]]'', finished 111 AD, lists two military treatises on crossbows.{{sfn|Needham|1994|p=22}}{{sfn|Wright|2001|p=42}}

[[File:Earthenware architecture models, Eastern Han Dynasty, 5.JPG|thumb|right|A miniature guard wielding a handheld crossbow from the top balcony of a model watchtower, made of glazed earthenware during the [[Eastern Han]] (25–220 AD), from the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].]]

Handheld crossbows with complex bronze trigger mechanisms have also been found with the [[Terracotta Army]] in the tomb of [[Qin Shi Huang]] (r. 221–210 BC) that are similar to specimens from the subsequent [[Han dynasty]] (202 BC–220 AD), while crossbowmen described in the Qin and Han dynasty learned drill formations, some were even mounted as [[chariots in ancient China|charioteers]] and [[horse archery|cavalry units]], and Han dynasty writers attributed the success of numerous [[Han–Xiongnu War|battles against the Xiongnu]] and [[Western Regions]] city-states to massed crossbow volleys.{{sfn|Needham|1994|pp=124–128}} The bronze triggers were designed in such a way that they were able to store a large amount of energy within the bow when drawn but was easily shot with little resistance and recoil when the trigger was pulled. The trigger nut also had a long vertical spine that could be used like a primitive [[iron sight|rear sight]] for [[elevation (ballistics)|elevation]] adjustment, which allowed precision shooting over longer distances. The Qin and Han dynasty-era crossbow was also an early example of a [[modular design]], as the bronze trigger components were also mass-produced with relative precise [[engineering tolerance|tolerances]] so that the parts were interchangeable between different crossbows. The trigger mechanism from one crossbow can be installed into another simply by dropping into a tiller slot of the same specifications and secured with [[dowel pin]]s. Some crossbow designs were also found to be fitted with bronze buttplates and [[trigger guard]].

It is clear from surviving inventory lists in [[Gansu]] and [[Xinjiang]] that the crossbow was greatly favored by the Han dynasty. For example, in one batch of slips there are only two mentions of bows, but thirty mentions of crossbows.{{sfn|Needham|1994|p=141}} Crossbows were mass-produced in state armories with designs improving as time went on, such as the use of a mulberry wood stock and brass. Such crossbows during the [[Song dynasty|Song Dynasty]] in 1068 AD could pierce a tree at 140 paces.{{sfn|Peers|1996|pp=130–131}} Crossbows were used in numbers as large as 50,000 starting from the Qin dynasty and upwards of several hundred thousand during the Han.{{sfn|Needham|1994|p=143}} According to one authority, the crossbow had become "nothing less than the standard weapon of the Han armies", by the second century BC.{{sfn|Graff|2002|p=22}} Han soldiers were required to arm a crossbow with a draw weight equivalent of {{convert|76|kg|abbr=on}} to qualify as an entry-level crossbowman,{{sfn|Loades|2018}} while it was claimed that a few elite troops were capable of arming crossbows with a draw-weight in excess of {{convert|340|kg|abbr=on}} by the hands-and-feet method.{{sfn|Loades|2018|p=9}}{{sfn|Selby|2000|p=172}}

After the Han dynasty, the crossbow lost favor during the [[Six Dynasties]], until it experienced a mild resurgence during the [[Tang dynasty]], under which the ideal expeditionary army of 20,000 included 2,200 archers and 2,000 crossbowmen.{{sfn|Graff|2002|p=193}} [[Li Jing (Tang dynasty)|Li Jing]] and Li Quan prescribed 20 percent of the infantry to be armed with crossbows.{{sfn|Graff|2016|p=52}}

During the [[Song dynasty]], the crossbow received a huge upsurge in military usage, and often overshadowed the bow 2 to 1 in numbers. During this time period, a [[stirrup]] was added for ease of loading. The Song government attempted to restrict the public use of crossbows and sought ways to keep both body armor and crossbows out of civilian ownership.{{sfn|Needham|1994|p=145}} Despite the ban on certain types of crossbows, the weapon experienced an upsurge in civilian usage as both a hunting weapon and pastime. The "romantic young people from rich families, and others who had nothing particular to do" formed crossbow-shooting clubs as a way to pass time.{{sfn|Needham|1994|p=146}}

Military crossbows were armed by treading, or basically placing the feet on the bow stave and drawing it using one's arms and back muscles. During the Song dynasty, stirrups were added for ease of drawing and to mitigate damage to the bow. Alternatively, the bow could also be drawn by a belt claw attached to the waist, but this was done lying down, as was the case for all large crossbows. Winch-drawing was used for the large mounted crossbows as seen below, but evidence for its use in Chinese hand-crossbows is scant.{{sfn|Needham|1994|p=150}}