Difference between Bow and Crossbow

What is a crossbow?

The crossbow is a cold weapon used for archery in ancient times. It is a bow with an arm, mainly composed of a crossbow arm, a crossbow bow, a bowstring and a crossbow machine. It is an important part of the ancient chariot warfare. It is a weapon that infantry can effectively restrain cavalry. The crossbow is also called a "nest bow" or a "crossbow". Although the reloading time of a crossbow is much longer than that of a bow, it has a longer range than a bow, stronger lethality, higher hit rate, and lower requirements for users. It is a powerful long-range killing weapon in ancient times. The range of a strong crossbow can reach 600 meters, and the range of a super-large bed crossbow can reach 1,000 meters. It can be seen that the power of the crossbow is extraordinary. According to the different methods of stringing, it can also be subdivided into arm-stretched crossbows, step-stretched crossbows and waist-stretched crossbows, as well as continuous crossbows that can fire several arrows in a volley or in a row, and bed crossbows equipped with several crossbows. Whether in modern times or in ancient times, crossbows are prohibited for civilians to use. Because the operation of the crossbow is very simple and does not require shooting skills, it is easy for civilians to master its use. The reason why crossbows have been used on a large scale in ancient battlefields is that their range is greater than that of bows. In other words, their penetration is stronger, and accuracy is secondary. In particular, the powerful single-soldier crossbow, which uses both hands and feet, can kill the enemy's heavy armored soldiers more effectively than bows, so powerful crossbow units are also indispensable in long-range shooting units. Therefore, the long-range shooting units in ancient my country have always attached equal importance to bows and crossbows. This situation lasted until the Ming Dynasty when quasi-thermal firearms began to be equipped in the army, and crossbows were gradually eliminated. The reason for elimination is that the firing rate is similar, but quasi-thermal firearms are more powerful, and have a longer killing and range.

What is a bow?

The bow is the oldest type of projectile weapon among projectile weapons. It consists of an elastic bow arm and a flexible bowstring. When the force accumulated in the process of pulling the string and drawing the bow is released in an instant, the arrow or projectile buckled on the bowstring can be shot at a distant target.
Differences between bows and crossbows:
Since the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, bows and crossbows have coexisted in the army. Although crossbows were born from bows, there are certain differences between the two.

1. The bow is simple in structure, light in weight, flexible in use, and can be mass-produced;

2. Compared with the bow, the crossbow has higher accuracy, but its accuracy is not higher than that of the bow when it is not aimed for a long time. The bow and arrow have the speed of attacking the target. The arrow, bow, aiming, and shooting are a whole, and the whole process can be completed in a short time;

3. The firing rate of a crossbow that can fire continuously is actually not faster than the speed of a skilled archer shooting continuously with a bow and arrow, and it has no accuracy at all;

4. In Western countries, the crossbow was once considered an evil weapon and was banned. It is also banned in my country.

5. For cavalry, the crossbow basically has no chance of a second shot.

Why didn't the crossbow replace the bow?

The crossbow has many advantages, such as longer range and high accuracy, etc., but the real advantage over the bow is its delay in firing. The crossbow can fire whenever it wants, but the bow cannot. The crossbowman can string the crossbow and aim carefully and slowly, or pull the crossbow trigger according to the commander's order. However, for a bow with the same poundage, the normal firing rate (the number of arrows fired per unit time) is three to four times that of a crossbow. Considering the operation of the crossbow when loading, it is safe to say that it is four times, and three times is a bit optimistic. What does this mean? It means that in about 12 to 15 seconds, an ordinary archer can shoot four arrows, while a crossbowman can shoot one. In a large-scale battlefield, accuracy is not very important. The most important thing is the continuous output of firepower and the density of coverage. From this perspective, the bow is obviously much better than the crossbow.

Moreover, in the eyes of Confucian scholars who emphasize personal cultivation, the status of the bow is far higher than that of the crossbow. The crossbow is only in the position of "tool", while the bow has reached the level of "Tao". The bow is shot by human power, while the crossbow is a complex shot by mechanical force. The accuracy of crossbow shooting is mostly derived from the design of the crossbow, while the accuracy of bow shooting depends on the good psychological quality of the individual. In comparison, the crossbow is just a tool and is not very helpful for the cultivation of a gentleman, while bow shooting can well train a person's will and psychology, "taking the target as the ambition and the heart as the arrow", emphasizing the unity of bow, arrow and hand, highlighting the theme of "shooting to observe virtue", so that people can achieve concentration. This educational method of embedding shooting in teaching is not only pursued by many ancient Confucian scholars, but also what we modern people should learn and advocate.