文/五花肉

上一期，專欄介紹了由禮及用的杯中乾坤。本期，我們聚焦古代戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)，關(guān)注冷兵時(shí)代的遠(yuǎn)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.

從后羿射九曜的神話傳說(shuō)，到黃帝戰(zhàn)蚩尤的古代戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)，弓都成為了決定戰(zhàn)事結(jié)果的決定性因素，被譽(yù)為冷兵時(shí)代最具殺傷力的遠(yuǎn)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.

選材是基礎(chǔ)Material Selection Standards

決定弓品質(zhì)的因素很多，選材是第一步。反曲弓是古代軍隊(duì)最常見(jiàn)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)制式裝備，由“干、角、筋、膠、絲、漆”六材組成。作為最核心的主體，弓干的選材可分七等，柘木最優(yōu)，木次之，竹為下品，不同材質(zhì)決定了弓的韌性和強(qiáng)度不同，進(jìn)而直接影響弓的射程。

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

到了春秋戰(zhàn)國(guó)時(shí)期，日趨成熟的青銅工藝逐漸應(yīng)用到軍事領(lǐng)域，一種弓的升級(jí)版武器——弩，開(kāi)始在各國(guó)推廣，尤以秦國(guó)為最。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，能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)拉弦、上箭、瞄準(zhǔn)的分解發(fā)射，在大幅提高穩(wěn)定性和精準(zhǔn)性的同時(shí)，射程更遠(yuǎn)，殺傷力也更大。

漢代騎射影像（廣富林文化遺址）

立射俑和跪射俑（秦始皇帝陵博物院二號(hào)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.

編隊(duì)顯戰(zhàn)力Formation of Long Range Weapon

為了最大化發(fā)揮弓弩的戰(zhàn)斗力，秦國(guó)軍隊(duì)還規(guī)定了作戰(zhàn)時(shí)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)方陣編隊(duì)，“萬(wàn)人之軍，強(qiáng)弩六千”，前端三排重裝弩射步兵輪替遠(yuǎn)射，身后長(zhǎng)兵器和戰(zhàn)車(chē)方陣向敵正面壓迫，兩翼輕裝弩射步兵配合遠(yuǎn)距離殺傷敵陣側(cè)翼，輔以騎兵機(jī)動(dòng)沖擊，取得了卓越的戰(zhàn)績(jī)，為平定六國(guó)、一統(tǒng)天下立下赫赫戰(zhàn)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.

結(jié) 語(yǔ)Conclusion

“工欲善其事，必先利其器”，從弓弩的選材制作、工藝升級(jí)到戰(zhàn)陣編隊(duì)，每一個(gè)環(huán)節(jié)的精益求精，都是為了最大程度的挖掘和釋放其遠(yuǎn)攻優(yōu)勢(shì)，奪取最終的勝利。

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.