1
器甲之制
Regulations for Weapons and Armor
2
器甲之制，其工署則有南北作坊，有弓弩院，諸州皆有作院，皆役工徒而限其常課。 南北作坊歲造塗金脊鐵甲等凡三萬二千，弓弩院歲造角巴弓等凡千六百五十餘萬，諸州歲造黃樺、黑漆弓弩等凡六百二十餘萬。 又南北作坊及諸州別造兵幕、甲袋、梭衫等什物，以備軍行之用。 京師所造，十日一進，謂之「旬課」。 上親閱視，置五庫以貯之。 嘗令試床子弩於郊外，矢及七百步，又令別造步弩以試。 戎具精致犀利，近代未有。
Under the regulations governing weapons and armor, craft offices included the Northern and Southern Workshops and the Bow and Crossbow Court, and every prefecture maintained its own manufacturing office, all employing artisans and laborers subject to fixed annual quotas. Each year the Northern and Southern Workshops turned out thirty-two thousand pieces of gold-plated spine iron armor and similar gear; the Bow and Crossbow Court produced more than sixteen and a half million horn-backed bows and the like; and the prefectures produced more than six million two hundred thousand yellow birch and black-lacquered bows, crossbows, and similar items. The Northern and Southern Workshops and the prefectures also manufactured campaign gear such as military tents, armor bags, and padded armor shirts for use in the field. Products made in the capital were delivered every ten days in what was called the "ten-day quota." The emperor personally inspected the output and established five storehouses to hold it. He once had a bed crossbow tested outside the city; its bolt flew seven hundred paces, and also ordered a separate foot crossbow built for trial. The arms and armor were exquisitely wrought and keen—unmatched in recent times.
3
開寶三年五月，詔：「京都士庶之家，不得私蓄兵器。 軍士素能自備技擊之器者，寄掌本軍之司； 俟出征，則陳牒以請。 品官準法聽得置隨身器械。」 時兵部令史馮繼升等進火箭法，命試驗，且賜衣物、束帛。
In the fifth month of the third year of Kaibao (970), an edict declared: "Households of scholars and commoners in the capital may not keep weapons in private stores. Soldiers who habitually provided their own close-combat weapons were to lodge them with their unit's office; and when a campaign was imminent, they filed a petition to retrieve them. Officials of rank were allowed by statute to keep personal arms on their persons." At that time Feng Jisheng and other clerks of the Ministry of War presented a method for fire arrows; they were ordered to demonstrate it and were rewarded with clothing and silks.
4
淳化二年，申明不得私蓄兵器之禁。
In the second year of Chunhua (991), the ban on private possession of weapons was reaffirmed.
5
至道二年二月，詔：先造光明細鋼甲以給士卒者，初無襯裏，宜以裏之，俾擐者不磨傷肌體。
In the second month of the second year of Zhidao (996), an edict ordered that the bright fine steel armor first made for troops, which originally had no lining, should be lined with silk so that wearers would not abrade their skin.
6
三年四月，神騎副兵馬使焦偓獻盤鐵槊，重十五斤，令偓試之，馬上往復如飛，命遷本軍使。 八月，神衛水軍隊長唐福獻所製火箭、火球、火蒺藜，造船務匠項綰等獻海戰船式，各賜緡錢。 先是，相國寺僧法山，本洺州人，強姓，其族百口，悉為戎人所掠。 至是，願還俗隸軍伍以效死力，且獻鐵輪撥，渾重三十三斤，首尾有刃，為馬上格戰具。 詔補外殿直。
In the fourth month of the third year (997), Jiao Wo, vice horse-and-arms commander of the Shenqi Army, presented coiled iron spears weighing fifteen jin; ordered to demonstrate them, he wheeled about on horseback as if flying, and was promoted to command that army. In the eighth month, Tang Fu, formation leader of the Shenwei Naval Army, presented designs for rockets, fire balls, and fire caltrops; shipyard craftsmen Xiang Wan and others presented models of warships, and each party received cash rewards. Earlier, the monk Fashan of Xiangguo Temple, a native of Mingzhou surnamed Qiang, had seen his clan of one hundred persons all seized by the barbarians. Now he wished to leave the clergy, enlist, and fight to the death, and presented an iron wheel stirrer weighing thirty-three jin, bladed at both ends, as a weapon for mounted melee. He was appointed an Outer Palace Duty Attendant by edict.
7
五年，知寧化軍劉永錫製手炮以獻，詔沿邊造之以充用。
In the fifth year (999), Liu Yongxi, commissioner of Ninghua Army, devised a hand cannon and presented it; the court ordered the border commands to build them for service.
8
六年十月，給軍中傳信牌。 其制，漆木為牌，長六寸，闊三寸，腹背刻字而中分之，置鑿枘令可合； 又穿二竅容筆墨，上施紙劄。 每臨陣則分而持之，或傳令，則署其言而係軍吏之頸，至彼合契，乃書復命。 因冀州團練使石普之請也。
In the tenth month of the sixth year (1001), message tokens were issued to the army. They were made of lacquered wood, six inches long and three inches wide, with characters carved on both faces and split down the middle, fitted with mortise and tenon so the halves could join; and two holes bored to hold brush and ink, with paper slips attached above. In battle each side kept half; to pass an order, the sender inscribed the message and tied the token to a clerk's neck; when the recipient matched the tally, he wrote the reply. This followed a request from Shi Pu, militia commissioner of Jizhou.
9
仁宗時，天下久不用兵。 天聖四年，詔減諸路歲造兵器之半。 是歲，詔作坊造鐵槍一萬五千，給秦、渭、環、慶、延州、鎮戎軍。 六年，詔：外器甲久不繕，先遣使分詣諸路閱視修治之。
Under Emperor Renzong, the empire had long been at peace. In the fourth year of Tiansheng (1026), an edict cut annual weapons production on every circuit by half. That same year, workshops were ordered to forge fifteen thousand iron spears for Qin, Wei, Huan, Qing, Yanzhou, and Zhenrong Army. In the sixth year (1028), an edict noted that arms and armor in the field had long gone unmaintained and sent envoys to each circuit to inspect and repair them.
