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:

Source from Taiwanhornbow.com

“Been taught by respected Mr. Lucas Novotny, my lifelong passion for Asiatic traditional archery has led me to what I believe the ultimate art of traditional Asiatic archery implements fabrication. Specifically Asiatic horn bow making.

My goal is not production of commodities in general. All my works have been some degree of textual. Insist on using the best materials and 100% pure hand-made according to ancient records of the manufacturing process. 18 months of time-consuming are required for each horn bow I made.”

“Owing to the weather condition, Taiwan has an advantage in the production of horn bows. A horn bow produced elsewhere usually has a hard time operating under hot and humid condition.

Using only traditional methods, there will be completely no bow forms, jigs and clamps used in my production process.
Using 100% all premium natural materials, there is completely no artificial substance of any kind can be found in my horn bows, even coating materials and dyestuff.

Each of my horn bows needs to be seasoned at least 6 months, and spends a total of 18 to 20 months to complete. Due to my personal reasons, I don’t accept orders of Manchu bows and any kind of Manchu era (Qing dynasty) archery tackles.”

“For ordering Horn bows I am keen to work with you to ensure the best choice of horn bows for your need. My horn bow purchasing plan is very personal one.

Firstly, please contact me via email or telephone to discuss your need, your archery style such as Asiatic thumb draw or Mediterranean 3 fingers release, Your physique such as left-right handed, height and hand size .

You can order a finished or being produced products in my gallery. You are also most welcome to visit me in Taipei ,Taiwan to view and try the horn bows before making a selection.”

Want to find or contact  Mr. Jang Yuhua, visit here http://www.taiwanhornbow.com/contact.php

XINING, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) — Dana Dotsko never imagined himself traveling from Indiana in America to the mountainous county of Jainca in China’s Tibetan plateau to competitively shoot arrows toward a triangle target invented by Tibetans some 1,100 years ago.

Unlike the five-ring archery targets popular in the Olympic Games and other international contests, the triangle target, about 80 cm high and with a bottom width of 70 cm, is made of earth and placed on the ground. A small wooden stick called Jiama in Tibetan, which originally means “scale” is put in the middle of the target.

According to the Tibetan competition rules, whoever shoots an arrow to the top of the stick wins.

The four-day biennial Magical Arrow International Ethnic Archery Invitational Tournament, one of China’s top three ethnic archery contests, opened on Saturday. Archers from 11 countries including the United States, Brazil, Turkey, Mongolia, Hungry, Poland, Malaysia and the Republic of Korea and 35 domestic archery teams will use their own traditional bows and arrows to compete for the first time in line with the Tibetan rules.

To get used to the triangle target, Dotsko started practicing on a smaller target at a longer distance a month ago.

“It’s a very challenging target. It offers a great deal of difficulty even at a closer distance,” said the 55-year-old radiology technologist who taught himself shooting from horseback 18 years ago.

Dotsko is amazed by the beautiful mountains on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and is eager to explore a different archery culture.

“I am anxious to see different styles of shooting. Tibetans shoot very differently. I have only seen them shoot on YouTube on the Internet,” he said.
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