Bai Zi Chong (百子銃)

Bai Zi Chong (百子銃, lit. 'Hundred bullet gun')

Drawing of a Bai Zi Chong with reinforcing hoops, from 'Bing Lu (《兵錄》)'.

Drawing of a Bai Zi Chong without reinforcing hoops, from 'Wu Bei Yao Lue (《武備要略》)'.

Bai Zi Chong, also known as Bai Zi Lian Zhu Pao (百子連珠砲, lit. 'Hundred bullet rapid fire cannon'), was the Chinese name for muzzle-loading swivel gun. It was similar to its breech-loading counterpart in most respect. Prized for its wide arc of fire and accuracy, Bai Zi Chong was used primarily as shipborne anti-personnel ordnance and siege defence.

Shou Shang Bai Zi Chong (手上百子銃, lit. 'Handheld hundred bullet gun')

Drawing of a small Bai Zi Chong (highlighted), from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Shou Shang Bai Zi Chong was a particularly lightweight variant of Bai Zi Chong that only required one gunner to use, and presumably could be fired handheld. Despite its name, it was usually mounted on war carts such as Qing Che (輕車) and Jia Huo Zhan Che (架火戰車).