Che Bibi, Ma Xiaoxiao! The rise and fall of ancient Chinese chariots

From the current archaeological results, animal-powered cars originated in Mesopotamia, which is the Mesopotamia. At that time, the cars were not only powered by horses, but horses. , Oxen and donkey are both, so it cannot be called a carriage. In the Uruk cultural relics dating from 3500 BC, archaeologists discovered a hieroglyph "che", which is the earliest record of a car discovered so far. The earliest images of cars were found in the Khalav cultural sites dating from 3000 BC to 2800 BC. It is painted on a colorful pottery bowl, in the shape of a two-wheeled vehicle. On the same floor, a car model made of clay was also found. The physical remains of the cart are in the Tomb of King Kish (in the form of a quadricycle) in the lower reaches of the Euphrates River, the ancient Elanthusa ruins in the east of the lower reaches of the Tigris River in southwestern Iran, and the Tomb of the King of Ur near the confluence of the lower Euphrates River and the Persian Gulf (Also in the form of a four-wheeled vehicle) and other places have been found, probably from 2600 BC to 2500 BC.

According to archaeological discoveries, the age of using cars in China is much later than that of Mesopotamia. In 2004, archaeologists discovered the earliest rut at the capital site of the middle and late Xia Dynasty in Erlitou, Yanshi, dating from about 1900 to 1600 BC. The distance between the two tracks is about 1 meter, and the track is more than 5 meters long, extending from south to east-west. This is the earliest trace of the car used by the Chinese ancestors. In addition, some archaeological relics show signs that the farther east there are, the more traces of vehicles are (such as the two-wheeled vehicle found in the tombs of 1900 BC in the Sevan Lake area of ​​Armenia, and the two-wheeled vehicles found in Xinjiang, Gansu, and Qinghai). The remains of the car belonging to the "Siba Culture"), some scholars prefer that the car came from the Mesopotamia to China. However, some scholars have put forward different opinions. They believe that the transmission route of the car lacks intermediate links, and it is difficult to constitute a complete trajectory of the eastward transmission of the car. Therefore, the Chinese car should be invented locally instead of imported from the West. At present, to draw a definite conclusion, further research is needed, but many scholars believe that Chinese cars have been affected by external influences.

◎The four-wheeled vehicle

depicted in the Mausoleum of the King of Ur, the Chinese chariot, generally refers to the combat carriage driven by horses. Domesticated horses that can be used for service are not produced in China according to current archaeological research. The earliest remains of domesticated horses were found at the Drevka site, 250 kilometers south of Kiev, a forest steppe located in the Dnieper River Basin in the northern part of the Black Sea. In the following years, domesticated horses spread to Asia Minor, Iran, Syria and Egypt. It was not until the middle and late Shang Dynasty in China that domesticated horses were probably introduced into China, because at this time domesticated horse skeletons began to appear in large numbers in archaeological remains. The jade horse unearthed from the tomb of Wang Wuding's wife Hao is also evidence. In other words, during this period, the carriage really appeared in the records and relics of Chinese history. During Wu Ding's period, Shang Dynasty martial arts was at its peak. The earliest recorded "ambushes" in Chinese history also appeared when Wu Ding conquered Pakistani forces. The unearthed oracle bone inscriptions have such a record: "Wu Hao Qi is compared to Dong Jia and Fang Bafang, Wang Zidong is attacking, and Rong is trapped in the position of women." This means that Wu Ding’s wife Fu Hao and General Jun Jia lie in ambush in advance. He led the army to launch a harassing attack on the Pakistani army, forced it into the encirclement arranged by Wuhao and Tunga, and annihilated the Pakistani army. Wu Ding also led his army in successive wars and victorious wars against the earth, ghost, and Qiang forces. These forces are located in the western and northern regions of China. If these forces use horse-drawn carriages, Wu Ding will inevitably obtain horse-drawn carriages when conquering these forces, and thus will introduce them to China. Although this inference is very reasonable, some differences in the form of Chinese and Western carriages do not agree with this statement.

