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A Ming ship armed with cannons, 1637. The Ming dynasty continued to improve on gunpowder weapons from the Yuan and Song dynasties as part of its military.During the early Ming period larger and more cannons were used in warfare.
The entries are grouped according to their uses, with rough classes set aside for very similar weapons. Some weapons may fit more than one category (e.g. the spear may be used either as a polearm or as a projectile), and the earliest gunpowder weapons which fit within the period are also included.
Earliest known written formula for gunpowder, from the Wujing Zongyao of 1044 AD.. Gunpowder is the first explosive to have been developed. Popularly listed as one of the "Four Great Inventions" of China, it was invented during the late Tang dynasty (9th century) while the earliest recorded chemical formula for gunpowder dates to the Song dynasty (11th century).
These weapons were not only used by Song China, but also its Jur'chen and Mongol enemies. In the history of the Jur'chen Jin dynasty, the use of cast-iron gunpowder bombs against the Mongols is described. By the time of the Ming dynasty, Chinese technology had progressed to making large land mines, many of them were deployed on the northern border.
The Ming dynasty had a high proportion of Mongols serving in important military positions, and they were highly successful at granting titles to attract Mongols to defect to the Ming. [ 54 ] In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Mongol officers in the Ming army were given preferential tax exemptions, housing, wages and title benefits. [ 4 ]
Hand cannon, Ming dynasty, 1377. The Huolongjing's intended function was to serve as a guide to "fire weapons" involving gunpowder during the 1280s to 1350s. [2] Its predecessor, the Huolong Shenqi Tufa (Fire-Drake Illustrated Technology of Magically (Efficacious) Weapons), has since been lost.
By the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) two types of huochong were in use. One was a hand held version with a wooden shaft known as a shouchong (手銃) whilst the larger Wankouchong (碗口銃 — bowl-mouthed cannon) or Zhankouchong (盏口銃 — cup-mouthed cannon) [3] rested on a supporting wooden frame. It was invented presumably as ...
An illustration of an "eruptor," a proto-cannon, from the 14th-century Ming dynasty book Huolongjing.The cannon was capable of firing proto-shells, cast-iron bombs filled with gunpowder.