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Song Dynasty Bed Crossbow with Mechanical Trigger

Type Object Region East Asia Time c. 1000–1127

The Song bed crossbow was a heavy crossbow mounted on a wooden frame, spanned and fired by a mechanism of pulleys and trigger, allowing rapid reloadi…

Timeline

  1. 1111–1118Armaments workshops of Bianjing · Kaifeng CityThe bed crossbow used a wooden frame and a mechanism (pulley system) to span the string with reduced effort; the soldier sat on the bed and triggered it with a foot pedal or hand lever, enabling quick reloading—one archer with several loaders could maintain a high rate of fire.
  2. 1115–1120Yanshan Circuit · North ChinaDuring the Zhenghe era, Song-Liao border fortresses and city walls were widely equipped with bed crossbows and Shenbi crossbows for long-range suppression and city defense; military texts such as the Wujing Zongyao detail their structure and use.

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