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Chinese Armies and Technology
x Chariots played a central role in early Chinese warfare. They
were technologically advanced, with excellent wheels that were
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qualities made them stronger, especially when taking sharp turns.
By using parallel shafts and breast straps around the horse’s chest,
rather than a pole-and-yoke arrangement and a neck strap, as in
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attached to the horses.x The cab was large and typically held crew of three: a charioteer
in the middle, an archer to one side, and a soldier armed with a
halberd on the other.
o This halberd was a distinctively Chinese weapon with a long
shaft topped by a large bronze head that combined several
cutting edges and spikes, one of which was at right angles to
the shaft.o This weapon was held sticking out one side of the chariot
parallel to the ground, where it would slice into infantry or
potentially even sweep an enemy charioteer from his vehicle.
Used in this way, it has no equivalent in Western warfare,
wherein the main weapon of chariots was the bow.x The era of chariot warfare in China witnessed some massive battles.
For example, at the Battle of An in 589 B.C., at which the army of
the state of Jin defeated their counterparts from Qi, the Jin forces
included some 800 chariots.x 7KHUHLJQRIWKHFKDULRWRQWKHEDWWOH¿HOGLQ&KLQDEHJDQWRGUDZ
to a close with the introduction the crossbow around the beginning
of the 4th century B.C. Powered by a cranking mechanism and
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to master, had a greater range than a bow, and could bring down
elite charioteers or their horses at long distances. Soon, all Chinese