If the Chinese carriage came from the West, it should be the same as the Western carriage, but this is not the case. The wheel size of Chinese carriages (hereinafter referred to as the pre-Qin era) is a bit larger than that of Western carriages. Western carriage wheels generally have a wheel diameter between 0.8 and 0.9 meters. According to current archaeological results, the wheel diameter of Chinese carriages is generally 1 meter. Above, it is mostly about 1.4 meters. The driving method of Chinese and Western carriages (the method of connecting carriages and horses) is also completely different. Western carriages adopt the "neck tie-driving method", that is, the straps attached to the weighing scale are directly tied to the neck of the horse, and the neck is used as the force. This way of driving can be seen in Western carriages in the 8th century. This is like "carrying the schoolbag backThe lashing method of "strap around the neck" severely compresses the horse’s trachea and cannot fully exert the horse’s physical stamina. Chinese carriages use the “yoke-style lashing method” that uses the horse’s shoulder blades as the stressed parts. The horse-drawn carriage has large wheels and small carriages, and because the horse’s neck is not strong, the horse’s physical fitness can be maximized. If there was a drag race between the east and west carriages, and the same horses were used , The winner must be the Chinese carriage.

◎Western chariot using neck-style driving method

◎Qin Shihuang’s mausoleum copper carriage and horse, its driving method It is not the same as the Western driving law

Since the emergence of the horse-drawn carriage as an efficient tool is related to the foreign war of the Shang Dynasty, the horse-drawn carriage will inevitably be thrown into the war. Many of the Shang dynasty carriages discovered by archeology are equipped with Ge, From the shape and equipment of the sword and bow tanks, you can probably infer its combat methods. The large compartments of these tanks can accommodate three people, and the small ones can accommodate two people. The rear of the compartment is open to facilitate the people on board and get on and off the vehicle. The fences of the carriages are low, about 50 centimeters. Judging from this shape and the remaining pictures, the car battle in the Shang Dynasty should be a combat method of "shooting arrows at a distance and swinging in close combat." The soldiers on the chariot When the enemy is far away, use the bow to shoot at the enemy, and when they are close, they use the Ge for hand-to-hand combat, and even jump out of the chariot to enter foot combat. The traces of this combat method are reproduced in the "Six Secret Teachings" of the Warring States Period. It can be found, that is, the physical and technical requirements for the chariots to "walk, gallop, and gallop" (according to the archaeological results, there were already cavalry in the Shang Dynasty).

Then, the fence of the carriage gradually increased. By the Spring and Autumn Period, chariots had become the main assault force on the battlefield. When the two armies were at war, the enemy’s weaknesses were discovered-the "Eight Victory Land." If the assault force led by chariots were used to launch a large-scale charge, even The side that initiates the chariot charge can win without occupying a quantitative advantage. In the Six Secret Teachings, it is said that "the enemy will win all the damages, even if the enemy is surrounded by thousands of horses, they will be able to win. All battles will win.” Because tanks have powerful combat capabilities, the armies of all countries used tanks as their basic combat unit. The term "country of a thousand vehicles" with many tanks became synonymous with a powerful country at that time. Of course, The dozens of foot soldiers attached to the chariot during the Spring and Autumn Period were also the foundation of the chariot’s powerful combat power.

However, as the nomads became active and the nomadic cavalry continued to move south, the status of the chariot began to shake. The speed of the chariot Although it is much faster than the infantry, it cannot be compared with the cavalry. The combat method of the chariot charging cannot be effective in the face of the faster cavalry. Moreover, its huge size is a "living target" for the nomadic cavalry. Therefore, when fighting against the northern nomads, it is difficult for the chariot to play an important role as when fighting against other Central Plains countries. "Space can be restored, but time is gone forever," the great military strategist Napoleon said. Why The reason why the faster cavalry can dominate. The chariot was completely eliminated after the harness was well developed and the main enemy of the Central Plains forces became the northern nomads.

In the early days of the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, the chariot still occupied a place in the military sequence of the Han Empire. However, after a long and large-scale war broke out between the Han Dynasty and the Hun Empire, the chariots could hardly adapt to this kind of war in which the cavalry was called the "separated soldier". In the end, during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the chariot as an assault force completely disappeared from the armed forces of the Han Empire. At this point, the traditional chariot withdrew from the stage of war.

Until the Ming Dynasty, new changes took place in the death battle between nomads and farming peoples. With the maturity of gunpowder and metal processing technology, metal tubular firearms appeared. This enabled the ancient weapons and chariots that retreated to the second line due to more defeats and fewer victories in battles with cavalry in the pre-Qin era, and once again appeared on the battlefield with a new attitude, and once again had a special organization-the car camp.

This article is excerpted from "War Events 013"