10
景祐二年，罷秦州造輸京師弓弩三年。 詔：「廣南民家毋得置博刀，犯者並鍛人並以私有禁兵律論。」 先是，嶺南為盜者多持博刀，杖罪輕，不能禁，轉運使以為言，故著是令。
In the second year of Jingyou (1035), Qinzhou was relieved for three years of its obligation to ship bows and crossbows to the capital. An edict declared: "Households in Guangnan may not keep broad knives; offenders and the smith who forged them shall be punished under the law against private possession of prohibited arms." Bandits in the far south had often carried broad knives, but the light bamboo-staff penalty failed to deter them; the transport commissioner raised the issue, and this rule was therefore promulgated.
11
四年，詔作坊製栓子槍、柧槍各五萬。
In the fourth year (1037), workshops were ordered to produce fifty thousand bolt spears and fifty thousand shaft spears.
12
康定元年四月，詔江南、淮南州軍造紙甲三萬，給陝西防城弓手。 又詔河東強壯習弩者聽自置，戶四等以下官給之。 八月，詔陝西製柳木旁牌。
In the fourth month of the first year of Kangding (1040), Jiangnan and Huainan commands were ordered to make thirty thousand suits of paper armor for Shaanxi wall-defense bowmen. Another edict allowed able men in Hedong trained with crossbows to arm themselves; for households below the fourth tax rank, the state would supply the weapons. In the eighth month, Shaanxi was ordered to manufacture willowwood side shields.
13
慶曆元年，知并州楊偕遣陽曲縣主簿楊拯獻《龍虎八陣圖》及所製神盾、劈陣刀、手刀、鐵連槌、鐵簡，且言《龍虎八陣圖》有奇有正，有進有止，遠則射，近則擊以刀盾。 彼蕃騎雖眾，見神盾之異，必遽奔潰，然後以驍騎夾擊，無不勝者。 歷代用兵，未有經慮及此。 帝閱於崇政殿，降詔獎諭。 其後，言者以為其器重大，緩急難用云。
In the first year of Qingli (1041), Yang Jie, prefect of Bingzhou, sent Yang Zheng, registrar of Yangqu County, to present the Dragon-Tiger Eight Formations Diagram together with his inventions—the divine shield, formation-splitting saber, hand saber, iron linked mace, and iron rod—and argued that the formation combined orthodox and unorthodox movements, advance and halt: shoot at range, strike with blade and shield at close quarters. Though enemy cavalry might be numerous, once they saw the divine shield they would break and flee; crack horsemen could then strike from both flanks and victory would be assured. No previous age of warfare, he claimed, had ever been planned with such care. The emperor reviewed the designs in Chongzheng Hall and issued a commendatory edict. Later critics judged the gear too heavy to be practical in a crisis.
14
二年，詔鄜延、環慶、涇原、秦鳳路各置都作院，賜河北義勇兵弓弩箭材各一百萬。 四年，賜鄜延路總管風羽子弩箭三十萬。
In the second year (1042), each of the Fuyan, Huanqing, Jingyuan, and Qinfeng circuits was ordered to establish a directorate manufacturing office, and Hebei's volunteer militia received one million units each of bow, crossbow, and arrow materials. In the fourth year (1044), the Fuyan circuit commander received thirty thousand wind-feather bolt crossbow arrows.
15
五年，詔諸路所儲兵械悉報三司，三司歲具須知以聞，仍約為程式預頒之。
In the fifth year (1045), every circuit was ordered to report its stored arms to the State Finance Commission, which annually compiled requirements for the throne and issued standard patterns in advance.
16
八年，詔：「士庶之家所藏兵器，非法所許者，限一月送官。 敢匿，聽人告捕。」
In the eighth year (1048), an edict declared: "Arms held by scholars and commoners without legal authorization must be surrendered to the government within one month. Anyone who conceals them may be reported and arrested."
17
四年，河北、河東、陝西都總管司言：「郭諮所造獨轅衝陣無敵流星弩，可以備軍陣之用。 詔弓弩院如樣製之。 除諮為鄜延路鈐轄，許置弩五百，募土民教之。 既成，經略夏安期言其便，詔立獨轅弩軍。
In the fourth year (1052), the frontier headquarters of Hebei, Hedong, and Shaanxi reported: "Guo Zi's single-frame Formation-Invincible Meteor Crossbow is fit for use in battle lines. The Bow and Crossbow Court was ordered to copy the design. Guo Zi was made deputy commissioner on the Fuyan circuit, allowed five hundred crossbows, and authorized to recruit locals to train crews. When the weapons were ready, frontier commissioner Xia Anqi praised their utility, and an edict created the Single-Frame Crossbow Army.
18
五年，荊南兵馬鈐轄王遂上臨陣柺槍。
In the fifth year (1053), Wang Sui, military commissioner of Jingnan, presented a battle crutch spear.
19
至和元年，詔河北、河東、陝西路每歲夏曝器甲，有損斷者，悉令完備。 如復閱視有不堪用者，知州、通判並主兵官並貶秩。
In the first year of Zhihe (1054), the Hebei, Hedong, and Shaanxi circuits were ordered each summer to air weapons and armor in the sun and repair every damaged piece. If reinspection still found gear unfit for use, the prefect, vice-prefect, and military commanders were all demoted.
20
嘉祐四年，詔京師所製軍器，多不鋒利，其選朝臣、使臣各一員揀試之。
In the fourth year of Jiayou (1059), an edict noted that arms made in the capital were often dull and ordered one court official and one imperial envoy each to test and grade them.
21
七年，詔江西制置賊盜司，在所有私造兵甲匠並籍姓名，若再犯者，並妻子徙淮南。
In the seventh year (1062), the Jiangxi Bandit-Suppression Office was told to register every private armorer by name; repeat offenders and their families were exiled to Huainan.
22
熙寧元年，始命入內副都知張若水、西上閣門使李評料簡弓弩而增修之。 若水進所造神臂弓，實李宏所獻，蓋弩類也。 以檿為身，檀為肖，鐵為登子槍頭，銅為馬麵牙發，麻繩紥絲為弦。 弓之身三尺有二寸，弦長二尺有五寸，箭木羽長數寸，射三百四十餘步，入榆木半笴。 帝閱而善之。 於是神臂始用，而他器弗及焉。
In the first year of Xining (1068), Zhang Ruoshui, deputy director of the inner service, and Li Ping, western upper gate commissioner, were first assigned to review and upgrade bows and crossbows. Ruoshui presented the "divine-arm" crossbow he had devised—it had actually been submitted by Li Hong and belonged to the crossbow family. Its stock was mulberry wood, its prods sandalwood, its stirrup-shaped spearhead iron, its horse-face release bronze, and its string hemp cord bound with silk. The bow measured three feet two inches, the string two feet five; the bolt's shaft and fletching only a few inches. It shot more than three hundred forty paces and drove half a shaft into elm. The emperor inspected it and approved. The divine-arm crossbow then entered service, and no other weapon could rival it.
