弓体的力学性能及“郑玄弹性定律”再探

A Further Inquiry into Mechanical Performance of Chinese Bow and Zheng Xuans Law of Elasticity

中国古人在制作及使用弓弩的过程中,在一些与弓弩力学性能有关的问题上积累了丰富的经验,形成了自己的认识。对传统制弓工艺进行实地调查、测试,再结合原始文献分析研究,结果表明:中国传统复合牛角弓的力学性能优于单木弓;弓的拉力曲线不是线性关系;弓力和射程具有一定线性关系。无论从弓体本身的力学性能,还是从制弓匠和射手对弓体的感觉来说,认为“郑玄发现弹性定律”的结论都是错误的。郑玄是从文字本身出发对《考工记》进行解释,和胡克的科学实验是无法相提并论的。

Based on the author＇s research ＆ practice of shooting and historical sources,this paper gives a systematic description of the related mechanical knowledge in making and using the traditional Chinese bow. The paper re-analyzes the mechanical performance of a bow based on previous works, and discusses how an ancient Chinese understood the mechanical performance of bow . It coneludes that the former parlance about Zheng Xuan （ 127 - 200 ）, a famous Eastern Han Confucian scholar,who had found the law of elasticity far earlier than the English physicist Robert Hooke （ 1635 - 1703 ） did, is mistaken.