What was the archery ring called in the early days?

According to historical documents, the history of the thumb ring can be traced back to the Shang Dynasty. The earliest thumb ring was called shè. "Shuowen" says "shè, shooting", which means that this device is a tool for riding and shooting, and later became popular during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period!

The thumb ring is a hand protection tool. When shooting arrows in ancient times, it was worn on the finger that hooked the bowstring to hold the bowstring. At the same time, when releasing the arrow, it can also prevent the rapidly retracted bowstring from scratching the fingers. The ancients also called it "ji", which means "trigger", indicating that the function of the thumb ring is equivalent to a trigger.

The traditional Han Chinese ring is slightly different from the Manchu and Mongolian rings. The Han Chinese ring is a trapezoid when viewed from the side, that is, one side is high and the other side is low, while the Mongolian and Manchu rings are generally cylindrical.

The earlier rings (now called Wu rings) were made of animal bones. In the Qing Dynasty, due to the rise of firearms and the end of the cold weapon era, the rings gradually became ornaments. The texture of the rings also changed from the original deer antlers to rhinoceros horns, ivory, crystal, jade, porcelain, jadeite, tourmaline and other precious and smooth materials.