Rocket weaponry of the Ming Dynasty

UPDATED DECEMBER 9, 2024

Overview

While first rocket was believed to be invented around twelfth century and had been fielded in battle almost as soon as it became viable, it was not until Ming period that rocket was employed en mass as a practical battlefield weapon. Ming weapon engineers constantly sought to create more deadly rocketry, and developed many platforms to better utilise this devastating weapon, whether stationary, handheld or mobile.

1) Types of Rocket

1.1) Common rocket

Meng Jian (猛箭, lit. 'Fierce arrow')

Drawing of a Meng Jian (right) and its rocket pod (left), from 'Bing Lu (《兵錄》)'. 

Meng Jian was the smallest of the common Ming military rockets, with a shaft of only two chi long, or roughly two-third the length of a typical Ming arrow. Due to its small size, Meng Jian did not carry a warhead, relying on its sharp arrowhead to inflict injury.

Meng Jian was typically launched from a lightweight bamboo rocket pod carrying five rockets, or a large fifty-shot rocket pod made of bamboo basketry known as Da Yi Wo Feng (大一窩蜂). An even smaller variant of Meng Jian, which was only one chi six cun long but came with a three cun long rocket motor and iron counterweight/drogue, was also carried by Bai Hu Qi Ben Jian (百虎齊奔箭).

Shen Ji Jian (神機箭, lit. 'Divine engine arrow')

Drawing of a Shen Ji Jian (right) and its rocket pod (left), from 'Bing Lu (《兵錄》)'. Note its poison gas warhead.

Shen Ji Jian (神機箭), also known as Shen Ji Huo Jian (神機火箭, lit. 'Divine engine fire arrow') or simply Huo Jian (火箭, lit. 'Fire arrow', i.e. rocket), was the middle-of-the-road (or one might say medium-sized) of the common Ming military rocket. It had a two chi three cun long shaft equipped with iron counterweight/drogue, as well as a five cun long rocket motor, making it roughly the same size as a typical bow-launched arrow. Shen Ji Jian was typically armed with a Du Huo (毒火) poison gas warhead, in which case it could also be called Du Huo Fei Jian (毒火飛箭, lit. 'Poisonous fire flying arrow'), although the poison gas warhead could be replaced by a Shen Huo (神火) incendiary warhead instead, in which case the rocket was also renamed Shen Huo Fei Jian (神火飛箭, lit. 'Divine fire flying arrow'), Ming Huo Fei Jian (明火飛箭, lit. 'Bright fire flying arrow'), or simply Ming Huo Jian (明火箭, lit. 'Bright fire arrow').

Shen Ji Jian could be launched from either a slide tube or a three-shot bamboo rocket pod. A longer variant of Shen Ji Jian with a four chi two cun long shaft but a only a four cun rocket motor was also carried by the famous Nest of Bees.

Fei Dao Jian (飛刀箭, lit. 'Flying sabre arrow')
Fei Qiang Jian (飛鎗箭, lit. 'Flying spear arrow')
Fei Jian Jian (飛劍箭, lit. 'Flying sword arrow')

Drawing of a Fei Qiang Jian (left) and Fei Dao Jian (right), from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Drawing of a Yan Wei Jian (left) and Fei Jian Jian (right), from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'

Fei Dao Jian, Fei Qiang Jian and Fei Jian Jian, collectively known as San Fei (三飛, lit. 'Three flying'), were the largest of the common Ming military rockets. They were virtually identical save for their differently shaped arrowheads, sharing the same six chi long, five to six fen wide shaft, eight cun long, one cun two fen wide rocket motor, three fletches, and iron counterweight/drogue. San Fei rockets were devised by famous Ming commander Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光) in the sixteenth century, most likely derived from an earlier rocket called Da Tong Huo Jian (大筩火箭, lit. 'Big tube rocket') which likely dated to early Ming or even Yuan period. Perhaps due to their origin as an older weapon, San Fei rockets were not armed with a warhead despite their large size, and they appeared to fall out of popularity after smaller and more potent rockets became more common. Nevertheless, a fourth variant with a forked arrowhead, known as Yan Wei Jian (燕尾箭, lit. 'Swallowtail arrow'), was still introduced during late Ming period.

Qi Ji Guang seems to intentionally lengthen the shaft of San Fei rockets to make them easier to be launched from a Tang Pa (鎲鈀). On the flip side, due to their large size, San Fei rockets could not be launched from a typical slide tube or carried inside a rocket pod.

