Guo Chu San Yan Qiang (國初三眼鎗) and Guo Chu Shuang Tou Qiang (國初雙頭鎗)

Note: The content of this blog post was originally taken from my other articles. However, I decided to write a separate article for cleaner navigation, tidier organization, and easier reading and digestion.

Guo Chu Shuang Tou Qiang (left) and Guo Chu San Yan Qiang (centre), from 'Shen Qi Pu (《神器譜》)'.

The Guo Chu San Yan Qiang (國初三眼鎗, lit. 'Founding-era three-eyed spear') and the Guo Chu Shuang Tou Qiang (國初雙頭鎗, lit. 'Founding-era double-headed spear') were two elusive firearms mentioned by the mysterious old Daoist priest whom the Ming firearm specialist Zhao Shi Zhen (趙士楨) met in front of the Gongde Temple (功德寺). 

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Zhao Shi Zhen's handgonnes

Note: The content of this blog post was originally taken from my other articles. However, I decided to write a separate article for cleaner navigation, tidier organization, and easier reading and digestion.

Although originally an advocate of universal adoption of matchlock firearms, Ming Dynasty firearm specialist and inventor Zhao Shi Zhen (趙士楨) later reconsidered his views after a chance meeting and and conversation with a mysterious Daoist priest in front of the Gongde Temple (功德寺) while on a fowling trip on Kunming Lake. Thereafter, he adopted a more nuanced position and began to seriously explore various advantages that traditional Chinese handgonnes had to offer, and to refine and improve them.

Ma Shang San Yan Chong (馬上三眼銃, lit. 'Horseback three-eyed gun')

Drawing of a Ma Shang San Yan Chong (highlighted), from 'Shen Qi Pu (《神器譜》)'.

Known in full as the Xin Gai Ma Bu Xiang Yi San Yan Qiang (新改馬步相宜三眼鎗, lit. 'Newly modified three-eyed spear suitable on foot and on horseback'), this weapon was Zhao Shi Zhen's improved design of the classic San Yan Chong (三眼銃), which he developed just as the classic San Yan Chong began to see widespread adoption by the Ming military.

The biggest improvement made by Zhao Shi Zhen was replacing the original barrel of the San Yan Chong—which was typically made from three cast iron barrels forge-welded/cast together, making it top heavy and prone to overheating—with his own design, which used three separate longer barrels forged in the same way as matchlock gun barrels (i.e., rolled from skelp or iron strips and hammer-welded along a seam for a stronger, more uniform tube, double-layered for better integrity, plus individual screw-in breech plugs), all mounted on a grooved wooden bedding. This arrangement reduced the weapon's overall weight for easier handling, improved balance through the lighter construction, and allowed for easier maintenance and replacement of individual barrels.

Various components of the Xin Gai Ma Bu Xiang Yi San Yan Qiang, from 'Shen Qi Pu (《神器譜》)'.

Zhao Shi Zhen also mounted a tanged blade and disc guard to the butt of the weapon, transforming the Ma Shang San Yan Chong into a versatile hybrid firearm. The tanged blade allowed the user to wield the weapon as a close-quarters polearm for thrusting and slashing after discharging the barrels, with the barrels themselves serving as a counterweight for better balance. Meanwhile, the heavy clustered barrels themselves could serve as an improvised bludgeon for blunt strikes, providing a fallback option where reloading wasn't feasible.

Furthermore, Zhao Shi Zhen tailored the weapon into two variants to accommodate different combat roles. The infantry version featured a longer overall length of approximately 5 chi 5 cun, while the cavalry version was shorter, measuring around 4 chi 4 cun.

Xian Chong (鍁銃, spade gun) and Jue Chong (镢銃, hoe gun)

Highlighted Xian Chong (above) and Jue Chong (below), from 'Shen Qi Pu (《神器譜》)'.

Zhao Shi Zhen further adapted the Ma Shang San Yang Chong by replacing its tanged blade with spade- or hoe-shaped heads in specialized variants, known as Xian Chong and Jue Chong respectively. Both variants retained the firearm's volley capability while while serving as practical tools for frontier engineering.

San Shen Tang (三神鎲, lit. 'Three divine Tangpa')

Drawing of a San Shen Tang and its detachable matchlock trigger, from 'Shen Qi Pu (《神器譜》)'.

