Rocket carts of the Ming Dynasty

IMPORTANT UPDATE NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Ever since the founding of Ming Dynasty, the Chinese had been an avid user of rocket weapon. Early Ming Dynasty rocket cart could have an upward of six hundred rockets, but subsequent redesigns reduced the number of rockets to make the cart more mobile.

Huo Jian Che (火箭車, rocket cart)

Drawing of a Huo Jian Che, from 'Si Zhen San Guan Zhi (《四鎮三關志》)'.

Huo Jian Che was recorded in the sixteenth century military treatise Si Zhen San Guan Zhi (《四鎮三關志》) without any specification on its size and structure. It might be the same rocket cart mentioned by general Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光) in his book Lian Bing Shi Ji (《練兵實紀》), written five years prior to this book.

Ye Meng Xiong's Qing Che (輕車)

Drawing of Ye Meng Xiong's war cart, from 'Deng Tan Bi Jiu (《登壇必究》)'.

Although not specifically designed as a rocket cart, this lightweight war cart designed by Ye Meng Xiong (葉夢熊) did carry enough rockets to qualify as one.

For more details on Qing Che, see my other post.

Huo Gui Gong Di Che (火櫃攻敵車, lit. 'Enemy-assaulting cart with fire cabinet')

Drawing of a Huo Gui Gong Di Che, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Huo Gui Gong Di Che was a type of multiple rocket launcher mounted on a two-wheeled ox cart. It was equipped with one hundred rockets and five spears. Manned by two soldiers, this was a formidable assault weapon capable of providing suppressive fire and deterring enemy assault at the same time.

Chong Lu Cang Lun Che (衝虜藏輪車, lit. 'Hidden wheel cart of barbarian-charging')

Drawing of a Chong Lu Cang Lun Che, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Chong Lu Cang Lun Che was a multipurpose weapon platform that incorporated a box of forty rockets, eight spears or other polearms and two large shields, one behind the other. It used a wheelbarrow design and thus only had one wheel.

Jia Huo Zhan Che (架火戰車, lit. 'Chariot of fire rack')

A Jia Huo Zhan Che and its various armaments, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Perhaps the most well known of the Ming Dynasty multiple rocket launchers, Jia Huo Zhan Che or "rocket wheelbarrow" as it is known in the West was an extremely versatile weapon platform. It incorporated four pods of Chang She Po Di Jian (長蛇破敵箭) of thirty rockets per pod, and two pods of Bai Hu Qi Ben Jian (百虎齊奔箭) of one hundred rockets per pod, for a total of 320 rockets. In addition, it had three Bai Zi Chong (百子銃), two fixed spears, and a cotton curtain to defend against arrows.

Linked Jia Huo Zhan Che, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

The versatility of Jia Huo Zhan Che lay in its modular design. Unlike other multiple rocket launchers that were usually one-shot weapons, Jia Huo Zhan Che could quickly replenish its rockets by replacing spent rocket pods with fresh ones. The rocket pods and anti-personnel guns could also be detached and used as standalone weapons. On top of that. several Jia Huo Zhan Che could be chained together to form a mobile fortification similar to a wagon fort.

Gai Shi Wu Gang Che (改式武剛車, 'Modified Wu Gang Che')

Gai Shi Wu Gang Che, from 'Jun Qi Tu Shuo (《軍器圖說》)'.

Gai Shi Wu Gang Che took the modularity of Jia Huo Zhan Che one step further: it was a two-wheeled hand cart that could be separated into two wheelbarrows. Each wheelbarrow was equipped with two small cannons, a Huo Jian Xia (火箭匣) of twenty-seven rockets per pod, and a large shield. Like Jia Huo Zhan Che, multiple Gai Shi Wu Gang Che could be chained together to form a mobile fortification. Surprisingly, it still functioned as a normal cart to carry military supply.

This weapon was named after Wu Gang Che (武剛車), a Han Dynasty horse-drawn cart famously used by general Wei Qing (衛青) to defend against nomadic Xiongnu cavalry.

EXTRA: Huo Che (火車) and Hwacha (화차 or 火車) debate

Scale model of a Jia Huo Zhan Che, displayed in National Museum of China.

Oftentimes, any mention of Chinese Huo Che will inevitably bring about the comparison with Korean Hwacha (and vice versa). With national pride at stakes, such discussions often devolve into meaningless bickering and insults about "We invented it first!" and "My Huo Che/Hwacha is better than yours!" Nevertheless, while this kind of online one-upmanship is completely pointless, I will still try to track down the earliest historical references to both Huo Che and Hwacha, and hopefully clear up some confusions.