1.2) Obscure rocket

Ding Peng Jian (釘篷箭, lit. 'Sail-nailing arrow')

Drawing of a Ding Peng Jian, from 'Bing Lu (《兵錄》)'.

Ding Peng Jian was an incendiary rocket specifically designed to set fire to the rigging of enemy ship. It was equipped with a barbed arrowhead to prevent easy extraction, as well as an inversely-mounted incendiary warhead that spat fire backwards (i.e. to the same direction as the rocket exhaust) to ignite the sail more effectively.

Ding Peng Jian was usually launched from a slide tube.

Shao Peng Hou Huo Jian (燒蓬後火箭, lit. 'Sail-burning backward fire rocket')
Shao Peng Da Huo Jian (燒蓬大火箭, lit. 'Sail-burning big rocket')

Drawing of Shao Peng Da Huo Jian (left) and Shao Peng Hou Huo Jian (middle), from 'Liang Zhe Hai Fang Lei Kao Xu Bian (《兩浙江海防類考續編》)'.

Shao Peng Da Huo Jian and Shao Peng Hou Huo Jian were two rockets only found in Ming period chronography Liang Zhe Hai Fang Lei Kao Xu Bian (《兩浙海防類考續編》), indicating that they were in use by Ming navy and coastal defence troops of Zhejiang Province during Wanli period.

Regrettably, the book only contains illustrations and names of the rockets without accompanying descriptions, although it can be speculated that these rockets were most likely further developments of the large San Fei (三飛) rockets for use in naval warfare. Shao Peng Hou Huo Jian was likely armed with an inversely-mounted incendiary warhead à la Ding Peng Jian (釘蓬箭), whereas Shao Peng Da Huo Jian was likely equipped with a normally-oriented incendiary warhead.

Huo Long Jian (火龍箭, lit. 'Fire dragon arrow')

Huo Long Jian was a type of medium-sized rocket with a four chi nine cun long shaft and a five cun long rocket motor. Known to be widely equipped by Ming border army of Xi Ning (西寧) Garrison since at least 1560s, as well as Ming navy in Fujian Province since at least 1567s, what set Huo Long Jian apart from other Ming rockets was that its rocket motor was made of iron, making it possibly the earliest recorded iron-cased rocket in the world, predating both Mysorean and Congreve rocket by several centuries.

Huo Long Jian was usually launched from a forty-shot rocket pod mounted on a wheelbarrow.

2) Types of launch platform

2.1) Polearm that doubled as rocket rack

Tang Pa (鎲鈀)

Drawing of a Tang Pa, from 'Bing Lu (《兵錄》)'.

One of the biggest difference between rocket arrows and other projectile weapons was that a rocket carried its own propellant, which allowed the weapon to be launched anywhere without the need of a bulky launcher such as crossbow, trebuchet or cannon, so long as it was carefully propped up beforehand. Naturally, the three-pronged spearhead and wide availability of Tang Pa made it an ideal prop to launch large rocket arrow, a quality which was quickly noticed and incorporated by renowned Ming commander Qi Ji Guang into his army. 

Chang Qiang (長鎗)

Beside Tang Pa, normal spears and pikes were frequently modified to be able to launch rocket during Ming period, although, such practice was often decried as being inaccurate and wasteful. To remedy the issue, Ming commander and military thinker Wang Ming He (王鳴鶴) devised a new tactic to utilise rocket-launching spear, namely he recommended to pre-light the lengthened fuses of spear-mounted rockets before engaging in close combat normally, using the rockets as a surprise weapon at point-blank range. Moreover, his tactic also served as a good counter to Gun Bei (滾被) due to the incendiary properties of the rockets.

Huo Jian Pan Qiang (火箭盤鎗, lit. 'Rocket tray spear')

Drawing of a Huo Jian Pan Qiang (top right) and a rocket (bottom right), from 'Si Zhen San Guan Zhi (《四鎮三關志》)'.

Huo Jian Pan Qiang was an unusual weapon only found illustrated in a mid-Ming period military treatise called Si Zhen San Guan Zhi (《四鎮三關志》), unfortunately without any accompanying written description. Judging from the illustration, the weapon appears to be a spear with two round wooden discs mounted on its shaft behind the spearhead, serving as a rocket rack for up to four rockets.

