Illustration of Archery - Archery Practice

1. Upward Shooting

Applicable: witchcraft shooting ceremony. Features: Upward shooting is based on the standard of foot shooting, and the angles of the front and back hands are adjusted. In the Xia and Shang dynasties, bows and arrows were endowed with psychic properties. In witchcraft shooting ceremonies, they could exorcise demons and kill gods, and some people even held bows to compete with gods.

2. Horseback Shooting

Applicable: Military combat and aristocratic hunting. Features: The bows used for horseback shooting in the Han Dynasty were slightly shorter, ranging from 109 cm to 132 cm in length. Horseback shooting requires archers to be able to shoot left and right, and to take into account both front and back. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Yuan people were outstanding in horseback shooting, among which back shooting best reflected their superb skills and combat capabilities. Because of the ban on soldiers in the private sector, archery activities only existed among the military and aristocrats at that time.

3. Foot Shooting

Applicable: Combat, hunting, ceremonial shooting, daily shooting practice by the military and aristocrats, etc. Features: Foot shooting is relatively popular, and can usually be divided into static foot shooting and dynamic foot shooting. Static shooting can be divided into standing shooting, kneeling shooting, and sitting shooting according to the body position. Dynamic shooting is commonly divided into walking and sprinting. The rulers of the Qing Dynasty relied on "archery and horsemanship to gain the world" and highly praised military shooting. The royal family even listed archery as a daily must-learn lesson, and there was an archery garden in the courtyard of the princes and nobles.

4 Yishe

Applicable: Noble hunting. Features: Yishe has existed in the Zhou Dynasty and is also one of the contents of the Zhou King's assessment of scholars' archery skills. The archer uses a pier arrow with a silk thread to shoot at the flying bird and tie it up, and can obtain uninjured live birds.

5 Ritual shooting

Applicable: Shooting ceremony, literati shooting and other occasions.
Features: Ritual shooting, as a part of Zhou ritual, is a reflection of its patriarchal system, and also a way to correct the heart and cultivate oneself, and reflect on oneself. In the Han Dynasty, it was passed down among the people in the form of literati shooting. In the Ming Dynasty, the ritual system was rebuilt, Guande Pavilion was built across the country, and the style of literati shooting was very strong.

6. Pot-throwing

Applicable: etiquette, banquets, etc. Features: Pot-throwing is very popular among the people. The pot-throwing ceremony originated from the archery ceremony, which is used to entertain the guests and learn etiquette.