The first recorded use of Ming Dynasty Huo Che dates to 1401 ^[1], during the final phase of Jingnan Campaign. Since no detailed description of Jing Nan Campaign Huo Che can be found, this cannot be used as a definitive proof of the existence of a Chinese rocket cart in the early fifteenth century. In 1449, a fletcher named Zhou Hui Tong (周回童) designed a new war cart equipped with six hundreds Shen Ji Jian (神機箭, lit. 'Divine engine arrow'), which was then tested and accepted for production ^[2]. Unfortunately, this too cannot be used as definite proof of the existence of Chinese rocket cart, as Shen Ji Jian in this context refers to unpowered gun darts launched for Shen Qian (神鎗) handgonnes mounted on the war cart, rather than rockets. Thus, the earliest Chinese rocket cart in Ming records was either a small wheelbarrow devised by Li Jin (李進) in 1450 ^[3], or a war cart introduced by Yu Zi Jun (余子俊) to Datong Garrison in 1484 ^[4]. 

Blueprint of a Hwacha that can be equipped with either a rocket pod or a volley gun, from 'Gukjo Oryeui Seorae (《국조오례의서례》 or 《國朝五禮儀序列》)'.

On the Korean side, the first Hwacha was developed by Choi Hae-san (최해산 or 崔海山) in 1409, although this early version of Hwacha was just a primitive cart-mounted volley gun designed to shoot unpowered darts ^[5]. Rocket-launching Hwacha was actually a later development introduced in 1451 ^[6], under the decree of King Munjong (文宗) of Joseon who was inspired by an earlier Chinese Huo Che that saved Yongle Emperor's from an encirclement ^[7] during his campaigns against the Mongols.

Thus, based on written records, the Chinese likely came out with their version of rocket cart first, although they only beat the Koreans to it by a mere one year. 

(Note: My apologies. I previously mistook the mention of Shen Ji Jian in Zhou Hui Tong's war cart as evidence that Chinese invented rocket cart in 1449, which is incorrect. While the term Shen Ji Jian did exclusively refer to rocket from sixteenth century onward, its meaning was far less precise in the fifteenth century. I have since corrected the description.)

Relevant sources

Ming Dynasty

1.《奉天靖難紀》
上先以三騎覘賊陣，見其火車、火器、強弩、戰楯悉列陣前，遂掠賊軍而過。

2.《明實錄 · 英宗實錄》
順天府箭匠周回童言：『軍中所用神機短槍，人執一把不能相繼。臣請為車一輛，上安四板箱，內藏短槍二十把，神機箭六百枝。臨用將槍五把安車上，為叉以駕之，叉亦可禦敵。槍多可相繼而發。車止用四人，一人推，兩人傍扶，一人隨釁，其於人執一槍發，輙不繼者，功相十五。』奏入，帝令武清侯石亨試其可用而後造之。 

3. 《明史》

景泰元年，定襄伯郭登請仿古制為偏箱車。轅長丈三尺，闊九尺，高七尺五寸，箱用薄板，置銃。出則左右相連，前後相接，鉤環牽互。車載衣糧、器械並鹿角二。屯處，十五步外設為籓。每車槍砲、弓弩、刀牌甲士共十人，無事輪番推輓。外以長車二十，載大小將軍銃，每方五輛，轉輸樵採，皆在圍中。又以四輪車一，列五色旗，視敵指揮。廷議此可以守，難於攻戰，命登酌行。蘭州守備李進請造獨輪小車，上施皮屋，前用木板，畫獸面，鑿口，置碗口銃四，槍四，神機箭十四，樹旗一。行為陣，止為營。

4. 《軍政備例》

大同宣府步隊每十人駕拽戰車一輛，每輛繩二條，圓牌二面，旗一面，砲四個，車箱內安三個，虎尾上安一個，火桶二個，每個火箭十枝，砲上合用狼頭、送子、馬子、圓石，并一窩蜂、鐵彈、碎石子，包定火藥藥線，與凡一應軍器不許缺一數少。

Joseon Dynasty

5.《朝鮮實錄 · 太宗實錄》
賜軍器少監李韜、監丞崔海山馬各一匹。上御解慍亭， 觀放火車，有是賜。又賜布五十匹于火桶軍。火車之制，以鐵翎箭數十，納諸銅桶，載於小車，以火藥發之，猛烈可以制敵。

6.《朝鮮實錄 · 文宗實錄》
先是上命臨瀛大君璆，制火車。其車上設架子，插置中神機箭一百箇，或置四箭銃筒五十箇，以火炷之，連次而發。

7.《朝鮮實錄 · 成宗實錄》

世宗聞永樂皇帝北征被圍，以火車解圍得脫，遂創造火車，分送諸鎭，今廢棄不修，緩急無用。宜令軍器寺制造，分送兩界諸鎭，常加肄試。