23
二年，命河北州軍凡戎器分三等以聞，又詔內庫凡器甲擇其良若干條上。
In the second year (1069), every Hebei command was ordered to classify its arms in three grades; the inner storehouse was also told to select the finest specimens of each armor and weapon type and submit specifications.
24
四年，詔諸路遣官詣州，分庫藏甲兵器為三等如沿邊三路，而川峽不與。
In the fourth year (1071), envoys were sent to classify depot armor and weapons in three grades as on the frontier circuits, excluding Sichuan and the gorges.
25
五年，帝匣斬馬刀以示蔡挺，挺謂製作精而操擊便，乃命中人領工造數萬口賜邊臣，鐔長尺餘，刃三尺餘，首為大環。 是歲，詔權三司度支副使沈起詳定軍器制度。 起以為一己之見有限，宜令在京及三路主兵官、監官、工匠審度法度所宜，庶可傳久。 詔從之。
In the fifth year (1072), the emperor displayed a horse-slaying saber to Cai Ting, who praised its craftsmanship and ease of use; eunuchs were ordered to supervise tens of thousands for frontier commanders—the guard over a foot long, the blade over three feet, with a large ring pommel. That year Shen Qi, acting vice commissioner of revenue, was ordered to codify regulations for military equipment. Qi argued that a single opinion was too narrow and proposed that military officers, supervisors, and craftsmen in the capital and on the three frontier circuits jointly determine standards that would endure. The emperor approved.
26
時帝欲利戎器，而患有司苟簡。 王雱上疏曰：「漢宣帝號中興賢主，而史稱技巧工匠，獨精於元、成之時。 是雖有司之事，而上係朝廷之政。 方今外禦邊患，內虞盜賊，而天下歲課弓弩、甲胄入充武庫者以千萬數，乃無一堅好精利實可為備者。 臣嘗觀諸州作院兵匠乏少，至拘市人以備役，所作之器，但形質而已。 武庫之吏，計其多寡之數而藏之，未嘗責其實用，故所積雖多，大抵敝惡。 夫為政如此，而欲抗威決勝，外攘內修，未見其可也。 儻欲弛武備，示天下以無事，則金木、絲枲、筋膠、角羽之材，皆民力也，無故聚工以毀之，甚可惜也。 莫若更製法度，斂數州之作聚為一處，若今錢監之比，擇知工事之臣使專其職； 且募天下良工散為匠師，而朝廷內置工官以總制其事，察其精窳而賞罰之，則人人務勝，不加責而皆精矣。 聞今武庫太祖時弓尚有如新者，而近世所造往往不可用，此可見法禁之張弛矣。」 大抵雱為此言，以迎逢上意，欲妄更舊制也。
The emperor then sought better arms but worried that officials would be slipshod. Wang An submitted a memorial: "Emperor Xuandi of Han is hailed as a restorative ruler, yet histories say skilled artisans flourished only under Emperors Yuan and Cheng. Though this is ostensibly an administrative matter, it reflects court policy from above. Today the empire faces border threats abroad and bandits within, yet millions of bows, crossbows, and armor enter the arsenal each year without a single piece stout, keen, and truly serviceable. I have seen prefectural workshops short of armorer-soldiers, conscripting townspeople to meet quotas and turning out mere shells of weapons. Arsenal clerks count pieces for the ledger and never test them; stores are vast but mostly worthless. With governance like this, to project power, win battles, and secure the realm inside and out seems impossible. If the court means to relax defenses and signal peace, the gold, timber, silk, sinew, glue, horn, and feather that go into arms are all drawn from the people's labor; gathering craftsmen only to ruin the product is a grievous waste. Better to revise the rules, consolidate several prefectures' workshops as with mints, and appoint officials who understand craft to oversee them; recruit skilled artisans from across the empire as masters while inner craft officials supervise, rewarding excellence and punishing shoddy work—then all will strive for quality without further coercion. Bows from Taizu's reign in the arsenal are said to remain like new, while recent products often fail—proof of how discipline has slackened." In sum, An's argument catered to the emperor's mood and sought rashly to overturn established practice.
27
六年，始置軍器監，總內外軍器之政。 置判一人、同判一人。 屬有丞，有主簿，有管當公事。 先是，軍器領於三司，至是罷之，一總於監。 凡產材州，置都作院。 凡知軍器利害者，聽詣監陳述，於是吏民獻器械法式者甚眾。 是歲，又置內弓箭南庫。 軍器監奏以利器頒諸路作院為式。 是年冬，以騎兵據大鞍不便野戰，始製小鞍，皮木登，長於回旋，馬射得以馳驟，且選邊人習騎者分隸諸軍。
In the sixth year (1073), the Directorate of Military Equipment was established to govern all arms production. It was staffed with one director and one associate director. Subordinates included vice directors, registrars, and routine clerks. Formerly arms had been managed by the State Finance Commission; that role ended and authority passed to the directorate. Every material-producing prefecture gained a directorate manufacturing office. Anyone knowledgeable about arms might petition the directorate, and officials and commoners flooded it with new designs. That year also saw the inner southern bow and crossbow depot. The directorate memorialized distributing superior weapons to circuit workshops as patterns. That winter, because horsemen on heavy saddles fought poorly in the field, lighter saddles with leather and wooden stirrups were introduced for quicker turns; mounted archers could charge freely, and frontier riders were drafted into the armies.
28
時周士隆上書論廣西、交阯事，請為車以禦象陣，文彥博非之。 安石以為自前代至本朝，南方數以象勝中國，士隆策宜可用，因論自古車戰法甚辨，請以車騎相當試，以觀其孰利。 帝亦謂北邊地平，可用車為營，乃詔試車法，令沿河采車材三千兩，軍器監定法式，造戰車以進。
Zhou Shilong then memorialized on Guangxi and Jiaozhi, proposing war chariots against elephant formations; Wen Yanbo objected. Wang An argued that since antiquity the south had repeatedly beaten Chinese armies with elephants and that Shilong's plan deserved trial; he also expounded classical chariot doctrine and proposed a chariot-versus-cavalry test. The emperor added that the northern plains suited chariot encampments; chariot tactics were ordered tested, three thousand cartloads of timber gathered along the rivers, the directorate to set patterns, and war chariots built for review.
