Editing Crossbow (section)

=== Southeast Asia ===
{{Main|Austroasiatic crossbow}}
[[File:Ref-chamballista.jpg|thumb|Wheelmounted and elephantmounted double-bow-arcuballistae in the Khmer army, possibly [[Champa|Cham]] mercenaries]]

Around the third century BC, [[An Dương Vương|King An Dương]] of [[Âu Lạc]] (modern-day [[northern Vietnam]]) and (modern-day [[southern China]]) commissioned a man named [[Cao Lỗ]] (or Cao Thông) to construct a crossbow and christened it "Saintly Crossbow of the Supernaturally Luminous Golden Claw" ''(nỏ thần)'', which could kill 300 men in one shot.{{sfn|Kelley|2014|p=88}}{{sfn|Taylor|1983|p=21}} According to historian Keith Taylor, the crossbow, along with the word for it, seems to have been introduced into China from [[Austroasiatic]] peoples in the south around the fourth century BC.{{sfn|Taylor|1983|p=21}} However, this is contradicted by crossbow locks found in ancient Chinese [[Zhou dynasty]] tombs dating to the 600s BC.{{sfn|Loades|2018}}

In 315 AD, Nu Wen taught the [[Chams]] how to build fortifications and use crossbows. The Chams would later give the Chinese crossbows as presents on at least one occasion.{{sfn|Needham|1994|p=145}}

Crossbow technology for crossbows with more than one prod was transferred from the Chinese to [[Champa]], which Champa used in its invasion of the [[Khmer Empire]]'s [[Angkor]] in 1177.<ref name="Grant2005">{{cite book|author=R. G. Grant|year=2005|title=Battle: A Visual Journey Through 5,000 Years of Combat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gb8qAQAAMAAJ&q=champa |publisher=DK Pub.|isbn=978-0756613600 |page=100}}</ref> When the Chams sacked Angkor they used the Chinese siege crossbow.{{sfn|Turnbull|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=OajvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT42 42]}}{{sfn|Turnbull|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=OajvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT80 80]}} The Chinese taught the Chams how to use crossbows and mounted archery Crossbows and archery in 1171.{{sfn|Turnbull|2012|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=OajvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT25 25]}} The Khmer also had double-bow crossbows mounted on elephants, which Michel Jacq-Hergoualc'h suggests were elements of Cham mercenaries in [[Jayavarman VII]]'s army.{{sfn|Liang|2006|p={{page needed|date=November 2020}}}}

The native [[Montagnard (Vietnam)|Montagnard]]s of Vietnam's Central Highlands were also known to have used crossbows, as both a tool for hunting, and later an effective weapon against the [[Viet Cong]] during the Vietnam War.<ref>{{cite web|title=Montagnard Crossbow, Vietnam |url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C364947 |website=awm.gov.au|publisher=[[Australian War Memorial]] |access-date=4 February 2019}}</ref> Montagnard fighters armed with crossbows proved a highly valuable asset to the US Special Forces operating in Vietnam, and it was not uncommon for the Green Berets to integrate Montagnard crossbowmen into their strike teams.<ref>{{cite book |author=Smithsonian |title=The Vietnam War: The Definitive Illustrated History |publisher=DK Publishing |year=2017 |pages=64–69 |isbn=978-1465466013}}</ref>