Before Shen-tsung's time in the Sung Dynasty, placements in military services were done by recruitments in villages. There were five classes in a society of a village, and bowmen were in the third class. However, this method had resulted in many cheating scandals, and thus Shen-tsung gave power to Wang An-Shih for a change in the law-enforcing system that switched recruitment to volunteer for military services. They visited those in the villages who knew martial art, and asked for their will of volunteering as bowmen. Meantime, Wang An-Shih actualized Bao-Jia Law, which filled up the shortage of bowmen with common guards since the two positions serve for the same duty-chasing after robbers. Other than the change in amount of bowmen, this article also discusses their pay and whether if they could make a living out of their salary. During the time of Shen-tsung, the volunteer bowmen policy never ceased as a dispute in the government. Each and every official had a say in the pro's and con's of this issue. This article also organizes the different comments, and further analyzes the impact caused by the volunteer bowmen policy.