The San Shen Tang can be considered to represent Zhao Shi Zhen's further refinement of the Ma Shang San Yan Chong, as it went beyond merely accommodating different combat roles for infantry and cavalry to also adapt to the habits of soldiers from both southern and northern China.

The primary modification made by Zhao Shi Zhen was the incorporation of a detachable matchlock trigger mechanism—likely borrowed from the Xun Lei Chong (迅雷銃)— which enabled the weapon to be braced and aimed like a matchlock gun by soldiers already familiar with such firearms, particularly those from southern China (although its accuracy still fell somewhat short of that of a true matchlock's), while retaining the flexibility to be used like a traditional handgonne by soldiers unfamiliar with matchlocks, particularly those from northern China. A second key modification was the replacement of the tanged blade of Ma Shang San Yan Chong with the head of a pronged Tang Pa (鎲鈀), which was far more versatile on a shorter polearm than a simple spearhead.

Top: A soldier aiming a trigger-attached San Shen Tang. Bottom: A soldier using a Ma Shang San Yan Chong on horseback. From 'Shen Qi Pu (《神器譜》)'.

In a sense, the San Shen Tang can be considered a simpler and more practical successor of the Xun Lei Chong.

Bu Xia Yi Hu Chong (步下翼虎銃)

Bottom and side view of Bu Xia Yi Hu Chong, from 'Shen Qi Pu (《神器譜》)'.

The Bu Xia Yi Hu Chong was a very unusual double-barrelled handgonne configured like a tonfa or arm shield.

Click here for more information about this handgonne.

Huo Dan Tong (火彈筒, lit. 'Fire bullet tube')

Drawing of a Huo Dan Tong (highlighted), from 'Shen Qi Pu (《神器譜》)'

The Huo Dan Tong was a hand-mortar-style flare gun and one of the earliest of its kind in the world, predating the Very pistol by nearly three centuries and being predated only by the flare launcher of the Xun Lei Chong (迅雷銃), which was also designed by Zhao Shi Zhen.

Click here for more information about this flare gun.

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Bu Xia Yi Hu Chong (步下翼虎銃)

Bottom and side view of Bu Xia Yi Hu Chong (highlighted), from 'Shen Qi Pu (《神器譜》)'.

Among the many ingenious and unconventional firearms crafted by the renowned Ming firearm specialist Zhao Shi Zhen (趙士楨), the Bu Xia Yi Hu Chong (步下翼虎銃, lit. 'Infantry Winged Tiger Gun') stood out as particularly enigmatic and elusive.

Unlike Zhao Shi Zhen's other designs, which he described in detail in his writings, this peculiar weapon survived only through two illustrations in his work, as well as a single brief, off-hand remark—that it was suitable only for use in Southern China—leaving its exact design, function, and mechanism largely unknown, most likely because any fuller written description has been lost to time.

Nevertheless, while any description must remain conjectural due to the absence of Zhao Shi Zhen’s documentation, the two surviving illustrations allow us to make an educated guess on the nature of this weapon.

From the illustrations, the Bu Xia Yi Hu Chong appeared to be a forearm-mounted firearm in a configuration similar to a tonfa. It featured a grip handle with a hand guard near the forward end of the assembly, though it was unclear whether the grip was oriented perpendicular to the barrel (resembling the classic tonfa’s cross-handle) or horizontal (resembling a shield grip). Complementing the grip was an elbow loop that enabled the firearm to be strapped or braced securely along the forearm.

The Bu Xia Yi Hu Chong incorporated two gun barrels aligned side by side and running slightly longer than the length of the forearm, with their muzzles positioned at the rearward end (in the direction of the elbow when braced). These were handgonnes without any mechanical trigger or lock mechanism, relying instead on primitive touch holes—likely located on the underside of the weapon—for ignition, making it, ironically, the only handgonne that Zhao Shizhen deemed suitable for use in Southern China only. Owing to its design, the user probably had to bend his elbow to aim the weapon and gain access to the touch holes before he could fire it—using a posture that might not have been too far removed from the modern sniper cradle position.

A soldier firing Bu Xia Yi Hu Chong, from 'Shen Qi Pu (《神器譜》)'.

Interestingly, the weapon also incorporated a prominent spike projecting from the rearward end—in the same direction as its muzzles. Its precise purpose remained unclear, as it could scarcely have served for forward thrusting and was most likely intended to aid aiming.

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