Lei Huo Bian (雷火鞭)

MINOR UPDATE MAY 11, 2026

Drawing of a Lei Huo Bian, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

The Lei Huo Bian (雷火鞭, lit. 'Thunderfire Whip') was a relatively straightforward, if obscure, weapon that combined a Tie Bian (鐵鞭) with a simple handgonne. According to the Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》), a Lei Huo Bian could be made of either iron or bronze, and typically measured three chi two cun in length, with the first five cun hollowed out and fashioned into a short gun barrel fitted with a touch hole, and normally loaded with three lead pellets. Being essentially a a one-metre-long solid metal rod, the Lei Huo Bian was quite heavy for a one-handed weapon, and was usually reserved for sufficiently strong/trained warriors.

A Jian-type Lei Huo Bian with its touch hole and hollowed part visible. Private collection.

However, surviving examples of the Lei Huo Bian show far greater variations than the specifications recorded in the Wu Bei Zhi. Many extant pieces have the entire length hollowed out to form a full gun barrel rather than just the first five cun, and they appear in a wide variety of forms, including Tie Jian (鐵鐧) and Tie Chi (鐵尺) shapes. In many cases, the Tie Bian actually appears more like a handgonne barrel fitted to a sword hilt, rather than a metal truncheon hollowed out into a firearm. The nodes along the body often resemble reinforcing hoops on a gun barrel more than striking surfaces.