Gansu teacher replicates ancient crossbow

A teacher in northwest China has replicated an ancient crossbow invented by one of the most outstanding Chinese statesmen more than 1,700 years ago.

Gao Fei, a biology teacher with the Lanzhou Foreign Language Middle School in Gansu Province, spent the last three years recreating the "Zhuge Crossbow," an ancient weapon created by mastermind Zhuge Liang, who lived during the Three Kingdoms period (220-280 AD).

Many people in China have claimed to have reproduced the legendary weapon, which is only described in historical records, but Gao said his is closest to the original.

"I have seen the models others made, but they were not up to the standard described in history books," Gao said, adding that previous attempts to replicate the weapon by others either resulted in bad aim or very limited shooting range.

With Gao's version, however, one can shoot ten bows consecutively and hit objects more than 70 meters away.

"I cannot say mine is the exact crossbow that Zhuge Liang invented, but it is very close," Gao said. Gao said he is a fan of ancient Chinese history, which inspired him to recreate the Zhuge Crossbow.

Gao has received a national patent certificate for the restored ancient weapon.