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Repost: Ancient Chinese mechanical crossbows – The origin of crossbows. Everyone is familiar with the term \"mechanical\", but what exactly does \"ji\" in mechanical mean? “The character “ji” originally referred to a certain type of device; according to the “Shuowen Jiezi,” its meaning is “that which initiates action,” referring to the mechanism used in crossbows. Zhuangzi, On the Equality of All Things: “Its activation is like that of a mechanism.” ”The Shiwen states: “Ji refers to the arrowhead of a crossbow.” ； Brackets, square brackets. ”In ancient times, a crossbow mechanism was often referred to as a machine. The crossbow appeared around the Warring States period, at a time when moral order was declining but had not yet completely collapsed. The “Wuyue Chunqiu” records: “At that time, the feudal lords succeeded one another in power, with battles raging everywhere; bows and arrows were not sufficient to subdue the whole world... Thus, the Qin family of (Chu) used bows slung across their arms, along with mechanisms and pivots, and applied force as well, before the feudal lords could be subdued.” At that time, when the various states were in constant conflict with one another and wars were frequent, bows and arrows were not sufficient to bring order to the world; thus, the Qin family of the State of Chu invented the crossbow, which posed a great threat to the other states. It is evident that the invention of the crossbow had a significant impact on ** at that time. The structure of a crossbow is very simple; it has only 3 main components, as shown in the diagram. http://www.cmiw.cn/data/attachment/forum/201812/09/185028x58n3nr8n45y5ner.jpg 0 L! ]3 c+ F) Y) a3 M! n2 Y The trigger: It functions like the trigger on modern pistols; when pulled, it causes the crossbow to fire. The linkage: This connects the trigger to the tooth, and it is a key component for enabling the crossbow’s mechanism to function. The tooth: It is used to hook onto the string. The sight: It helps with aiming. The sight and the tooth are integrated together, so there are only 3 main components in a crossbow. Given how simple these components are, it’s clear that the ancients possessed great wisdom. When the string is pulled taut, the teeth grip the string; the tension in the bow exerts a pulling force on the teeth, and this force creates a torque on them. The hook prevents the tooth from rotating and transfers the force to the hanging blade, as shown in the figure. http://www.cmiw.cn/data/attachment/forum/201812/09/185039s19gqfdo3xgd6x32.jpg When we pull the trigger on the crossbow, the hook loses its support, the arrow is no longer hindered, and the crossbow fires. Just these three small components are already sufficient to enable the function of a crossbow. However, since they are mounted directly on the wooden crossbow arm, their precision and load-bearing capacity are limited; that’s why later crossbows came equipped with a stock, as shown in the figure. Guo’s appearance further **enhanced** the power of the crossbow. http://www.cmiw.cn/data/attachment/forum/201812/09/185059zdzryrrmrmmoyhpg.jpg * |3 The function of the bowstring: When we draw the bow, we do work on it, which is converted into the bow’s potential energy. We hope the work we do turns into the kinetic energy of the arrow. Before the invention of the crossbow, we needed physical strength to maintain this potential energy, and had to release it by letting go, which required a high level of strength from the person. The invention of the crossbow not only solved this problem but also **increased** the power of arrows. Since drawing the bow can be done using both hands and feet, or even with the help of multiple people, this allows for the storage of more potential energy. When shooting, arm fatigue does not pose a problem, and the presence of a target hill to assist with aiming improves accuracy as well. In other words, with the invention of the crossbow, both the kinetic energy and accuracy of arrows improved. Just three simple small parts, demonstrating the extraordinary wisdom of our ancient ancestors.