China Archery

Archaeological discoveries proved that archery in China dates back 20,000 years. Practical archery takes three conditions: a bow strong enough to propel arrows, arrows that are sharp enough to kill, and a technique to ensure the stability of arrows in flight. The bow and arrow in ancient China fully met the three conditions. Archaeologists have unearthed finely made arrowheads in a site of the Paleolithic Age in Shanxi Province. Made of stone, the arrowheads were sharp and pointed, and could be mounted on a shaft. No bow was found at the site, since bows were usually made of wood,  bamboo and perhaps tendon of animals and could not remain intact for so many years. But the arrowheads were enough to prove the existence of bows.

As for how to keep the arros stable in flight, Kao-Gong-Ji, the earliest work on science and technology in China, writes under the item of THE ARCHER: “Decide the proportions of the shaft to install the feathers.  The feathers at the end of the shaft are installed in three directions, and then the arrowhead is mounted. An arrow thus made will not lose its balance even in strong winds.” It also says, “When the feathers are too many, the arrows will slow down; when the feathers are too few, the arrow will become unstable.” Later on, ancient Chinese developed bronze arrowheads and the crossbow, upgreading archery to a new height.

Picture of using archery with feet in ancient China:

World Archery Asia releases continental event schedule for 2023

World Archery Asia has released a preliminary calendar of continental events for 2023.

The tentative schedule respects the international blocks announced by World Archery for the 2021-2024 seasons and includes an Asian Championships, three Asia Cup legs and the rescheduled Asian Games.

Hangzhou was initially scheduled to host the Asian and Para Asian Games in 2022 but the multisport events were delayed, along with the World University Games, due to ongoing pandemic measures in China.

The Asian Games and Asian Championships will act as continental qualifiers for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The qualifying period starts with the 2023 Hyundai World Archery Championships in Berlin next summer.

World Archery Asia is also expected to host its congress during the championships in Thailand.
Thanks To: CHRIS WELLS
Seoul, Korea

Tibet’s Nyingchi holds archery competition to celebrate Gongbo New Year
Source: Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi

Tibet’s Nyingchi holds archery competition to celebrate Gongbo New Year

Tibet’s Nyingchi holds archery competition to celebrate Gongbo New Year

Tibet’s Nyingchi holds archery competition to celebrate Gongbo New Year

Tibet’s Nyingchi holds archery competition to celebrate Gongbo New Year

Tibet’s Nyingchi holds archery competition to celebrate Gongbo New Year

Tibet’s Nyingchi holds archery competition to celebrate Gongbo New Year

Tibet’s Nyingchi holds archery competition to celebrate Gongbo New Year

Tibet’s Nyingchi holds archery competition to celebrate Gongbo New Year

Tibet’s Nyingchi holds archery competition to celebrate Gongbo New Year

An amateur archer takes part in the traditional “Gongbo archery” competition in Nyingchi, southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, Nov. 19, 2020. A traditional archery competition was held in Nyingchi on Thursday to celebrate the Gongbo New Year. This year, more than 260 archery enthusiasts from Nyingchi participated in the competition. “Gongbo archery“, with a history of over 1,500 year, is a traditional folk sports competition which is unique to Nyingchi. It has been listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Tibet. There are small holes on the wooden cone head of the arrow. When the arrow flies to target, the air passes through the hole and makes a sharp whistling sound. A cloth curtain with a leather target is hung on the other side of the arena. After hitting the target, the arrow falls off together with the inner ring of leather target.
Source: Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi

China have secured a full quota of six in archery, three in men’s event and three in women’s, for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the 2019 World Archery Championships in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.

According to the qualification standard, the top eight finishers in the recurve team’s event of each gender win three places for Tokyo 2020.

China defeated India 6-2 on Sunday to win their first-ever world championship in recurve men’s team event, therefore securing three spots in men’s event at the Olympics.

China’s Wei Shaoxuan takes the final shot during the recurve men’s team event final between China and India at the 2019 Archery World Championships on Jun 16, 2019 in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. [Photo: CCTV]

“I’m very honoured to be on the stage of the world championships and I’m very proud to represent China by winning this honour,” Wei Shaoxuan was quoted as saying by the official website of World Archery.

World No. 1 South Korea frustrated hosts the Netherlands 5-3 to win a bronze.

In the women’s team event, Chinese Taipei made a breakthrough winning maiden world title as they upset world record holders South Korea 6-2 in the final. Semifinalists China secured full quota for Tokyo 2020 despite a bitter 5-4 loss to Britain in the bronze final.

“Before we came here, our goal was to win all six quotas and let our athletes gain experience through the matches,” China’s team manager Xiao Haopeng told Xinhua. “The world championships experience will help us identify problems and make adjustment in future training.”
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