Juyuanhao

Archery, as one of “six arts”, is traditional Chinese sport with a long history. As the carrier of archery, bows and arrows showed their appearance since Chinese ancestors started to hunt. As a popular sport, people usually know bows and arrows that are used in competitions, but few people have seen traditional Chinese bows and arrows, not to mention techniques of making traditional bows and arrows.

Nowadays in China, maybe there is only one person left who still strictly stick to traditional techniques to make bows and arrows - Yang Fuxi, the owner of Juyuanhao. As a time-honored brand with around 300 years old history, Juyuanhao still remains the complete process of making bows and arrows, which contains about 200 steps.

In 2006, Juyuanhao bows and arrows making techniques are enlisted as the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage under protection. It is said that there were plenty of people who came to Juyuanhao to learn this skill, but in the end no one left. What is the matter? The reason is that bows and arrows making seems pretty simple in Juyuanhao, but it in fact contains complicated skills and procedures. Every bow made in Juyuanhao requires about 20 natural materials and 200 steps, costing around 10-12 months, so it takes almost one year to make a bow.