Non-profit organisation for the study, practise and promotion of traditional Manchu archery. Fe doro means "the old way" in Manchu.
It was used to describe and promote the frugal ways of their Manchu ancestors and uphold their skills in riding, archery and preserve the Manchu language. Most Qing emperors were excellent archers themselves who frequently showed off their own skills during the hunt and on inspection tours in order to set an example.
10/04/2015
Interview with the last Manchu archer:
Interview with the last Manchu archer Introduction Welcome to part 2 of the story of the last Manchu archer. In part 1 we went in-depth on Ku Ku's background family heritage. This article will cover the actual encounter with Ku Ku and the interview.The interview We met on a hot and sunny day in Singapore. I was very excited to finally m…
28/01/2015
First part of our encounter with Ku Ku, the last Manchu archer.
The last Manchu archer (Part 1) | Fe Doro - Manchu archery Introduction This is the first part of the story of an interview with Ku Ku, who is probably the last Manchu archer alive. It is an expanded version of an article originally published in Journal of Chinese Martial Studies*. This first part will explain how we learned about her existence and present…
16/11/2014
Like our cover photo? Have a look at this article about Qing bow cases and quivers.
Bow cases and quivers of the Qing Introduction Like most Asian armies, the archers of the Qing suspended their bow case and quiver from a belt that also carried their saber. There was quite some overlap in the overall style of bow cases and quivers from Korea to the far East, all the way to the Ottoman empire to the West, but the si…
26/10/2014
Our latest article, about rare and precious bows of the Qing dynasty
Qing dynasty "baogong" or "precious bow" The Qing emperors of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were avid archers. But unlike the elites of Mughal India, the Ottoman empire, Persia, and others known for their lavishly decorated bows with lacquer and gold, imperial Manchu bows were often only modestly decorated with black paint on ra…
21/10/2014
Photographs of Manchu and Chinese archers with commentary by Justin Ma and Peter Dekker.
Photographs of Manchu and Chinese archers Peter Dekker: The archer in full draw represents a classic example of the Manchu style. The other archer also seems to be knowing what he is doing, and is depicted in an early stage of the arrow loading process, which is a formalized sequence.
16/08/2014
Check out this article about whistling arrows:
Whistling arrows and whistle arrows It remains unclear when and where whistles found their first use on arrows, but it appears that the Shiji of "Records of the Grand Historian" written between 109 - 91 BC by Sima Qian is the first record mentioning them. In this text these arrows are attributed to the Xiongnu, a people whose origins…
Website of Fe Doro - Manchu Archery