ABSTRACT
Bow makers (gongren 1 ) make bows. The collecting of the six materials for use in the making of the bow should be well timed. When the preparation of the wood, the horn, the sinew, the glue, the silk, and the lacquer has been completed an expert makes the bow. The wood ensures a long shooting range. The horn provides the shooting speed. The sinew is responsible for penetration. The glue makes joining. The silk binding is used for firmness. The lacquer (qi 2 ) protects the bow from frost and dew. A tentative sketch of how a bow may have appeared strung and unstrung. After, with slight modification, Biot (1851, Fig. 5. Arc bandé and Fig. 6. Arc débandé). https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203108987/612abb55-c07d-4e37-8f9c-662e43d932cb/content/fig23_2_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> A drawing of the silkworm thorn zhe. After Wu <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref50">Qijun</xref> ([1848] 1956, p. 822). https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203108987/612abb55-c07d-4e37-8f9c-662e43d932cb/content/fig23_3_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> A drawing of the evergreen tree with slender leaf of a particular species yi. From Xu Ding (1771, ch. 8, p. 13b). https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203108987/612abb55-c07d-4e37-8f9c-662e43d932cb/content/fig23_4_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> A drawing of the wild mulberry yansang. From Xu Ding (1771, ch. 9, p. 12a). https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203108987/612abb55-c07d-4e37-8f9c-662e43d932cb/content/fig23_5_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
