Measurements of a Manchu bow | Mandarin Mansion

Author(s)

Peter D.

First published

9 May 2019

Last updated

2 January 2020

I decided to carefully document some notable items, among which this rather special Manchu bow.

It was made in the famous Changxing workshop in Chengdu, which as the subject of Tan Danjiong's (T'an Tan-Chiung) "Investigative Report on Bow and Arrow Manufacture in Chengdu" published in Academia Sinica Language and History Review, Taipei, 1951, and then again by the Society of Archer-Antiquaries in 1984.

Stephen Selby managed to locate Wu Yonghua, the daughter of Wu Shusen, the owner of the shop, in Chengdu and interviewed her on April 6th, 2000. The interview is published online at ATARN.ORG.

It was very nice to have a bow by this shop in my hands that was in such great condition still, and I hope the measurements may serve researchers and bowyers in their endeavors for many years to come.

Changxing bow diagram Click to open. The 7.8 mb image may take some time to download.