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This is where we discuss the bows, arrows, quivers and other hardware used in Asian archery.
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Stephen Selby
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by Stephen Selby » Tue Aug 26, 2008 9:43 am
Fashions in Korean bow-design change slightly over ten years or so. For example, over the past 30-40 years, Korean bows have become narrower and narrower.
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Dusan
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by Dusan » Tue Aug 26, 2008 7:37 pm
Its very interesting , if you mr. Selby can informating us vith more detailes about time changes korean hornbows. For example, the statue horsearcher in korea loking like he have bow like indopersian or mongolian style vith no working ears.
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Stephen Selby
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by Stephen Selby » Wed Aug 27, 2008 3:51 am
The Korean people are very proud of their horn bow design. At the present time, this design is unique in Asia; but in the past it probably was not.
Korean wall paintings from Kokuryo show a bow design that was common in northern China, which first emerged with the formation of the Xiongnu confederation. There is very little information covering that time up until the Ming Dynasty.
After the Mongolian Empire, Korean forces were in disarray. China sent missions to give military support and training and to wipe out remaining Mongiolian forces. At that time it seems that the Ming style of bow entered Korea. The Ming style itself may have been introduced to China from Turkey by Turkish mercenaries who made up a large proportion of Mongolian forces. Ming archery and military manuals illustrate the Ming style 'small siyah bow' (小 弓/肖 弓) (I have to make up the middle character here.) This bow is very similar to the modern Korean hornbow, but had a prominent fork at the tip of the siyahs to assist riders to pick up arrows from the ground on horseback.
The Ming design was superseded by the Qing design in China; but not in Korea. However, many Qing bows were used in Korea. It seems they were never made there.
When bows were in military use in Korea they were more robustly built, with broader limbs for stability. They probably were normally built to a draw-weight of 80# or more. After traditional archery was only left in the hands of civilians, draw weights dropped to 50#-60#. To allow better performance with a lower weights, the limbs were gradually made more narrow and non-working siyahs were reduced.
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Dusan
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by Dusan » Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:15 am
Thank you ! This is very interesting. This measurments and changes is visible in old korean bows in korean sites. Few from all have very robustly syiahs vith artwork and for me is very strange that in the same period was use horsebows and short wood komposite bows. Like huntig Bows (?) Very importend is that Korean people have their "living history" bowmasters. Have this profesionals any knowledge about change reason and efektivity this changes ?
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jiao
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by jiao » Wed Aug 27, 2008 1:07 pm
thanks stephen , i add some pictures of ming and korean hornbows
a korean hornbow
ming hornbow

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Dusan
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by Dusan » Wed Aug 27, 2008 8:18 pm
Thanks Jiao, informativ picture. Its very interesting for me , how changed and developed this turkic bows.
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jiao
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by jiao » Thu Aug 28, 2008 1:22 am
my friend send me hornbow pictures of china tang dynasty, san guo,nan chao , i'm not sure it can post in internet, i want to got the hornbow pictures of china each dynasty,seemed the chinese bow style of string/draw easy to see, but what style of these bow unstring?
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jiao
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by jiao » Thu Aug 28, 2008 1:30 am
what same and differ the han hornbow and korean and turkish
china han dynasty
turkish hornbow by adam Karpowicz
korean
china ming dynasty

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Thomas Duvernay
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by Thomas Duvernay » Thu Aug 28, 2008 10:52 am
Why did he think the picture was of a North Korean hornbow? The picture, from 1962, was taken in Yechon, which is part of my province here in SOUTH Korea. Actually, Yechon is the capital of the southern style of hornbows (Kaesong, in NK, was the capital of the northern style).
T
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Dusan
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by Dusan » Thu Aug 28, 2008 11:17 am
This is another question .Is any diferences betven S.korean and N.Korean hornbows ?Exist today N.Korean bow masters and traditional archery in N. Korea ?
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jiao
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by jiao » Thu Aug 28, 2008 1:14 pm
infact this topic has two part, all of us will be interested
it is a mistake of my reasoning , sorry for my mistake, this bow differ to today korean hornbow so i reasoning it is a North Korean hornbow, also in china qing dynasty has differ style North and south
today i find other same style hornbow
http://archery.news-paper.co.kr/news_vi ... ss_id=&hd=

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jiao
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by jiao » Thu Aug 28, 2008 1:35 pm
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Dusan
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by Dusan » Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:25 pm
Jiao, this fotos is fantastic. Its all from korean region , or china ?