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Title
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Bronze Crossbow Mechanism
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Collection Location
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National Museum of China
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Date
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Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE)
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Location
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The Terracotta Army pits, the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, Lintong, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
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Description
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This Bronze Crossbow mechanism held by the National Museum of China is dated to the Qin dynasty, unearthed in 1974 in the Terracotta Army pits in the Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang in the Lintong district of the city of Xi’an in Shaanxi province.
The mechanism shown here comprises most of the typical parts of a Chinese crossbow mechanism. The double pronged component on the right of the photo is the part that serves as the sight and nut, called the wangshan (望山) and ya (牙) respectively. The long piece to the right of that is the trigger, or xuandao (悬刀). And the short piece in the middle connecting the two is the sear, or gouxin (钩心). It lacks a casing, or guo (郭), and its affixed directly into the crossbow stock using bronze axle pins that slot through the holes in the mechanism’s component parts and into notches carved on the interior faces of the stock. This crossbow was likely drawn using arm strength, and, as with the other military weaponry unearthed from the Terracotta Army pits, was used by the Qin military against other states in the warring states period.
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Source
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National Museum of China
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Crossbow Top Measurements
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Length: ~12cm
Width: ~5cm
