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China is one of the earliest countries invented bow. At Shiyu site, a well known archeological site in Suoxian, a small county in Shanxi Province, lots of stone-made arrow heads unearthed during the excavation, have proven that bows were widely being used during the later period of the Paleolithic Age. Also, some ancient Chinese legends regard the invention of bows as the key symbol of origination of Chinese civilization.
| As we all know, bows are not only the most powerful weapon in the cold weapon age, but also the most important production tool. In ancient China, follow the successive development of bows and archery, they were gradually endowed with many other meanings or sociological functions apart from its basic usage. They served as an education institution, a sport, a leisure activity, or a means to communicate, etc., all that inevitably extended the cultural meanings of Chinese archery. Consequently, certain etiquettes, ornaments, clothing, gifts, contests, examinations, and even literature that concern with archery were given birth. All these combine together, and generate out a wealthy and colorful cultural phenomenon, and develop into a special as well as rich and interesting field of study.
During the Shang Dynasty (From 18 century BC to 12 century BC) and Zhou Dynasty (From 12 century BC to 3 century BC), especially West Zhou Dynasty (the period before 771 BC), archery as the most important lesson teaching at schools, was a required skill for all aristocrat men. Actually, schools then were usually called Yang, Xu, Xue, Jiao, all names originally used for archery practices. These names are still being used today to refer schools. In West Zhou, only aristocrats have the privilege to take education. Through practicing in archery and its related etiquettes, those nobles not only gained the proficiency at the war skills, more importantly, they were also supposed to cultivate their minds and learn how to behave as nobles.
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