Eye Power

Mu Li 目力– Eye Power

This chapter from Gu Hao’s book consists of only five lines and introduces his recommendations on how to “see” the target. Note that the commentary was written for right-handed archers (i.e., bow hand = left and draw hand = right). Gu did not mention this, but it is intuitive to rely on the Left Eye if one switches hands.

Here is the translation of this chapter in italic. It is short and requires readers to recall some of his earlier chapters on the Ten Keywords of Outer Efforts.

“One should solely use the right eye to see the target. The people behind me should see my left eye and the side of my nose. It is all about your face being directly (pointing toward the target), and your right eye will naturally be (visually) strong. If your two fists are already following the way (i.e., being balanced as previously described in Gu’s commentary), but your arrows are not following a consistent flight; it is because you are not using the right eye. The purpose of of the key word Shun in one’s Outer Efforts is for the purpose of this (i.e., using Eye power of the right eye).”

Let’s start by remembering Gu’s commentary on Shun (To Draw).

“Shun (顺 To Draw): One’s face should face head on toward the target. The path of the arrow draws the Yi (一 ,one) character. “

From this chapter and his description of Shun, Gu stressed the importance of having one’s face point head on to the target, i.e., being perpendicular to it, and drawing the arrow is in a straight line.

Translator’s Notes:

As most of us have already knew, the the arrow flies straight if the draw is a straight line. This straight line here, in my personal opinion, also serves the purpose of aiming instinctively. By drawing this straight line while our face is perpendicular to the target, the arrow’s flight path will become almost aligned with the “visual line” of our right eye as shown in the figure below.

This practice allows us to guide our shooting with the sight of the right eye; and aiming could eventually become instinctive through repeated practice.

The above two paragraphs are my interpretation of Gu’s instructions, and I am still experimenting with them. His instruction was brief: face straight at the target, draw straight, and see the target with the right eye.

Feel free to let me know your interpretation of Gu’s instruction after trying out your Right Eye’s Power.