29
七年，判監呂惠卿言：「其所上弓式及其他兵器制度，下殿前、馬、步三司令定奪去取。 而逐司不過取責軍校文狀以聞，非獨持其舊說不肯更張，又其智慮未必能知作器之意。 臣於朝廷已行之令，非敢言改，乞就一司同議。」 帝乃遣管軍郝質赴監定奪，皆曰「便」。 時軍器監製器不一，材用滋耗。 於是詔不以常制選官馳往州縣根括牛皮角筋，能令數羨，次第加獎。 是歲，始造箭曰狼牙，曰鴨觜，曰出尖四楞，曰一插刃鑿子，凡四種推行之。
In the seventh year (1074), Director Lü Huiqing reported: "Bow patterns and other regulations I submitted were sent to the Palace, Horse, and Foot directorates for approval. But each bureau merely collected written opinions from training officers—not only clinging to old ways, they may not have understood weapon design at all. I dare not challenge edicts already promulgated; I ask only that one bureau deliberate with me." The emperor sent army supervisor Hao Zhi to the directorate to decide; all pronounced the designs "serviceable." Meanwhile the directorate produced arms without standardization, wasting ever more material. An edict then sent specially chosen officials to scour prefectures for ox hide, horn, and sinew, rewarding those who exceeded quotas. That year four new arrow types were introduced—the wolf's tooth, duck's bill, projecting four-angled, and one-insertion chisel blade—and put into general use.
30
八年，詔：「河北拒馬，或多以竹為之，不足當敵。 令軍器監造三萬具赴北京、澶定州。」 又令計河北所少兵器製造，其不急者毋得妄費材力。 又詔民戶馬死，舊不以報官者並報，輸皮筋以充用。
In the eighth year (1075), an edict declared: "Hebei abatis, often made of bamboo, cannot hold the enemy. The Directorate of Military Equipment was ordered to forge thirty thousand sets and deliver them to Beijing and Chanzhou. The court also ordered an inventory of Hebei's shortfalls in arms, forbidding wasteful production of non-urgent items. Another edict required reporting horse deaths even when owners had previously failed to register them, and delivering hides and sinew for state use.
31
帝慮置監未有實效，而虛用材役，詔中書、樞密院核實其事，令條畫以聞。 軍器監奏，置監以來，增造兵器若干，為工若干，視前器增而工省。 帝復詰之，且令與御前工作所較工孰省，驗器孰良。 王韶謂：「如此，恐內外相傾成俗。 且往年軍器監檢察內臣折剝弓弩，隙由此生。 今令內臣較按軍器監，又如曩日相傾無已。」 帝曰：「比累累說軍器監事，若不較見事實，即中外便以為聽小臣譖訴。 今令得實行法，所以明曲直也。」 安石曰：「誠當如此。 若每事分別曲直，明其信誕，使功罪不蔽，則天下之治久矣。」 王韶曰：「軍器監事不須比較。」 帝曰：「事不比較，無由見枉直。」 安石曰：「朝廷治事，唯欲直而已。」 其後，安石卒以辯口解帝之疑，而軍器監獲免欺冒之罪。 冬十月，軍器監欲下河東等路采市曲木為鞍橋，帝以勞民費財，不許。 是時，河東、陝西、廣南帥臣邀功不已，請增給兵器，帝各令給與之。 至是，有乞以耕牛博買器甲者。
Fearing the new directorate achieved little while consuming labor and materials, the emperor ordered the Central Secretariat and Bureau of Military Affairs to investigate and report detailed findings. The directorate reported increased output since its founding, claiming more weapons with less labor than before. The emperor pressed further, demanding a comparison with the Imperial Workshop on cost and quality. Wang Shao warned: "Such comparisons will entrench rivalry between inner and outer agencies. Years earlier the directorate had investigated eunuchs' abuses in bow production, breeding lasting hostility. Now putting eunuchs in charge of auditing the directorate would revive that endless infighting. The emperor replied: "You keep raising this issue; without a factual comparison, everyone will assume the court heeds petty slander. An impartial comparison will clarify who is right and who is wrong. Wang An said: "That is exactly right. If every dispute were judged on its merits, trust and deceit exposed, and merit and guilt never hidden, good governance would endure. Wang Shao insisted the directorate should not be subjected to comparison. The emperor countered: "Without comparison, truth and falsehood cannot be known. Wang An added: "The court seeks only fairness in governance. In the end Wang An's rhetoric dispelled the emperor's doubts, and the directorate escaped charges of fraud. That winter the directorate sought to requisition curved timber for saddle frames across Hedong and other circuits; the emperor refused as an imposition on the people. Frontier commanders in Hedong, Shaanxi, and Guangnan, eager for glory, repeatedly requested more weapons and received them. Some petitioners even sought to barter plow oxen for arms and armor.
32
元豐元年冬，鄜延路經略使呂惠卿乞給新樣刀，軍器監欲下江、浙、福建路製造，帝不許，給以內南庫短刃刀五萬五千口。
In the winter of the first year of Yuanfeng, Lü Huiqing on the Fuyan frontier requested new-style sabers; when the directorate proposed manufacturing them in the southeast, the emperor refused and issued fifty-five thousand short blades from the inner southern depot instead.
33
二年，御批有曰：「河東路見運物材於緣邊造軍器，顯為迂費張皇，可令軍器監速罷之。」
In the second year an imperial note condemned Hedong's shipment of materials to border workshops as wasteful and ordered the directorate to stop it immediately.
34
三年，吉州奏：「奉詔市箭笴三十萬，非土地所產，且民間不素蓄，乞豫給緡錢，期以一年和市。」 從之。
Jizhou reported that thirty thousand arrow shafts were not locally produced and requested advance funds with a one-year procurement deadline. The request was approved.
