Northern Song Shenbi Crossbow

Timeline

1. 1001–1010Northern Song northwestern frontier garrisons · Yongxing Military CircuitIn the early Northern Song, bed crossbows and foot-drawn crossbows were widely equipped along the Song-Xia and Song-Liao frontiers; the bronze trigger mechanisms were precise and reliable, and frontier forces drilled shooting daily, accumulating experience in strong crossbow warfare.
2. c. 1070–1080Bianjing imperial guard drill ground · BianjingDuring the Xining era, the Shenbi crossbow was improved and finalized by the Armaments Bureau, with a wooden crossbow arm and bronze trigger mechanism, requiring foot-drawing to span, with a range of about 240-plus bu; it was deployed on a large scale to the Northern Song imperial guard and frontier forces.