The arrow in the tube is not released by hand, but by mechanical power. This kind of weapon could be divided into single tube, three-star tube, plum blossom and Qisha tubes. The tube arrow discussed in the following is the single tube (Fig. 23).
Only one arrow could be released by the single tube hidden in the sleeve. The tube is made of iron or steel, about 26-27 cm in length and 27 mm in diameter. There is a lid on one side of the tube with a small hole in the middle for inserting arrows. Near the lid on the body of the tube is a moving fastener for controlling the shooting of arrows. When you put an arrow in the tube and turn off the fastener, the arrow is controlled, whereas when you turn on the fastener the arrow is released immediately. There is a steel spring in the tube which is about the same length as the tube but smaller in diameter. The spring is connected with a round iron plate at the top end and a lid at the bottom end bigger than the tube. The lid is fastened to the tube by screws.
The arrow shaft, the size of a chopstick and about 20 cm long, is made of bamboo.
To use, the arrow is put into the tube by pressing the spring and fastening the arrow with the fastener. As soon as the fastener is turned the arrow is pressed out by the spring. The shooting distance of the arrow depends on the strength of the elastic force of the spring.
The tube is hidden up the sleeve with a belt with one end of the tube near the wrist. In practice, just draw the hand into the sleeve to hold the tube, with middle and fore fingers straightforward and thumb turning the,-fastener, the arrow should fly out of the tube along the> direction pointed by your middle and forefingers.
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