35
時西邊用兵久不解。 四年春，陝西轉運使李稷奏：「本道九軍，什物之外，一皆無之，乞於永興軍庫以餘財立法營辦。」 七月，涇原路奏修渭州城畢，而防城戰具寡少，乞給三弓八牛床子弩、一槍三劍箭，各欲依法式製造。 詔圖樣給之。
Western campaigns had by then become protracted. In the spring of the fourth year Li Ji, Shaanxi transport commissioner, reported that nine armies lacked nearly all gear and asked to fund replacements from Yongxing Army surplus stores. In the seventh month Jingyuan reported Weizhou's walls repaired but defensive weapons scarce, requesting three-bow eight-ox bed crossbows and one-spear three-sword bolts made to standard patterns. The court sent pattern diagrams.
36
五年七月，鄜延路計議邊事所奏乞緡錢百萬、工匠千人、鐵生熟五萬斤、牛馬皮萬張造軍器，並給之。 八月，詔令沈括以劈陣大斧五千選給西邊諸將。 十一月，陝西轉運使李察言：「本路都作院五，宜各委監司提舉。」 從之。
In the seventh month of the fifth year the Fuyan planning office requested one million cash, a thousand artisans, fifty thousand jin of iron, and ten thousand hides for arms production—all were granted. In the eighth month Shen Kuo was ordered to distribute five thousand formation-splitting great axes to western commanders. In the eleventh month Li Cha, Shaanxi transport commissioner, proposed placing each of the circuit's five manufacturing offices under supervisory officials. Approved.
37
六年二月，詔：熙河路守具有闕，給氈三千領、牛皮萬張，運送之。 八月，從環慶路趙禼之請，以神臂弓一千、箭十萬給之。 未幾，賜蘭會路藥箭二十五萬。
In the second month of the sixth year the Xihe circuit received three thousand felt blankets and ten thousand ox hides for deficient garrison gear. In the eighth month, at Zhao Zhi's request, Huanqing received one thousand divine-arm crossbows and one hundred thousand arrows. Soon afterward the Lanzhou-Hui circuit received two hundred fifty thousand poisoned arrows.
38
七年，陝西轉運副使葉康直言：「秦鳳路軍器見闕名物計四百三十餘萬，使一一為之，非十餘年可就，乞自京給賜。」 詔量給之。
In the seventh year Ye Kangzhi reported Qinfeng's armory short more than 4.3 million named items and asked for capital grants rather than decade-long local production. The court ordered grants in measured amounts.
39
帝性儉約。 有司造將官皮甲，欲以生絲染紅，代犛牛尾為瀝水，帝惜之，代以他毛。 於一弓、一矢、一甲、一牌之用，無不盡心焉。 弓曰闊閃促張弓，罷長肖舊法。 矢曰減指箭。 牌以欒竹穿皮為之，以易桐木牌。 改素鐵甲為編挨甲。 其法精密，乃劉昌祚、尹抃、閻守勤等所定制度云。
The emperor was frugal by nature. When officials proposed dyeing raw silk red instead of yak-tail lacquer on generals' leather armor, the emperor economized and substituted other hair. He scrutinized every bow, arrow, suit of armor, and shield. Bows were redesigned as "wide-flash quick-draw" models, abandoning the old long-prod method. Arrows became "reduced-finger" types. Shields of catalpa bamboo and leather replaced paulownia wood. Plain iron armor gave way to linked lamellar armor. These refinements formed the code devised by Liu Changzuo, Yin Bian, Yan Shouqin, and others.
40
八年十月，詔內外所造軍器，以見餘物材工匠造之，兵匠、民工即罷遣之。
In the tenth month of the eighth year an edict required using surplus materials and labor for arms production and dismissing conscripted craftsmen.
41
元祐元年，詔：三路既罷保甲團教，其器甲各送官收貯，勿得以破損拘民整治。 八月，詔太僕少卿高遵惠，會工部及軍器監內外作坊及諸州都作院工器之數，以要切軍器立為歲課，務得中道，他非要切，並權住勿造。 於是數年之間，督責少弛。
In Yuanyou 1 an edict ordered baojia weapons surrendered to officials for storage without forcing civilians to repair damaged pieces. In the eighth month Gao Zunhui was ordered to survey workshops nationwide, set moderate annual quotas for essential arms, and suspend nonessential production. For several years enforcement slackened.
42
紹聖三年，有司言：「州郡兵備，全為虛文，恐緩急不足備禦。 請稍推行熙寧之詔，常令封樁、排垛，依雜隊法。」 從之。 元符元年，詔江、湖、淮、浙六路合造神臂弓三千、箭三十萬。
In Shaosheng 3 officials warned that prefectural armories were hollow and inadequate for emergencies. They asked to revive Xining rules requiring sealed, stacked stores per the miscellaneous-company regulations. Approved. In Yuanfu 1 the six southeastern circuits were ordered to produce three thousand divine-arm crossbows and three hundred thousand arrows.
43
二年，臣僚奏乞增造神臂弓，於是軍器監所造歲益千餘弓。 是歲，詔河北沿邊州城壁、樓櫓、器械、各務修治，有不治者罪之。
In the second year officials requested more divine-arm crossbows, raising annual directorate output by over a thousand. That year Hebei frontier walls, towers, and weapons had to be repaired under penalty.
44
先是，二廣路土丁令依熙寧指揮修置器械。 三年，知端州蕭元刂上疏，極言傷財害民，其弊非一，乞住買槍手器械。 疏奏不報。
Earlier, native troops in the two Guang circuits had been ordered under Xining rules to maintain arms. In the third year Xiao Yuanzhang of Duanzhou memorialized that arms procurement inflicted many abuses on the people and begged to stop buying musketeer equipment. The throne did not reply.
45
崇寧初，臣僚爭言元祐以來因循弛廢，兵不犀利。 詔復令諸路都作院創造修治，官吏考察一如熙寧時矣。 時有詔造五十將器械，從工部請，令內外共造，由是都大提舉內外製造軍器所之名立焉。
Early in Chongning officials blamed Yuanyou-era laxity for dull weapons. An edict restored Xining-style manufacture, repair, and official inspection on every circuit. When fifty commands needed new gear, joint inner-outer production created the Grand Directorate for Military Equipment Manufacture.
