#7
Post
by greybeard » Tue Apr 20, 2010 8:32 pm
Len wrote:Fascinating stuff Daryl, very interesting though your implied thought that somehow the west was behind the east in development with bows is a little off in my opinion as they did have composite bows on their crossbows and at the end of the day a simple wooden stick and string will still do the same job as a much harder to make/slower to produce /expensive composite bow without all the trouble.
If the western nations had thought they were worth the bother the would have used them as the west led the world in military development of weopons.
Len,
I was not knocking the longbow/warbow. My thoughts in this posting were outside the military square. Perhaps at another time we need to examine how different cultures approached warfare?
There were probably numerous suitable species of trees available in Asia to make a stick and string bow but the question was why did they choose to make such complex bows?
To quote GrahameA
'I am of the opinion that it is a cultural thing. They developed a system that rewarded high intellect early and thus others flowed. When that system stalled so did everything else.'
As a bowyer in earyl apprenticeship I am interested bows from the various cultures and how/why they evolved.
On the military side the following is quoted from the Museum of Anthropology;
"Korea has a long archery tradition that has endured virtually uninterrupted to the present day. The bow was a major weapon used in defence from ancient times through the 19th century. During the Choson period (1392-1910), Korea adopted a military-service examination system from China that included a focus on archery skills and that contributed to the development of Korean archery as a practical martial art. The Choson period also saw the creation of a personal dimension in Korean archery, with archery seen as a way of cultivating Confucian values of social order and morality. Civilian shooting ranges were established after the Japanese Hideyoshi Invasion of the late 16th century, and archery clubs were created that acted as a mechanism for maintaining the traditions of Korean martial and ritual archery. A brief decline of interest in archery occurred with the transition of the Korean military to modern firearms in the early 19th century; however, it was given new direction by King Kojong in the early 20th century as a way to support physical activities while retaining the cultural emphasis on ritual and courtesy. Today there are over 300 traditional archery clubs in Korea; additionally, the philosophy and training of traditional archery have been transferred to modern Olympic-style archery, at which Korean athletes have gained international recognition in recent years."
My red ash D section longbow is still my favourite bow.
Daryl.
Last edited by
greybeard on Tue Apr 20, 2010 8:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"And you must not stick for a groat or twelvepence more than another man would give, if it be a good bow.
For a good bow twice paid for, is better than an ill bow once broken. [Ascham]
“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” [Einstein]
I am old enough to make my own decisions....Just not young enough to remember what I decided!....
,i might knock one of those bows up later today 