Research On The Archery In Tang And Song Dynasties

According to the archaeological discoveries, the stone arrow has been existed forabout twenty thousand yeas, a solid evidence to prove China being the first country touse archery.Archery had significant influences on the politics, economy and culture ofancient China.The thesis elaborates the development of the archery in Tang and Song Dynastiesby the means of literature, case analysis and image informations. It mainly studies thearchery from the aspects of the educational and social system, etiquette enlightenment,military institution building, entertainment and foreign exchanges.Research shows that the emperors of the Tang and Song Dynasties paid attention tothe archery. Archery, being the relatively representative one, is the most importantsubject in Tang’s selection system.There not only has selection system but martial artsschool in Song dynasty.And archery is a important subject in martial art school.Therealso appeared archery etiquette and archery ceremony.This is a form of archeryceremonial activities. They have strict rules and processes, but this could be regarded asa major innovation in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Archery in Tang and SongDynasties is also a recreational activity, being the favorite of the emperors and theirministers. Even many women are also involved in the sport of archery, such as shootingducks, shooting powder Orchestra. Poets of Song Dynasty like Su Shi and Ou Yangxiuwere also loyal fans of archery. Ou invented the famous nine shot grid, and Su has madetremendous contributions for " Archer social " development. Foreign exchanges in Tangand Song Dynasties were frequent, especially exchanges of archery in this period withJapan.The Japanese government sent many messengers and students to learn Chinesearchery skills during Tang Dynasty, and introduced many Chinese archery books to theircountry.In conclusion, archery has developed in educational and social system,etiquette enlightenment, military institution building, entertainment. It also illustrates that theemperors of the Tang and Song Dynasties paid attention to the archery. Besides, fromthe flourish of archery in rural ceremony and entertainment, it further illustrates thatarchery is very popular among people.