中國出土2200年前的弓弩:射程是步槍的兩倍
A 2,200-year-old crossbow which some experts believe could have been almost twice as powerful as a modern-day assault rifle has been discovered among the Terracotta Warriors.
考古學家們在兵馬俑中間發現了一把2200年前的弓弩，專家認爲其威力相當於如今步槍的兩倍。The crossbow, which was found intact this week, could have shot an arrow up to 2,600feet - about the length of nine football pitches, the People's Daily Online reported.
這把弓弩於本週完整無缺的被發現，可以將箭射出到2600英尺之遠的地方，相當於九個足球場，人民日報網站報道。
The discovery is particularly exciting as experts believe the crossbow may hold the secret to the success of China'sfirst emperor, Qin Shi Huang.
這個發現特別的激動人心，因爲專家稱這把弓弩可以解開中國第一位皇帝秦始皇的成功之謎。
The crossbow,which was found half-buried next to one of the terracotta statues, was discovered by archaeologists working at the site.
在現場工作的考古學家在一個兵馬俑的附近找到了這把弓弩，當時半掩埋着。
It is the first time archaeologists have seen a complete version of the weapon,although they previously found 10 more broken crossbows in the same pit.
這是考古學家首次發現完整弓弩，他們之前在同一個坑中發現了10多把壞掉的弓弩。The bow measures almost five feet in length, with a height of about 50 inches.
這把弓弩長度5英尺，高50英寸。Its size suggests that it was one of the most powerful bows of its era. Historical texts indicate that its firing range could have been up to 2,600 feet,according to Huashang Newspaper, which is double the range of an assault rifle, which is aboutl,300 feet.
這種尺寸表明這是當時最強大的弓弩之一。歷史文獻表明其射程可達2600英寸，這相當於步槍的兩倍。
Somehistorians believe that analysis of a number of historical texts shows that the crossbow was integral to several important military victories of the period.
一些歷史學家認爲對一系列歷史文獻的分析表明這種弓弩在噹噹時的幾場重大軍事勝利中扮演了不可或缺的作用。Archaeologistsare equally excited about the discovery of a 'Qing', an item which they had previously only read about in historical texts。
同樣令考古學家感到興奮的是他們還發現了一把"檠"，此前見諸於史書，並未見過實物。TheQing helps explain how the crossbow was transported and stored, helping it tomaintain its shape when not in use.
檠是用來運輸和儲藏弓弩的，在弓弩不被使用的情況下，用以保護弓弩的形狀。'We believe that not only in the Qin dynasty but perhaps during the entire Warring States Period they had a very complete system of weapons production, storage and transportation/ Shen Maosheng, the archaeol ts' team leade.r told Central China Television.
“我們認爲不僅僅在秦朝，而是戰國時期，他們都具有一套非常完整的武器生產、儲存和運輸系統，”該考古團隊的帶頭人對中央臺說。'This discovery of the most complete Qin Dynasty crossbow, especially the Qing, provides us with new histo rical evidence for the follow-up study of the Terracotta, especially the study of the Qin dynasty military force.'
“這把完整的秦朝弓弩的發現，特別是檠的發現,爲我們的兵馬俑研究，特別是秦朝軍事力量的研究，提供了新的歷史證據。”
