It's true. Asians have a soft spot for bows and arrows, while Europeans are crazy about muskets. As we know, for a long time, the range of muskets is not as far as bows and arrows. Why are Europeans so stubborn and insist on using muskets?
The main reason is that Europeans are good at calculation, even if they fight, they should consider it from the perspective of economics, try their best to reduce military spending, reduce the cost of fighting and improve work efficiency; Most Asians are lack of economic mind, and all their energy is spent on improving the technical and tactical level and playing the art of war. Asians often ignore the cost in order to fight.
why do you say that? Because the cost of training an archer is much higher than that of training a musketeer.
Archers need arm strength first, and only when they are brawny can they get through Yang with a hundred paces. That is to say, not all adult men have the ability to shoot an arrow with a bow. Tang Wuju used a stone bow (weighing about 6 kilograms) for shooting long stacks, and used more than seven bows (weighing 4 kilograms) for riding and shooting; Song Fujun archers are equipped with a stone bow as standard.
From this, it can be seen that a short stature, poor physique and old age can't become a qualified archer.
Moreover, the bow and arrow can only guarantee its initial speed and accuracy if its arm strength is strong, otherwise the arrow will change its route.
in contrast, musketeers don't have such a high threshold. As long as you can pick up the musket and pull the trigger. Not only men of school age can operate it, but even minors and the elderly and infirm can easily operate it. Although the early muskets were troublesome to operate, the powder had to be stirred before shooting, and it was also affected by weather factors. But it should be noted that the cost of training a musketeer is still much lower than that of training an archer.
A recruit can go to the battlefield after training for about a month. If the situation is critical, a week's training is almost the same.
In this way, the use of muskets does not require the conscripts' physique so high, so there is no need to worry about the soldiers.
Moreover, compared with using bows and arrows, using muskets has one of the biggest advantages, that is, it can ensure the relative continuity of firepower.
archery needs arm strength, it consumes physical strength, and it consumes a lot of physical strength; Most people have no strength after shooting a few arrows on the battlefield, and need to have a rest, but in this way, there is no guarantee that the firepower will continue.
There will be no such phenomenon when using a musket. As long as there is ammunition, you can shoot for a long time. Compared with archery, pulling the trigger consumes much less physical strength.
Another reason why bows and arrows are not popular in Europe is that they are not as penetrating as muskets, while Europeans attach great importance to individual defense.
as early as the middle ages, plate armour came out.
in the 14th century, iron half-breasted panels appeared in western European countries.
in the 15th century, with the improvement of ironmaking technology, the scale and intensity of the war increased, and the whole body armor came out quietly.
In this environment, bows and arrows can't penetrate the armor with excellent protection ability, and only muskets can do more damage to the enemy.
Europe has many countries, frequent wars, relatively small battlefields, and the cruelty and antagonism of wars are higher than those in Asia. Only muskets can adapt to this operational environment.
China has a vast territory, and the war is often a large-scale sports war. The frequency of close combat is not high, so it is difficult to use muskets.
Moreover, Asian cities are large in scale, and urban offensive and defensive warfare is the main part in many wars. Archery and even throwing stones are better than standing at the gate and firing muskets at the head of the city, and the operation is more convenient.
So in Asia, people prefer bows and arrows.
The history of using bows and arrows by Asians can be traced back to the Paleolithic Age more than 28, years ago.
in ancient times, archery was not low in efficiency, and it could be like an arrow like a migratory locust, and the density could be imagined. Skilled archers can shoot their arrows without fail. There have been many great-god archers in the past dynasties, such as Hou Yi, Yang Youji, Li Guang and so on.
but before the rifling came out, the accuracy of muskets could not be improved. However, with the progress of muskets, especially the upgrading of muskets, the distance between bows and arrows and muskets has gradually widened, becoming synonymous with backwardness. If anyone still used bows and arrows at that time, they would only be beaten.
However, musket is not a patent of western countries. The ware appeared in the Song Dynasty, and it is actually a kind of musket.
However, the muskets in the Song Dynasty are far from those in the West, so they can't be mentioned in the same breath.
The advanced ostrich was introduced to China from Japan in the 26th year of Wanli (1598), and Japan was introduced from Europe. At that time, the rotary musket was born in Nuremberg, Europe. It can be seen that Europe's love for muskets is very persistent, and it has been discussed and studied, and it is being updated; In Asia, muskets have never been taken seriously and have always fallen behind the West.
This is also the main reason why China suffered repeated defeats and ceded land to pay reparations when it was at war with the West in modern times. Asians love bows and arrows, and Europeans love muskets. In the final analysis, there is still no backward concept and no sense of innovation.