How to Choose a Bow in Ancient China
My latest list is Shen Kuo's 'Six Advantages of a Bow', which I came across while trawling Joseph Needham's magisterial Science and Civilisation in China in search of information about chariots for another forthcoming list. He introduces this list almost as something which presents the relative advantages of the good old bow and arrow (perhaps against swords or more heavier weaponry). On a closer look at the list, though, that is a misleading translation: the point is not that the bow and arrow is superior to other weaponry (not least because that would make nonsense of one of the items that the "sound of the bowstring is clear and sharp"); it is more like a list of the qualities or hallmarks of a good quality bow . In other words, an influencer buyer's guide circa 1000 CE.
6 Hallmarks of a Good Bow
In the tumultuous Three Kingdoms period, the dangerous world of politics led seven friends to meet together in a bamboo forest, writing poetry, discoursing on philosophy, and enjoying the natural world. Some of the seven retained official roles, while others turned their backs on politics entirely. The seven as a whole became important icons in a long tradition of abandoning the stifling world of hypocritical politics for a life of the mind.