2.2) Rocket pod

Wu Hu Tong (五虎筒, lit. 'Five tiger tube')

Drawing of a Wu Hu Tong rocket pod, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Wu Hu Tong, also known by its fanciful name Wu Hu Chu Xue Jian (五虎出穴箭, lit. 'Five tigers coming out of a cave arrow'), was a lightweight handheld rocket pod that could be used on horseback.

Made of bamboo basketry waterproofed with tung oil-painted clothes on both inside and outside, the rocket pod was designed to carry five small rockets, each measuring two chi five cun in length and had a three to four cun long rocket motor. These small rockets were not armed with a warhead, and relied on their poisoned arrowheads to inflict injury. They were also equipped with an iron counterweight/drogue.

Xiao Wu Hu Jian (小五虎箭, lit. 'Small five tiger arrow')

Drawing of a Xiao Wu Hu Jian, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Xiao Wu Hu Jian was a miniaturised version of Wu Hu Tong that carried even smaller rockets, each measuring only one chi eight cun in length.

 

Yi Wo Feng (一窩蜂 , lit. 'Nest of Bees') (Early)

Drawing of a basket Yi Wo Feng rocket pod, from 'Liang Zhe Hai Fang Lei Kao Xu Bian (《兩浙海防類考續編》)'.

The early variant of Yi Wo Feng, also known as Da Yi Wo Feng (大一窩蜂, lit. 'Large nest of bees'), was a handheld rocket pod made of bamboo basketry that carried fifty Meng Jian (猛箭) rockets.

For more information, see my other post.

Yi Wo Feng (一窩蜂) (Improved)

Illustrations of an improved Yi Wo Feng rocket pod, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

One of the most common and well-known Ming Dynasty multiple rocket launchers, this variant of Yi Wo Feng was likely an improved iteration of the older design that replaced the basketry container of the original with a hexagonal wooden rocket pod for better waterproofing, as well as swapping out weaker Meng Jian (猛箭) rockets with thirty-two powerful Shen Ji Jian (神機箭) rockets.

For more information, see my other post.

Liang Tou Xia (两头匣, lit. 'Two-headed box')

Illustrations of a Liang Tou Xia rocket pod, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Liang Tou Xia was a double-ended rocket pod that carried sixty small rockets, thirty on each end. Equipped with a shoulder sling, it could be easily carried into battle by a single person, as well as fired handheld.

The small rockets carried by Liang Tou Xia, known by a fanciful name Qun Ying Zhu Tu Jian (羣鷹逐兔箭, lit. 'Convocation of eagles chasing hare arrow'), were intentionally shortened to conserve space, measuring only one chi four cun in length and had a three cun long rocket motor. Typical of smaller Ming rockets, Qun Ying Zhu Tu Jian were not armed with a warhead, had their arrowheads poisoned, and were equipped with an iron counterweight/drogue.

Jiu Long Tong (九龍筒, lit. 'Nine dragon tube')

Jiu Long Tong was an early of multiple rocket launcher that carried nine rockets. First introduced during Luchuan-Pingmian campaigns in the fifteenth century, the rocket pod had remained a staple in Ming arsenal ever since.

 

Yong Jian (湧箭, lit. 'Surging arrow')

Yong Jian was a type of small rocket pod light enough to be carried and used on horseback.

2.3) Single-shot launcher

Liu Tong (溜筒, lit. 'Slide tube')

Drawing of a Liu Tong, from 'Bing Lu (《兵錄》)'.

Liu Tong was a portable or handheld rocket launch rail that allowed its user to take aim with the rocket instead of firing blindly. In its simplest form, a Liu Tong was simply a small bamboo pipe with all but its top and bottom end cut into a half-tube, although it could also be made with a variety of other ways, such as an wooden stock with an arrow-groove and two iron rings (to prevent rocket arrow from sliding off the groove), or even a wooden tube.

Alternate designs for Liu Tong: a Zhuang Jian Tong Jia (裝箭筒架, lit. 'Arrow-storing tube') on the left and Long Xing Jian Jia (龍形箭架, lit. 'Dragon-shaped arrow rack') decorated with dragon head on the right. From 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Despite its simplicity, Liu Tong was actually a later development than rocket pod that only came about in the seventeenth century. It is possible that Liu Tong was created as a simpler and cheaper alternative to Zhao Shi Zhen's matchlock Huo Jian Liu (火箭溜).

Reference:

明代的火箭 on 逸佚居 (Traditional Chinese).