THE WISDOM OF ANCIENTS

The Qing Horn Bow made by Zhou Xiaochu, and the Qing arrows he collected.周曉初制作的清式角弓和收藏的清箭。

nihao: What is the most charming aspect of traditional bow?

Zhou:Traditional bows have cultural symbols in that they can make you see the ancients when you are holding it. For instance, how did people at that time achieve the archery on horseback? What were the aesthetic orientations of different social hierarchies? Given the example from the Qing Dynasty, emperors' bows were very plain but structured without any decoration. Since Manchu people were quite respectful to their ancestors, they cherished and followed the standards of the bows made by ancestors. On the contrary, the bows owned by the imperial bodyguards were made from valuable materials and full of ornaments, which looked rather extravagant. Besides the horn for the bow, the key of bow making is to conform to seasons. Things are supposed to be done at the right time, and people should not break the rules set by the ancients. Chinese people have been doing archery for thousands of years and accumulated important experience spanning several generations. What you might think of must have been considered by our ancestors first.

nihao: How has archery been in fluenced with the change and introduction of modern bows?

Zhou:The bow of every dynasty changed with the times. In the Qing Dynasty, the main functions of bows were replaced by modern firearms. Thus, the bow started to intensify their lethality, the speed of gripping arrows etc. The body of the bow, including the protector of the bow and arrows were changed for this. The bow of the Qing Dynasty belongs to the group of bows that had a large drawing range, and muscles of archers should be held tight to make sure of their shooting accuracy (which means that every time the string should be drawn to the same standardised position and long-term training would be adopted to form muscle memory). This is different from American hunting bows and mid-Asian short bows that rely on position practices.

nihao: From weapons to sports goods, what different spirits does archery represent?

Zhou:For me, the most charming point of traditional bows in modern times comes from the archery itself. It's too hard to keep the accuracy. No targeting lens, no standards to measure, so it's dif ficult to shoot straight. Compared to shooting and modern archery, it's impossible to reach the limits of traditional archery accuracy. However, things without limits could be more likely to encourage people to keep brushing up and improving. A good archer can form a union with the bow and alter himself according to the change of the bow. For example, thermal expansion may happen when bows are exposed in different temperatures. Thus, in summer, the strength of drawing could be relatively less, while in winter it would be more. This depends totally on the control of the archers, and it's in the core spirit of traditional Chinese sports. How does this experience develop? From long-term practice. It's in the same sense to bow making. Chinese people believe that practice makes perfect, just like hoe I can judge a bow from its raw materials, which is a conditioned re flex formed through long-term habits.

Zhou Xiaochu, the maker of the Qing Horn Bow. His skills were passed on from artisans of the Weaponry Factory in the Qing Dynasty.周曉初，清式角弓制作者，師承手藝傳自于清朝兵仗局工匠。

射之器：千古之智

nihao：傳統(tǒng)弓有什么特別的魅力？

周：傳統(tǒng)弓里有文化符號，拿著它就能懷想到古人。比如他們怎么騎射，不同階級有什么不同的審美取向等。以我做的清（代）弓為例，清朝前期幾位皇上使的弓非常素，幾乎沒有任何裝飾。因為旗人特別尊重祖先，所以皇上的弓要效仿祖先，以示不忘本。反而皇上身邊的侍衛(wèi)們就不用了，使的都是貴材料，裝飾也多，看上去“高級”多了。另外，以角弓為例，用的都是生物性材料，所以，必須要順應時節(jié)選料、制作。什么時候該干什么事，就干什么事，不要打破祖先的經(jīng)驗。中國人已經(jīng)玩弓幾千年了，是多少代人經(jīng)驗智慧的結晶。你能想到的，古人一定想到了。

nihao：弓的變化對射箭技術的變化有什么影響？

周：每個朝代的弓都跟隨時代發(fā)生著改變。比如清代，火器代替了弓箭遠距離打擊的主要功能，于是弓開始加強殺傷力、上箭速度等功能。因此，射箭方法、弓體連同弓套、箭套也發(fā)生改變。清弓屬于大拉距弓，使用肌肉鎖死的方式保證準確性(就是每次拉弓都拉到同一標準位置，長期練習形成一種肌肉和骨骼的記憶)。這與美國獵弓、中西亞短弓依賴靠位的練習系統(tǒng)是不同的。

nihao:從戰(zhàn)爭武器到競技用具，傳統(tǒng)弓的精神內涵有什么變化？

周：傳統(tǒng)弓最有樂趣的地方在于對射擊本身帶來的挑戰(zhàn)。因為它要打準太難了。沒有瞄準鏡，沒有任何標尺。但就因為不容易打準，所以人們喜歡玩，喜歡拿它做一種修行的方式。而且，相比射擊、現(xiàn)代射箭，傳統(tǒng)射箭的極限很難達到。越是這樣沒有止境的東西，越能挑起人們不斷去精進。好的射手能做到人弓合一，根據(jù)弓的變化做出變化，例如不同溫度下弓會發(fā)生熱脹冷縮，所以夏天使勁相對小，冬天相對大。這完全靠人來掌控，也是中國傳統(tǒng)體育鍛煉的精髓。這些經(jīng)驗怎么來的？還是靠長期的練習。做弓的道理也一樣。中國人講熟能生巧，比如我現(xiàn)在對原材料能夠看一眼就作出制作上的判斷，這是長期的習慣形成的條件反射。