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237
CHAPTER XLIX
The Chinese Repeating Crossbow
Here we have surely the most curious of all the weapons I have described.
Though the antiquity of the repeating crossbow is so great that the date of its introduction is beyond conjecture, it is to this day carried by Chinese soldiers in the more remote districts of their empire.
In the recent war between China and Japan, 1894-95, the repeating crossbow was
frequently seen among troops who came from the Interior of the first-named
country.
The interesting and unique feature of this crossbow
is its repeating action, which though so crudely simple acts perfectly and
enables the crossbowman to discharge ten arrows in fifteen seconds.
When
bows, and crossbows which shot one bolt at a time, were the usual missive
weapons of the Chinese, it is probable that the repeating crossbow was very
effective for stopping the rush of an enemy in the open, or for defending
fortified positions.
For
example, one hundred men with repeating crossbows could send a thousand arrows
into their opponents ranks in a quarter of a minute.
On the other hand, one hundred men with bows, or with ordinary crossbows that shot
only one arrow at a discharge, would not be able to loose more than about two
hundred arrows in fifteen seconds.
The
effect of a continuous stream of a thousand arrows flying into a crowd of
assailants —in so short a space as fifteen seconds—would, of course, be
infinitely greater than that of only two hundred in the same time, especially as
the arrows of barbaric nations were often smeared with poison.
The
small and light arrow of the comparatively weak Chinese crossbow here described
had little penetrative power. For this reason the head of the arrow was sometimes
dipped in poison, in order that a slight wound might prove fatal.
The
impetus of the heavy bolt of the mediaeval European crossbow which had a thick
steel bolt, was sufficient to destroy life without the aid of such a cruel
accessory as poison.
238
Fig. 171. - Side View of the Chinese Repeating Crossbow
Fig.
172.
- Surface View of the Chinese Repeating Crossbow, showing the opening at the top
of its magazine
239
THE
CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHINESE REPEATING CROSSBOW
A,
A. The magazine in which the ten or twelve small arrows are laid (one on the
other) when the weapon is made ready for use.
B,
B.
The stock in which the bamboo bow is fixed.
C.
The lever that works the crossbow. The lever is hinged to the stock of the
crossbow and its magazine by metal pins, fig. 174, next page.
E.
The piece of wood along the upper surface of which a groove is cut for an
arrow to rest in and that also has a notch in it to hold the bowstring.
This
piece is attached to the magazine and forms the lower part of it.
HOW
TO WORK THE CROSSBOW, FIG. 174, NEXT PAGE
By
pushing forward the magazine by means of the lever, the bowstring is
automatically caught in the notch above the trigger, A, fig. 174, next page.
At
the moment When the bow-string is thus Secured, an arrow falls from the magazine
into the groove cut out in front of the notch. An arrow cannot fall from the
magazine into the groove till the bow-string is in the notch, fig. 175, p.242.
The
trigger consists of a piece of hard wood. When the lever is fully pulled back
the trigger pushes the stretched bow-string upwards out of the notch that holds
it, B, fig. 174, next page. The trigger works in an upright slot. It has its
upper end enlarged to prevent it from dropping out of the slot in which it moves
up and down, fig. 173.
Fig. 173. - The action of the trigger of the Chinese Repeating Crossbow
B, The bowstring in the notch above the trigger ; D, An arrow in the groove in front of the bow-string ; E, The magazine which contains the supply of arrows.
240
B,
fig. 174. The lever is here pulled back, with the result that the bow is bent
and the bow-string stretched. By pulling back the lever a little farther than
shown in this sketch, the projecting end of the trigger will be pressed against
the surface of the stock of the crossbow. This causes the upper end of the
trigger to lift the bow-string out of the notch and set it free. The arrow is
then discharged and the crossbow returns to the position shown in fig. 171,
p.238, and is ready for the next shot.
241
From
this description, it will be understood how simple and rapid is the action of
the crossbow. All that need be done to shoot off the arrows contained in its
magazine, is to work the lever to and fro as slowly or as quickly as desired.
It
is even possible to discharge a dozen arrows in fifteen seconds.
-----
By
a slight alteration in the construction of the crossbow it was sometimes made to
shoot two arrows, instead of one, every time its bow recoiled.
In
such a case, the magazine and stock were about 3/4 in. wider than in the weapon
just described. The magazine had a thin partition down its centre which divided
it into two compartments. On each side of the central partition a dozen arrows
were laid, one over the other. The bow-string passed over two parallel grooves
instead of over a single one, each groove being of course, exactly beneath a
compartment in the magazine. As the lever was worked, two arrows dropped from
the magazine and remained side by side, one in each groove, both arrows being
Propelled together when the bow-string was released.
By
means of this arrangement one hundred men could discharge two hundred arrows in
fifteen seconds, or double the number which one hundred men could shoot off in
the same time with the ordinary repeating crossbow.
-----
The
effective range of these Chinese weapons was about 80 yards; their extreme range
from 180 to 200 yards. The bamboo arrows, though short and light, were well made
and had steel heads that were heavy in proportion to the length of their shafts.
They had no feathers, so that their freedom of movement might not be impeded as
they dropped one by one from the magazine when the crossbow was being used.
For
the same reason, the width of the magazine – inside – was slightly in excess
of the diameter of the arrow. The length of the arrow was from 12 in. to 16 in.,
according to the size of the crossbow; its diameter 5/16th in. to 3/8th
in.
242
The
bow was made either of one stout piece of male bamboo, about 3 ft. 6 in. long, or
of several flat strips lashed together.
In the latter case, the bow-string passed through hole in each end of the bow, fig. 174, p. 240. The bow-string consisted of animal sinew twisted into a cord of suitable strength.
.
FIG. 175.- The magazine of the Chinese repeating crossbow with its sides
removed.
It
will be seen that an arrow cannot drop down from the magazine into the groove
along which the bow-string travels till the latter is in the notch above the
trigger, as shown in A, fig. 174, p. 240.