A New Technology


(Ancient Chinese Inventions)

        Many advancements were made in ancient China, more specifically during the Three Kingdoms era. Advancements were made in economy, government, and the military. Many new weapons were created or enhanced, one of these enhanced weapons in the Three Kingdoms era was the repeating cross-bow (above). The repeating cross-bow is a more technologically advanced cross-bow, as it has the ability to fire off ten arrows with one pull of the trigger, compared to the previous version of the cross-bow which could only shoot one at a time (The Greatest Inventor).
        Zhuge Liang was the mastermind within the development of the repeating cross-bow. He created the new piece of weaponry during the early years of the Three Kingdoms era in the Shu Kingdom. Over time from multiple wars and trade, the repeating cross-bow spread to areas around China, such as Korea. However, it eventually grew outdated compared to the evolved weaponry of other civilizations. In the Sino-Japanese War, the weaponry from Japan greatly overwhelmed the repeating cross-bow.
        The repeating cross-bow may not seem important to our lives, but has made a significant difference in weaponry. The repeating cross-bow has enabled the making of rapid-fire weapons, such as the typical machine gun. The ability to repeatedly fire bullets (or arrows) has brought many advancements and innovations to the modern military world. The cross-bow was the ancient Chinese form of a gun, and the added feature of repeating arrows gave way for a whole new style of warfare. Without the repeating cross-bow, modern-day humans would still be fighting with muskets and reloading after only a single shot.