冷兵時代的遠攻之王

文/五花肉

上一期，專欄介紹了由禮及用的杯中乾坤。本期，我們聚焦古代戰場，關注冷兵時代的遠攻之王。

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，到黃帝戰蚩尤的古代戰場，弓都成為了決定戰事結果的決定性因素，被譽為冷兵時代最具殺傷力的遠攻之王。

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Material Selection Standards

決定弓品質的因素很多，選材是第一步。反曲弓是古代軍隊最常見的標準制式裝備，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，木次之，竹為下品，不同材質決定了弓的韌性和強度不同，進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

到了春秋戰國時期，日趨成熟的青銅工藝逐漸應用到軍事領域，一種弓的升級版武器——弩，開始在各國推廣，尤以秦國為最。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，能夠實現拉弦、上箭、瞄準的分解發射，在大幅提高穩定性和精準性的同時，射程更遠，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.

編隊顯戰力Formation of Long Range Weapon

為了最大化發揮弓弩的戰斗力，秦國軍隊還規定了作戰時的標準方陣編隊，“萬人之軍，強弩六千”，前端三排重裝弩射步兵輪替遠射，身后長兵器和戰車方陣向敵正面壓迫，兩翼輕裝弩射步兵配合遠距離殺傷敵陣側翼，輔以騎兵機動沖擊，取得了卓越的戰績，為平定六國、一統天下立下赫赫戰功。

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 語Conclusion

“工欲善其事，必先利其器”，從弓弩的選材制作、工藝升級到戰陣編隊，每一個環節的精益求精，都是為了最大程度的挖掘和釋放其遠攻優勢，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.