46
初，從邢恕之議，下令創造兵車數十乘，買牛以駕。 已而蔡碩又請河北置五十將兵器，且為兵車萬乘。 蔡京主其說，奸吏旁緣而因為民害者深矣。
Earlier, on Xing Shu's advice, dozens of war chariots were built and oxen purchased to haul them. Cai Shuo then proposed Hebei arms for fifty commands plus ten thousand chariots. Cai Jing backed the schemes, and corrupt underlings inflicted grave harm on the populace.
47
崇寧三年，河北、陝西都轉運司言：「兵車之式，若用許彥圭所定，則車大而費倍。 若依往年二十將舊式，則輕小易用，且可省費。」 詔卒以許彥圭式行之。 時熙河轉運副使李復先奏曰：「今之用兵，與古不同。 古者征戰有禮，不為詭遇，多由正途，故車可行而敵不敢輕犯。 今之用兵，盡在極邊，下砦駐軍，各以保險為利，車不能上。 又戰陣之交，一進一退，車不能及，一被追襲，遂非己有。 臣屢觀戎馬之間，雖糧糗、衣服、器械不能為用，況於車乎？ 臣聞此車之造，許彥圭因姚麟以進其說。 朝廷以麟熟於邊事，而不知彥圭輕妄、麟立私恩以誤國計。 其車比於常法闊六七寸，運不合轍，東來兵夫牽免不行，以致典賣衣物，自賃牛具，終日而進六七里，棄車而逃者往往而是。 夫未造則有配買物材、顧差夫匠之擾； 既成，又難運致，則為諸路之患有不可勝言者矣。 彥圭但圖一官之得，不知有誤於國，此而不誅，何以懲後！ 今乞便行罷造，已造者不復運來，以寬民力。」 其後，彥圭卒得罪。
In Chongning 3 transport officials reported that Xu Yankui's chariot design doubled costs, while the older twenty-command pattern was lighter and cheaper. They favored the lighter legacy pattern to save expense. The court nonetheless adopted Xu Yankui's design. Xihe vice commissioner Li Fu argued that modern war differed from antiquity. Ancient warfare followed ritualized routes where chariots could move safely. Today fighting occurs on rugged frontiers where chariots cannot climb to stockaded posts. In fluid battle chariots cannot advance or retreat with infantry and are easily captured. I have seen even food, clothing, and weapons fail on campaign—chariots are far less useful. These chariots reached the court through Yao Lin promoting Xu Yankui's design. The court trusted Lin's frontier expertise, not realizing Yankui was reckless and Lin acted from private loyalty. The chariots were wider than standard tracks; draft animals failed; laborers sold belongings, hired oxen, advanced only six or seven li daily, and often abandoned the vehicles. Even before completion, requisitioning materials and craftsmen harassed the people; and after completion, transport proved impossible, burdening every circuit unbearably. Yankui sought only personal promotion at the state's expense; failure to punish him would invite repetition. I beg to halt production immediately and not ship finished chariots, relieving the populace. Yankui was eventually punished.
48
元豐之時，河北、河東路軍器，每季終委逐路職司更互考察。 元祐罷之。 四年，因工部之請，復行之。
Under Yuanfeng, Hebei and Hedong arms were inspected quarterly by rotating circuit officials. Yuanyou abolished the practice. In the fourth year the Ministry of Works restored it.
49
大觀二年，手詔曰：「前東南備禦指揮，深慮監郡縣吏急切者倚法害民，廢職者慢令失事，如築城壁、造軍器、收戰馬、習水戰之類，並可量度工力，計以歲月，漸次興作，毋得急遽科斂及差雇百姓，使急不擾民，緩不廢事，然後為稱。」 尋詔限十年一切畢工。 四月，罷黎、雅等州市犛牛尾，慮為民害。 八月，提舉御前軍器所奏，乞如崇寧五年指揮，下諸路買牛角四十萬隻、筋十萬斤。 從之。
In Daguan 2 an imperial note warned southeastern officials not to rush wall-building, arms manufacture, horse collection, or naval drill in ways that harassed the people, urging gradual timelines instead. A follow-up edict allowed ten years for full completion. In the fourth month yak-tail markets in Li, Ya, and related prefectures were closed as harmful to the people. In the eighth month the Imperial Military Equipment Directorate requested circuit purchases of four hundred thousand ox horns and one hundred thousand jin of sinew per Chongning rules. Approved.
50
政和二年二月，詔諸路州郡造軍器有不用熙寧法式者，有司議罰，具為令。 六月，又詔並用御前軍器所降法式，前二月指揮勿行。
In the second month of Zhenghe 2 an edict penalized prefectures that ignored Xining weapon patterns. In the sixth month all production was ordered to follow Imperial Directorate patterns, superseding the February directive.
51
三年，詔：「馬甲曩用黑髹漆，今易以朱。」 是歲，姚古奏更定軍器，曩時甲二副，今拆造三副； 曩時手刀太重，今皆令輕便易用； 曩時神臂弓硾二石三斗，今硾一石四斗。 從之，悉下諸路改造。
In the third year horse armor lacquer changed from black to cinnabar red. That year Yao Gu revised standards: where two armor sets had been issued, three lighter sets were now made from the same materials; hand blades were lightened for ease of use; and divine-arm crossbow draw weight fell from 2.3 to 1.4 stone. The changes were approved and ordered remanufactured on every circuit.
52
六年，軍器少監鄧之綱奏：「國家諸路為將一百三十有一，訓練士卒，各給軍器，以備不虞。 惟河北諸將軍器乃熙、豐時造，精利牢密，冠於諸路。 臣恐歲久因循，多致損弊。 乞自河北、陝西路為首，令諸路一新戎器，仰稱陛下追述先誌，儲戎器、壯國威之意。」 從之。
In the sixth year Deng Zhigang, vice director of military equipment, noted that 131 commands nationwide required arms for trained troops. Hebei alone still held Xi-Feng-era gear, the finest in the empire. I fear years of neglect have left much of it damaged. I beg to begin renewing arms in Hebei and Shaanxi, then nationwide, to fulfill Your Majesty's aim of restoring stores and national strength. Approved.
