"Ratio" of weapons of "civilian" S.Chinese... ?

KuKulzA28 · 20th March 2011, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom hyle

I read a book with multiple examples of Chinese crossbows from said period, a great many, perhaps a majority were cited as civilian weapons, especially "stone bows" that shoot bullets, not arrows, and have a scooped out stock that looks like an old-school girls' bicycle. They were cited as hunting weapons, especially for birds.

You know, I've seen one or two for sale on antique weapon sites, but in all my life I have seen very few... not sure what happened to all the crossbows. I know they were used up to the Republican Era in China, and bows, crossbows, and firearms were somewhat common in Taiwan (where people, Han and Aboriginal, tended to invested a LOT in weaponry)...

I wonder, can anyone here show off Chinese crossbows?

Perhaps it's too rare an item these days... ?

What would they have done with all of them?
Throw them out? Break them down?

yuanzhumin · 24th March 2011, 09:56 AM

Hello Kukulza,

Here are all the infos I have on the Taiwanese crossbows:

- See Material Culture of the formosan Aborigines , by Chen chi-lu.
PP152 153 154
To sum up what's in the book: Crossbow is found in Formosa only among the Tsou and Saisiat tribes; no more in use among Formosan tribes; it is a mainland culture trait ; introduced by Chinese settlers and diffused to the mountain tribes; in general, the crossbow appear to be a combination of bow and blowgun, what is confirmed by the facts that crossbows darts were often used with poisoned tipped - something that didn't diffuse into Taiwan together with the crossbow
See the drawing from Chen chi-lu of a Saisiat crossbow in the collections of the Nat. Taiwan Univ.

- my own info:
From my collection:
http://www.formosatribal.com/show.php?item_id=108
From my memory, i have seen few years ago aboriginal hunters -- poachers, I would say to be more exact :-) -- equipped with a crossbow. It was in central Taiwan (Alishan area) but I don't remember if they were Bunun or Tsou. (Kukulza, i'm listening now to the last Matzka CD!)

Best

Nicolas

KuKulzA28 · 24th March 2011, 06:26 PM

Wow cool! I did not know that the Saisiyat and Tsou adopted the crossbow... I do remember hearing of aboriginal hunter susing bows and maybe even crossbows in the Alishan area (my Ah-gong lives close-by in Chia-yi)... and I think part of that is the tight regulation on firearms.

Matzka eh? Nice! I haven't listened to them too much, but I am gradually getting more into Taiwanese music - afterall, that is my peoples homeland and culture!

24th March 2011, 09:56 AM	#2
yuanzhumin Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Ex-Taipei, Taiwan, now in Shanghai, China Posts: 180	Hello Kukulza, Here are all the infos I have on the Taiwanese crossbows: - See Material Culture of the formosan Aborigines , by Chen chi-lu. PP152 153 154 To sum up what's in the book: Crossbow is found in Formosa only among the Tsou and Saisiat tribes; no more in use among Formosan tribes; it is a mainland culture trait ; introduced by Chinese settlers and diffused to the mountain tribes; in general, the crossbow appear to be a combination of bow and blowgun, what is confirmed by the facts that crossbows darts were often used with poisoned tipped - something that didn't diffuse into Taiwan together with the crossbow See the drawing from Chen chi-lu of a Saisiat crossbow in the collections of the Nat. Taiwan Univ. - my own info: From my collection: http://www.formosatribal.com/show.php?item_id=108 From my memory, i have seen few years ago aboriginal hunters -- poachers, I would say to be more exact :-) -- equipped with a crossbow. It was in central Taiwan (Alishan area) but I don't remember if they were Bunun or Tsou. (Kukulza, i'm listening now to the last Matzka CD!) Best Nicolas Attached Images

24th March 2011, 06:26 PM	#3
KuKulzA28 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: between work and sleep Posts: 731	Wow cool! I did not know that the Saisiyat and Tsou adopted the crossbow... I do remember hearing of aboriginal hunter susing bows and maybe even crossbows in the Alishan area (my Ah-gong lives close-by in Chia-yi)... and I think part of that is the tight regulation on firearms. Matzka eh? Nice! I haven't listened to them too much, but I am gradually getting more into Taiwanese music - afterall, that is my peoples homeland and culture!