The Development and Improvement of Archery (V)

Complete archery official system

The archery of the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties not only has a unique position in the history of ancient Chinese sports, but also is an extremely important social and cultural phenomenon in the history of pre-Qin social development. Whether it is the "archery ceremony games" specially set up for the Zhou emperor, or the social trend of "when a son is born, a man sets an archery bow on the left side of the door", it all shows the important position of archery in the society at that time. Marx once pointed out: "You must know that the existence of government authorities is manifested through its officials, army, administrative organs, and judges. If you leave aside the body of government authorities, it is just a shadow, an imagination, and a false name." (Volume 6 of "Collected Works of Marx and Engels", People's Publishing House, 1961, page 320) It can be seen that the organizational structure is an indispensable basic condition for promoting national construction and social development. The reason why the archery of the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties left a strong mark in the history of ancient Chinese sports and why it could develop healthily and continuously in the pre-Qin period should be said to be due to the complete set of official systems for managing archery formed in the society at that time.

According to the introduction of "Zhou Li", the central government of Zhou Dynasty should have six departments of "Heaven Official, Earth Official, Spring Official, Summer Official, Autumn Official, Winter Official". The chief of the department was Da Sima, and there were officials of various levels such as Dafu, Shi (Dafu), Fu, Shi, etc., with a total of 347 official positions. Among them, there were 52 official positions for managing archery, with different divisions of labor, forming a huge official system for managing archery. The official position in charge of ritual shooting The ritual shooting activities of the Western Zhou Dynasty were a milestone in the history of the development of ancient Chinese archery, and were also an important product of the Western Zhou Dynasty's implementation of the ritual system and maintaining the interests of the ruling class. It was divided into four types according to different levels: Dashe, Binshe, Yanshe, and Xiangshe. Among them, Dashe was the ancient "archery ceremony games".

According to "Zhou Li", there were 22 official positions involved in the management of ritual shooting activities. Among them, there are 2 highest-level officials (Qing (officers), 3 middle officials (officers), 6 lower officials (officers), 1 upper sergeant (officers), 7 middle sergeants (officers), and 3 lower sergeants (officers). They formed a seven-level management system. Explanation: ① Deng, is the chip to calculate the number of hits. ② Fa: also known as Rong. The shape is similar to the current screen, seven feet long and wide, with cowhide stretched on the frame. It is a tool for the winner (target reporter) to avoid arrows. Each marquis has a Rong, which is placed ten bows northwest of the marquis. ③ Wu Ji, refers to the left and right jade, carved, red, lacquer, and plain. Wu Xi, refers to Wan Xi, Zao Xi, Ci Xi, Pu Xi, and Xiong Xi. These officials who manage archery activities not only have different levels, but also have different specific divisions of labor. For example, the Siqiu in Tianguan is composed of 2 middle-ranking officers (officials), 4 lower-ranking officers (officials) as assistants, 2 officials, 4 historians, and 40 apprentices. At the "shooting ceremony games" held by the king (Zhou emperor), they are responsible for supplying tiger marquis, bear marquis, leopard marquis, etc., and setting up swans on the marquis.

Another example is the Xiang Daifu in Diguan. ① The Xiang Daifu is the highest administrative official of the township. Each township is held by a Qing, who is mainly in charge of the politics, religion and prohibitions of the township. Among them, the management of the shooting Confucian movement is mainly "Xiangshe etiquette". The people who are responsible for supervising the Xiangshe ceremony mainly look at whether they have achieved the following five aspects: first, whether they have achieved harmony between body and mind in the archery competition; second, whether their appearance in the archery competition conforms to the norms of etiquette; third, whether they have hit the target in the archery competition; fourth, whether they conform to the rhythm of music in the archery competition; fifth, whether their dancing posture in the archery competition is beautiful. Another example is the archery in Xiaguan. The archery position is held by 2 lower-ranking officials, 4 upper-ranking officials (officials) as assistants, and 8 lower-ranking officials (officials), 2 officials, 4 historians, 2 clerks, and 20 prisoners. It is mainly responsible for the court etiquette of the three dukes, ministers, and officials of the country, and assists the Grand Marshal in managing the archery etiquette related to the ceremony of archery.

