Taiheiki

Chapter 14 answers a few questions.

I just read the discussion area and a book friend asked why the author always used ancient Western military technology and tactics instead of ancient Chinese military technology and tactics when writing works on ancient Chinese history.

The reason is simple: I know very little about ancient Chinese military technology and tactics, but I know far more about ancient Western military technology and tactics. This isn't because I'm a Westernized person, but rather because the field of ancient military restoration is only just beginning in my country, while Europe and the United States have already established a significant presence. I've even built and played with some of them myself. Meanwhile, those in China who understand military affairs don't understand history, and those who understand history don't understand military affairs. They're still rummaging through old documents. Who knows if what's in those documents is true or false? Ancient historical texts often claim that one outnumbered troops is worth ten. The Song Dynasty's "divine arm bow" boasted a range of 800 meters. Wouldn't it be ridiculous to simply copy it?

What is ancient military reconstruction? Let me give you an example. What were ancient Chinese tower ships? People write papers boasting about 10,000-ton wooden treasure ships. The West, on the other hand, tries to use ancient techniques to build a trireme, then see how fast it can travel. Can it, as described in ancient history books, reach 17 or 18 knots and use its ram to ram the enemy in two? If you visit Greece, there's a tourist attraction where tourists can row a restored boat themselves.

Those in the know will recognize the things I've written about. For example, my book mentions the tea-stem bamboo laminated ram-horn crossbow. Tea-stem bamboo, also known as Li bamboo, has one of the highest elastic moduli among natural materials, even better than fiberglass. I personally experimented with making a laminated bow by splicing tea-stem bamboo strips horizontally. There are also videos online of Western-style crossbows using deer antler roller triggers. One major advantage is that the craftsmanship and technical requirements are much lower than those for Chinese crossbow triggers. Basically, all you need is a file and a saw.

By the way, the reason why bronze is used instead of steel for bearings is because the performance of bronze precision castings is much better than that of iron castings made by ancient craftsmanship. Steel casting is a very learned technology. The mechanical properties of pig iron, wrought iron and steel are very different. In addition, copper parts have self-lubricating properties, which are better than steel.

(End of this chapter)