弓檠与弓?考辨

The Examination and Identification of the Qing and Bi of Bows

一、秦俑坑出土弓弩附件概况秦始皇陵兵马俑坑陆续发现大量弓弩遗存,仅一号坑第一次发掘即多达132处。弓弩都装在弓韬之内,袁仲一先生指出:“韬由两片半月形的蔴片合成,背部用线组缝合,前侧开口,口沿部分有组缝的绦边”。

In the terracotta army pits of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum,many encased bows and crossbows are unearthed;in the bow cases,there were usually two rectangular wooden bars which are called by the excavators as qing檠,and their function was supposed as adjusting the curves of the bow limbs.At ancient times,two kinds of objects have been called as“qing”during the making and using of bows and crossbows:one was a case for storing the bow,which has been mounted with ox horns and deer tendons and lacquered,in order to fix the shape of the bow;the other,which was also known as bi[韋必],was tied to the top and bottom of the grip before releasing the bowstring to prevent the bow from springing back and being damaged.The rectangular wooden bars unearthed from the terracotta army pits of Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum would be a simplified form of the latter,and therefore they should be called as bip[韋必].