For example, it is stipulated that the king's archery ceremony uses six couples as the main couple; set up three shooting positions, set up three winners, and set up three chamberlains; use "Luo Yu" as the accompaniment music, play the music nine times, and listen to it five times before shooting. It is stipulated that the archery ceremony of the princes uses four couples as the main couple; set up two shooting positions, set up two winners, and set up two chamberlains; use "Li Shou" as the accompaniment music, play the music seven times, and listen to it three times before shooting. The archery ceremony for the nobles and officials is stipulated to use three couples as the main couple; set up a shooting post, set up a winner, and set up a defender; use "Cai Zang" as the accompaniment music, play the music five times, and listen to it twice before shooting. The archery ceremony for the scholars (officials) is also stipulated to use three couples as the main couple, but for shooting a thin post, set up a winner, and set up a defender: use "Cai Fan" as the accompaniment music, play the luxury music five times, and listen to it twice before shooting. There is also a special provision: the archer in the "shooting ceremony sports meeting" should measure the post road with a raccoon step, and set up three posts. When the king starts shooting, he orders the winner who stands with his back to the shooting post to leave the shooting post and stand behind the king to tell the king the flight of the arrow shot by the king to help the king correct the shooting action and posture. After the king finishes shooting, he orders the "shooting bird clan" to pick up the shot arrow. When offering sacrifices to the shooting post, the "Fu Bu clan" determines the position to receive the wine offering, and counts the chips with the historian to calculate the number of hits, etc. According to the literature, the "school", "sequence" and "Xiang" educational institutions similar to the later schools had appeared in the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties.

The educational content was what later generations called the "Six Arts", namely "ritual, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy and mathematics". Among them, archery and charioteering have the attributes of school sports. "Zhou Li·Diguan" once contained the saying of "five archery and five charioteering". Among them, the five archery refers to the assessment standards of five archery skills, namely self-arrow, cannon, measuring, Xiangchi and well instrument. These are the basic requirements and methods of five archery teaching generally implemented in schools at that time, and the official positions responsible for their implementation are mainly Zhuzi and Gongzheng. Zhuzi is composed of 2 lower-level officials, 4 middle-level officials (officials) as assistants, and 2 officials, 2 historians, 2 officials and 20 prisoners. Fu Zheng was held by 2 senior officers (officials), 4 middle officers (officials) as assistants, 8 lower officers (officials), 2 officials, 4 historians, 4 clerks, and 40 soldiers.

The official position in charge of field shooting was set up. Field shooting refers to the archery in the field. There are 29 official positions involved in field shooting management in "Zhou Li", among which there are 2 highest-level crucian, 4 middle officials, 6 lower officials, 2 senior officers (officials), 7 middle officers (officials), and 8 lower officers (officials). The Grand Sima in Xiaguan and the Jiren in Diguan both belong to the category of high-ranking officials in the court. The Grand Sima was held by 1 Qing, and there were 32 lower officers (officials), 6 officials, 16 historians, 32 clerks, and 320 soldiers. The Grand Sima was mainly responsible for establishing nine laws related to various countries to assist the king in governing the politics of the vassal states, and at the same time teach the people to practice war. It was during this process that Sima came into contact with field shooting. For example, he wanted to teach the people to conduct field shooting activities in different seasons.

For spring hunting, officials were required to hold a raccoon sacrifice at the place where the flag was set up, warning the people not to violate the relevant hunting laws, and then beat the drums, and then the hunting began; for summer hunting, the people were required to camp on the grass, and set up battle formations just like teaching the people to practice war in mid-spring; for winter hunting, the people were taught the ceremony of the grand review and practiced the tactics at the same time. First, a flag was set up with wild grass in the wild land where the hunting was held, one flag was set up every 100 steps, a total of three flags were set up, and another flag was set up every 50 steps. On the day of the hunting, Sima erected a flag between the second flag and the second flag, and the village officials led the villagers to arrive with flags, drums, rao and other musical instruments. At dawn, Sima put down the flag and punished those who arrived late. The Ji Ren, who was composed of 4 middle-ranking officers (officials), 8 lower-ranking officers (officials) as assistants, 2 historians, and 40 footmen, was mainly responsible for the government orders of the state hunting grounds, setting up boundaries and prohibitions for them, and guarding them. At the same time, they supervised those who hunted young animals and obtained bird eggs, as well as those who hunted with poisonous arrows. The official positions for making and keeping shooting tools were set up in the "Zhou Li" to make and award bows, and they were carefully classified according to the season and purpose.

