When did the Chinese make the crossbow? And when did they make the repeating crossbow?

Comparing

the construction and use of crossbows by China's modern national minorities,

bone, shell and stone items found in archaeological excavations that correspond to the trigger mechanisms of modern national minority crossbows, and

the possibility of interpreting some early Chinese characters as denoting the crossbow,

these authors are prepared tentatively to push the time of development of the crossbow in China to the eneolithic/chalcolithic period around 2000BCE.

Be that as it may, field archaeology has not yet uncovered bronze crossbow mechanisms dating earlier than the start of the Warring States period in around 600BCE.
The Chu-ko-nu (THE MANCHURIAN REPEATING CROSSBOW) is equipped with a magazine which holds 10 steel-tipped bolts, about 5/16" in diameter and 7.25" long, which it shoots in succession. It is operated by grasping the handle of its stock in the left hand and working the lever with the right, the piece being held just above waist level and being steadied solely by the grip of the two hands on the handles, as with a pair of large garden shears. It was conceived, reportedly, by a certain Chu Ko Liang during the later Han period (c.23-220 A.D.)

And to think that the Europeans supposedly "invented" the crossbow around 900 A.D.

And to think that the Europeans supposedly "invented" the crossbow around 900 A.D.
Johannes Guttenburg supposedly "invented" the printing press as well, but it was actually invented by the Chinese a while earlier (forgot how much earlier, but I'm pretty sure it's sometime greater than 100 years)

But, because of the European bias back then and now, Johannes Guttenburg for all purposes invented the printing press. (and then got is product legally stolen by his financial backer. He made exactly nothing on the printing press he invented.)

There is some speculation that the Crossbow was actually invented in Southeast Asia, though this is not confirmed. Crossbows even appear to be quite common in Bronze Age Vietnam, as warriors on Dong Son period (800-200 BCE) bronze drums are frequently shown wielding them. Whether the SE Asians influenced the Chinese or vice versa or if SE Asians and Chinese developed the crossbow independently of each other, we really don't know...

However, the first "reliable" record of crossbows ("nu" 弩) is in Warring States Period China in 341 BCE at the battle of Ma-Ling. Crossbows have also been found on Qin Shihuangdi's Terracotta Army. The repeater crossbow ("Zhuge-nu"/"Chu-ko-nu") is attributed to the great Three Kingdoms era strategist Zhuge Liang (a.k.a. "Kongming"), but archeological evidence suggests that repeating crossbows may have been around for quite some time. If I recall correctly, there is even some evidence of repeating crossbows dating from as early as the Zhou Dynasty. Repeater crossbows were not very accurate and don't have very much in range capabilities, but can launch 10 arrows in fifteen seconds and were effective when defending city gates or against massed infantry, being a virtual "submachine gun" of the pre-industrial world. Arrows were sometimes smeared with poison so even the smallest wound inflicted by a Zhuge-Nu bolt could be fatal. Zhuge-Nus were used by the Qing Imperial army until 1895 against the Japanese (obviously with not too much success by that time ;) ). Nonetheless, they are some of the most ingenious weapons ever made. :)

"Many scholars believe the crossbow first appeared in China, probably by the 6th century BCE[1][2], with some archeological evidence indicating it was developed as early as 2000 BC[3]. Other sources (Steven Selby, 2001) agree to East Asia as origin of the crossbow, but question whether it first appeared in China. A weapon similar to the crossbow, known as a ballista, was used around the Mediterranean by the Roman Empire and others during the Hellenistic Period. (...)

According to Guinness World Records(2004), the earliest reliable record of crossbow usage is in the Battle of Ma-Ling, Lingyi, China at 341 BC. By the 200s BC, the crossbow (nǔ, 弩) was well developed and quite widely used in China. Crossbows have been found among the soldiers of the Terracotta Army in the tomb of emperor Qin Shi Huang (260-210 BCE) [4]. The first western reference to the crossbow is to the gastraphetes ("belly-bow") of early Hellenistic period (ca. 400 BC). The Romans called the crossbow an arcuballista (hence name "arbalest"). They did not employ it as a massed weapon, but used it as a scout weapon and for hunting. Other sources note its usage in Western Africa from where enslaved inhabitants brought it to America. Light hunting crossbows were traditionally used by the Inuit in Northern America, as well as being found throughout Eurasia and the Indonesian Islands. The crossbow was also often used on horseback, especially in Scandinavia."

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"Repeating crossbows have a long history, with the oldest accurate written knowledge dating to the Han dynasty (ca. 20-220 A.D.) in China. The Chinese repeating crossbow (诸葛弩, pinyin Zhū Gě nǔ, English transcription: Chu-ko-nu or Zhuge-nu, meaning 'Zhuge crossbow' in English) is an extremely simple piece of equipment. It is claimed to have been invented by Chinese strategist Zhuge Liang (181-234 A.D.), which is arguable since the earliest drawings of the weapon have been found from the buried library of Chu, dating all the way back to 250 B.C. The Chinese repeating crossbow saw its last serious action in the China-Japan war of 1894-1895, where photographs show repeating crossbows as common weapons among Manchurian troops. The basic construction of this weapon has remained very much unchanged since its invention, making it one of the longest-lived mechanical weapons." More here (Click) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repeating_crossbow)

Johannes Guttenburg supposedly "invented" the printing press as well, but it was actually invented by the Chinese a while earlier (forgot how much earlier, but I'm pretty sure it's sometime greater than 100 years)


AFAIK, Gutenberg invented the print with moveable letters. The printing press wasn't that new back then. ;)

AFAIK, Gutenberg invented the print with moveable letters. The printing press wasn't that new back then. ;)

Yeah.... The Chinese (and even earlier, the Mycenean Greeks) invented printing presses, but due to the fact that Chinese have a horrendous amound of charachters (about 50,000), and the Myceneans did not have paper (the Mycenean press, which dated back before 4000 BC, used moveable type that pressed Linear B syllables into clay discs), a truly practical printing press with moveable type had to wait until an alphabet with a limited number of charachters (Roman) and Paper (invented in China in around 500 AD) arrived at the same point in the space-time continuim... I.e. Medieval Europe, since the Roman Alphabet had already been spread out throughout europe, and paper arrived in Eastern Europe via the Mongol Conquests of China and the Mid-East.

And on topic, Crossbows have been around in SE Asia since neolithic times.... Tribesmen in N Thailand still use these crossbows with split bamboo Bolts (with bamboo fletching) to hunt for food.

hows this for china?

Moveable type printing wasn't practical in East Asia although it was known (and mostly used by Buddhist or Daoist temples). Mostly, it was the woodblock printing press that became very prominent. However, the woodblock printing method was actually much faster and more efficient than early moveable type as skilled engravers could work fairly quickly and once you've finished a block, you can use the same block over and over again. It was so successful that by the Song Dynasty, there were as many as two million people actively engaged in reading in China (possibly much more if you count people that are "functionally" literate). Woodblock printing also really took off in Japan, as we know from all the fine ukiyo-e from the Tokugawa Period that are still around in large numbers. ;)

The "barbarian" Tanguts, Khitans, and Jurchens developed their own printing press. And even before them, the Uighurs already had printing for quite some time.

hows this for china?

I'd say Han Dynasty. ;)

Excellent, Shiro, mosts excellent!

I really like that shiro. Would it be possible to lighten the base color of the leather armour? I assume its leather armour anyway if it was lighter it might give a better contrast.

its metal armour

Looks leathery to me :) And its probably more appropriate for a crossbowman to have lighter armor. BTW, will he swing that baby hanging on his hip? :goodjob:

Very nice:goodjob:

Nice ! I need it for TianXia new version.