On Variations in the Shapes of the Components of the Chinese Nu-Chi (Crossbow Latch)

The Chinese nu-chi e e (crossbow latch) has three moving parts: (a) the ear-shaped piece erh X, (b) the claw-like sears or teeth ya 1) i, also called kou hsiian qj C with a vertical upward projection which is called the regulator kuei M, also called wang shan i 1a, and (c) the hsiian-tao V jJ, also called pan chi 4& (or 4A) N, trigger. These three moving parts in most specimens work in a kuo % (metal housing) and in all cases are held in position and also pivot on cotterpins. There is a specimen of a Chinese crossbow stock which has the three moving parts which form the latch directly mounted in a housing cut into the stock 2). For a fuller description of the functioning and nomenclature of these components, see Schuyler van R. Cammnann in Sinologica, 5 (1956), pp. 9-I9. There are probably hundreds of nu-chi latches in museums and I am attempting to form a corpus of them. So far I have only been able to locate less than a hundred with some difficulty. I have studied the variations in the shapes of the components of the latches in my collection of drawings and photographs and can summarize them as follows. Fig. i. The erh 3) ear-shaped piece exhibits no variation in shape. Fig. 2. The sears exhibit the following variations: sometimes the kuei regulator has horizontal calibrations. (These calibrations by their spacing suggest that they were for elevating 4) the crossbow to various degrees corresponding to various ranges, a practice similar to the use of the back-sight slide on a modern rifle.) In only

Art · Chinese history and philosophy · Geology · Mathematics

• Han and Xiongnu a Reexamination of Cultural and Political Relations (I)

  Sophia-Karin Psarras•Monumenta Serica•2003

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