For example, there was a "Si Gong Shi" who was specifically in charge of making shooting tools, a "Shan Ren" who was specifically in charge of the use of shooting tools, and a "O Ren" who was specifically in charge of inspecting the quality of shooting tools. The division of labor was clear and each performed its duties. The Si Gong Shi, who was composed of 2 lower-ranking officers (officials), 8 middle-ranking officers (officials) as assistants, 4 officials, 8 historians, 8 Xu, and 80 footmen. They were responsible for the production methods of 6 types of bows, 4 types of crossbows, and 8 types of arrows, identifying their names and types, and were responsible for keeping them, awarding them, and taking them back. In addition, they also have the rule of offering bows and crossbows in mid-spring, and offering arrows and crossbows in mid-autumn. When it comes to awarding bows, the king's horse and the curved bow are awarded to those who shoot leather armor and mulberry boards to practice martial arts; the clamped bow and the Geng bow are awarded to those who shoot thin birds and beasts; the Tang bow and the big bow are awarded to those who learn archery and ministers on diplomatic missions, as well as ministers who visit distant places to comfort them.

The number of arrows and crossbows awarded is allocated according to the number of bows. The crossbow, the clamped crossbow, and the Yu crossbow are good for attack and defense; the Tang crossbow and the big crossbow are good for chariot battles and field battles. The arrows, the crooked arrows, and the Jie arrows are good for shooting with fire, and are used for defending the city or chariot battles; the killing arrows and the silver arrows are used for close shooting or hunting; the gifted arrows and the Fu arrows are used for shooting flying birds; the Heng arrows and the Ku arrows are used for scattering such as ritual shooting or practice shooting. The emperor's horse is connected to nine bows to form a circle, the princes are connected to seven bows to form a circle, the officials are connected to five bows to form a circle, and the scholars (officials) are connected to three bows to form a circle. A bow with too large a curvature is an inferior bow. Whenever a sacrifice is held, bows and arrows for shooting animals must be provided. When practicing archery in Ze Palace, bows and arrows for shooting chess boards are provided. When holding a grand shooting or a banquet, bows and arrows are provided according to the number of participants, and a clip is provided. When there is a major funeral, bows and arrows for use as funeral objects are provided.

Whenever there is a tour, expedition, or meeting, bows, crossbows, arrows, etc. are awarded according to the needs. The awarding is in accordance with the ceremony of awarding other weapons and armor. For hunting and archery, a basket containing arrows is provided, and arrows are provided as gifts. Anyone who loses an arrow must compensate if it is not used, which shows that the management process is both orderly and strict. The repairman is composed of 2 senior officers (doctors), 4 junior officers (doctors) as assistants, and 1 official, 2 historians, 2 clerks, and 20 prisoners. The main task was to manage the bows, crossbows, arrows, winnowing rods, gifts, bows, hooks, and other archery tools used by the king, and to prepare and teach the king to perform archery rituals and assist the king in holding bows and arrows. The Shanren were composed of 4 middle-ranking officers (officials), 2 officials, 4 historians, 2 officials, and 20 servants. The main task was to collect money and goods from the official gold and give them to the craftsmen. There were 6 types of bows, divided into three grades; there were 4 types of crossbows, divided into three grades; there were 8 types of arrows, divided into three grades; and they were also divided into three grades. The Shanren was responsible for presenting unpainted arrows in spring and successfully made arrows in autumn, recording the quality of the presented arrows; and deciding the thickness of the wine and food prepared for the craftsmen; calculating the achievements of the craftsmen, testing the quality of the bows and crossbows they made, as a basis for increasing or decreasing the food they were given and for rewards and punishments; and handing over the bows, crossbows, arrows and clothes made by the craftsmen to Sima Gong and Shanren. All the accounts of the granting of goods to craftsmen and the issuance and collection of bows, crossbows and arrows were kept by the dry man for verification and inspection. The consumption and loss of bows, crossbows, arrows and whips were excluded.

In short, under the social background of "the most important affairs of the country are sacrifices and war", archery activities in the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties may have been just a military skill in the early days, but later gradually evolved into a content of school education, a means of social etiquette education, and a measure and method of class rule. Therefore, the establishment of archery officials in "Zhou Li" was undoubtedly from the national level to ensure that the archery sport at that time could develop healthily and continuously, and to meet the needs of society for archery activities to the greatest extent possible. Notes: ① Township is a local administrative division. Below the township is the state, below the state is the party, below the party is the clan, below the clan is the li, and below the li is the bi. Usually five families form a bi so that they can guarantee each other. Five bi form a li so that they can entrust each other with things. Four lüs form a clan, so that they can help each other in funerals. Five clans form a party, so that they can help each other in disasters. Five parties form a state, so that they can help each other. Five states form a township, so that they can treat the wise men in the township as guests.