53
七年，之綱三上奏，一言修武庫，二言整軍器，大省國用。 詔升之綱為大監，又遷一官。 時宇文粹中賜對崇政殿，奏武庫事，因奏：「武庫有祖宗所御軍器十餘色，乞編入《鹵簿圖志》，遇郊兵重禮，陳於儀物之首，以識武功，且示不忘創業艱難意。」 是年，御筆以武庫當修軍器近一億萬，其中箭鏃五千餘萬，用平時工料，須七十年餘然後可畢。 於是令鄧之綱分給沿流作院，限三年修之，而權住三年上供軍器。
In the seventh year Deng Zhigang submitted three memorials on arsenal repair and arms standardization, claiming major savings. He was promoted to grand director of the directorate and advanced one rank. Yuwen Cuizhong, granted audience in Chongzheng Hall, asked that a dozen ancestral weapon types in the arsenal be entered in the Halberd Escort Illustrated Record and displayed at the head of suburban ritual processions to commemorate martial founding. That year an imperial note estimated nearly 100 million arsenal items needing repair, including 50 million arrowheads—a seventy-year task at normal pace. Deng Zhigang was told to spread repairs among riverside workshops over three years while suspending circuit tribute arms for three years.
54
八年，以之綱奏，諸路歲起上供料買分數，特免三年綱發。 然自時厥後，申明郡縣牛皮角筋之禁，紛然為害者，之綱之請也。
In the eighth year circuit tribute procurement quotas were waived for three years on his recommendation. Yet his request also led to renewed, harmful prohibitions on local ox hide, horn, and sinew.
55
宣和元年，權荊湖南路提點刑獄公事鄭濟奏：「本路惟潭、邵二州，各有年額製造軍器。 今年製造已足，躬親試驗，並依法式，不誤施用。」 詔加旌賞，以為諸路之勸。 然自是歲督軍器率用御筆處分，工造不已而較數嘗闕，繕修無虛歲而每稱弊壞。 大抵中外相應，一以虛文，上下相蒙，而馴致靖康之禍矣。
In Xuanhe 1 Zheng Ji, acting judicial commissioner on the Jinghu South circuit, reported that only Tan and Shao prefectures had annual arms quotas. This year's output was complete; he had tested it personally and found it met legal patterns. The court rewarded him as an example to other circuits. Thereafter annual arms quotas followed imperial brush orders: workshops labored endlessly yet counts fell short, repairs never ceased yet gear was always reported ruined. Court and countryside alike kept up empty paperwork until the Jingkang catastrophe.
56
靖康初，兵仗皆闕，詔書屢下，嚴立賞刑，而卒亦無補。 時通判河陽、權州事張旂奏曰：「河陽自今春以來，累有軍馬經過，軍士舉隨身軍器若馬甲、神臂弓、箭槍牌之類，於市肆博易熟食，名為寄頓，其實棄遣，避逃征役。 拘收三日間，得器械四千二百餘物。 此乃太原援師，尚且棄捐器甲，則他路軍馬事勢可知。 宜諭民首納，免貽他患。」 帝善旂奏，賞以一官。
When Jingkang began, armories were bare; repeated edicts with harsh penalties still failed. Zhang Qi, acting prefect of Heyang, reported that passing troops traded divine-arm crossbows, armor, and shields for food, claiming temporary storage while actually abandoning gear to evade service. In three days officials seized more than 4,200 abandoned weapons. Even Taiyuan relief troops discarded their arms, revealing how desperate other armies had become. He urged civilians to turn in abandoned gear before it caused further harm. The emperor approved and promoted Zhang Qi one rank.
57
初，御前軍器監、軍器所萬全軍匠以三千七百為額，東、西作坊工匠以五千為額。 紹興初，役兵才千人，久之，增至五千六百餘，又於諸道增二千九百餘，本券外復增給日錢百七十、月米七斗半。 於是內庫累歲兵械山積，而諸軍悉除戎器。 二十六年，詔：「工匠宜減免，江、浙、福建諸州物料悉蠲之。」 有司奏物料減三之一，工匠二千、雜役兵五百為額。
Originally the Imperial Military Equipment offices employed 3,700 Wanshan artisans and 5,000 workshop craftsmen. Under Shaoxing corvée artisans rose from 1,000 to 5,600, with 2,900 more on the circuits plus extra daily cash and monthly rice. Inner depots overflowed with arms while field armies stripped their own equipment. In the twenty-sixth year artisans were ordered reduced and Jiang-Zhe-Fujian material levies canceled. Officials cut material quotas by one third and capped artisans at 2,000 plus 500 miscellaneous laborers.
58
舊，軍器所得專達。 建炎中，嘗以閹官董愨提舉，尋罷之。 紹興五年，隸工部，後復以中人典領。 三十年，工部言非祖宗建官意，詔依條檢察。 孝宗受禪，增提點官一員，御史力論其不可，復隸工部焉。
Formerly arms shipments used dedicated transport. In the Jianyan era eunuch supervisor was briefly appointed then removed. In Shaoxing 5 the office fell under the Ministry of Works, then again under eunuch management. In the thirtieth year the Ministry of Works protested that eunuch control violated ancestral intent and ordered a regulatory review. Xiaozong briefly added a supervisory post, but censors restored Ministry of Works jurisdiction.
59
造車之制。 渡江後，東南地多沮洳險隘，不以車為主。 宗澤、李綱有戰車法，王大智獻車式，皆不復用，而屬意甲胄、弧矢之利矣。 建炎初，上諭宰執曰：「方今戰士無慮三十萬，若皆被堅執銳，加以弧矢之利，雖強敵，無足畏也。 造弓必用良工善價。」 紹興三年，提舉製造軍器所言：「以七十工造全裝甲一。 又長齊頭甲每一甲用工百四十一，短齊頭甲用工七十四。 乞以本所全裝甲為定式。」 席益言：「諸州造馬蝗弩，不若令造弓。」 詔並改造弓弩，內馬蝗弩改手射弓。
Regulations for Chariot Manufacture After the southward retreat, marshy southeastern terrain made chariots impractical. Methods of Zong Ze, Li Gang, and Wang Dazhi were abandoned in favor of armor and archery. Early in Jianyan the emperor told his ministers that 300,000 soldiers in proper armor and with good bows need fear no enemy. Bow-making required skilled artisans and fair pay. In Shaoxing 3 the arms office reported seventy artisans per full armor suit. Long qitou armor required 141 artisans per suit; short qitou armor seventy-four. They asked to standardize on the office's full armor pattern. Xi Yi argued prefectures should make bows rather than horse-locust crossbows. An edict ordered bow production instead; horse-locust crossbows became hand bows.
