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The Measuring Bow (*Bugong*) in Qing Land Surveys

English editorial translation of the Chinese source entry

The bugong, literally a “pace bow,” was an implement employed for measuring land. Despite the character for “bow” in its name, the object discussed here was not an archery weapon or a military unit. Land measurement during the Qing dynasty affected acreage declarations, taxation,…

Written by MING YEEight Banners & InstitutionsManchuCulture Wiki
Source-based English editorial manuscript · Historical details subject to final source verification.

A survey instrument, not a weapon

The bugong, literally a “pace bow,” was an implement employed for measuring land. Despite the character for “bow” in its name, the object discussed here was not an archery weapon or a military unit. Land measurement during the Qing dynasty affected acreage declarations, taxation, boundaries, and the administration of both ordinary farmland and banner estates. A standardized measuring implement was therefore necessary to prevent individual surveyors from using inconsistent lengths.

Documentary evidence

Huang Liuhong's Fuhui quanshu (Complete Book of Good Administration) treats the fixing of the measuring bow as a preliminary step in cadastral work. The Imperially Commissioned Comprehensive Institutions of the Qing (Huangchao tongdian) records the use of measuring bows for county lands and ropes for certain banner estates and garrison lands under the Shunzhi emperor. These distinctions caution against assuming that every recorded area was established with exactly the same instrument or procedure.

Interpreting historical measurements

A bu was a measure of length, whereas a mu designated an area. Descriptions that define a mu through a specified breadth and length in bu depend upon the foot standard, official prescriptions, and local practice in use. Field shape, boundaries, and registration procedures also affected actual surveys. Historical acreage figures should therefore be presented in their source units unless the conversion basis can be demonstrated. The bugong is best understood within cadastral administration rather than Eight Banners combat organization.

Sources and Bibliography

  1. Historical source 1 — zh.wikisource.org

Links reproduce references supplied with the Chinese editorial manuscript; they do not establish that every individual statement has undergone independent archival verification.