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紹興四年，軍器所言：「得旨，依禦降式造甲。 緣甲之式有四等，甲葉千八百二十五，表裏磨鋥。 內披膊葉五百四，每葉重二錢六分； 又甲身葉三百三十二，每葉重四錢七分； 又腿裙鶻尾葉六百七十九，每葉重四錢五分； 又兜鍪簾葉三百一十，每葉重二錢五分。 並兜鍪一，杯子、眉子共一斤一兩，皮線結頭等重五斤十二兩五錢有奇。 每一甲重四十有九斤十二兩。 若甲葉一一依元領分兩，如重輕差殊，即棄不用，虛費工材。 乞以新式甲葉分兩輕重通融，全裝共四十五斤至五十斤止。」 詔勿過五十斤。 三十二年，詔江東安撫司造木弩五千、箭五十萬。
In Shaoxing 4 the arms office reported making armor per imperial patterns. Armor came in four grades with 1,825 polished lamellae inside and out. Pauldrons used 504 lamellae at 2.6 qian each; the cuirass 332 lamellae at 4.7 qian each; tassets and skirt plates 679 lamellae at 4.5 qian each; and helmet curtains 310 lamellae at 2.5 qian each. With helmet, bowl, and brow pieces totaling 1 jin 1 liang plus 5 jin 12.5 qian of cord and fittings. Each suit weighed 49 jin 12 liang. Lamellae outside specified weights were discarded as waste. They proposed flexible lamella weights totaling 45–50 jin per suit. The court capped armor at fifty jin. In the thirty-second year Jiangdong was ordered to produce 5,000 wooden crossbows and 500,000 arrows.
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隆興元年，御降木羽弩箭式，每路依式製箭百萬。 淳熙九年，衢州守臣製到木鶴觜弩二千、箭十萬。 又湖北、京西造納無羽箭。 上曰：「箭不用羽，可謂精巧，其屋藏之。」 淮東總領朱佺言：「鎮江一軍，乃韓世忠部曲。 世忠造克敵弓，以當敵騎衝突，其發可至百步，其勁可穿重甲，最為利器。 往歲調發，弓不免損失，存者歲久亦漸弛壞。 今考諸軍見弩手八千八百四十二人，人合用兩弓，一弓一日上教，一弓備出戰，合用弓萬七千六百八十有四，僅存六千五百七十有四，餘皆不堪施教，乞下鎮江都統司足其額。」
In Longxing 1 each circuit was ordered to make one million wooden-feathered bolts to imperial pattern. In Chunxi 9 Quzhou produced 2,000 wooden crane-beak crossbows and 100,000 arrows. Hubei and Jingxi also presented featherless arrows. The emperor called featherless arrows ingenious and ordered them stored. Huaidong chief steward Zhu Qian reported that the Jiangdu army was Han Shizhong's old command. Shizhong's enemy-defeating bow, designed to stop cavalry charges, shot one hundred paces and pierced heavy armor. Past deployments had depleted and damaged the bows. He counted 8,842 crossbowmen needing 17,684 bows but found only 6,574 serviceable and asked Jiangdu headquarters to fill the gap.
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十五年，工部侍郎李昌圖言：「弓矢之利，貴於便疾。 神臂弓鬥力及遠，屢獲其用。 後又又造神勁弓，及遠雖在神臂弓上，軍中多言其發遲，每神臂三矢而神勁方能一發，若臨敵之際，便疾反出神臂下。」 上曰：「平原曠野宜用神勁弓，西蜀崇山峻嶺，未知孰利。」 詔金州都統司詳議以聞。 既而都統製吳挺奏：「神勁弓並彈子頭箭，諸軍用之誠便疾，神臂不及也。」 詔從其便。 楚州兵馬鈐轄言：「弩之力，勁者三十石，次者十五石，矢之鏃狀若鍬，所發何啻數百步，洞穿數人。 江上諸軍有弩式，皆廢不修。」 詔兩淮、荊襄沿邊城守，各製二十枝，御前軍器所亦如之。 紹熙而後，日造器械，數目山積。
In the fifteenth year Li Changtu, vice minister of works, said bows must be swift in battle. The divine-arm crossbow's range had repeatedly proved valuable. The newer divine-power bow shot farther but slower—three divine-arm shots per one divine-power shot—making it inferior in combat. The emperor noted plains favored the divine-power bow but wondered which suited Sichuan's mountains. Jinzhou headquarters was ordered to investigate and report. Wu Ting of Jinzhou then reported the divine-power bow with pellet-headed arrows faster in army use than the divine-arm. The court approved local preference. Chuzhou's military commissioner described 30-stone crossbows firing spade-shaped bolts hundreds of paces through multiple men. Yangzi armies had crossbow patterns but left them unmaintained. Two Huai and Jing-Xiang garrisons and the Imperial Arms Office were each ordered to build twenty. After Shaoxi arms production piled up endlessly.
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開慶元年，壽春府造㔶筒木弩，與常弩明牙發不同，箭置筒內甚穩，尤便夜中施發。 又造突火槍，以世竹為筒，內安子窠，如燒放，焰絕然後子窠發出，如炮聲，遠聞百五十餘步。
In Kaiqing 1 Shouchun built tube wooden crossbows with internal bolts, especially suited to night firing. They also made fire lances: bamboo tubes with pellet chambers that, after the flame died, discharged with a report heard 150 paces away.
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咸淳九年，沿邊州郡，因降式製回回炮，有觸類巧思，別置炮遠出其上。 且為破炮之策尤奇。 其法，用稻穰草成堅索，條圍四寸，長三十四尺，每二十條為束，別以麻索繫一頭於樓後柱，搭過樓，下垂至地，栿梁垂四層或五層，周庇樓屋，沃以泥漿，火箭火炮不能侵，炮石雖百鈞無所施矣。 且輕便不費財，立名曰「護陴籬索」。 是時兵紀不振，獨器甲視舊制益詳。
In Xianchun 9 frontier commands built Muslim trebuchets from imperial patterns; some innovators built even longer-range versions. They also devised ingenious counter-trebuchet defenses. Rice-straw ropes four inches thick and thirty-four feet long, bundled in twenties and hung from tower pillars through multiple beam layers plastered with mud, blocked fire arrows and stones up to 100 jun. Light and cheap, they named the device "Rampart-Protecting Hedge Rope." Though military discipline had collapsed, regulations for arms and armor had grown more detailed than ever.