Tai Ping Che (太平車)

Drawing of a Tai Ping Che (above) and its various componnets (below), from 'Zhan Shou Quan Shu (《戰守全書》)'.

Tai Ping Che (太平車, lit. 'Peaceful cart') was a unique siege defence weapon used by the Ming army. Despite the name, it was not actually a war cart, and anything but peaceful.

Tai Ping Che was actually a semi-cylindrical mobile gun turret armed with five small cannons. Equipped with two wheels, it could be easily raised or lowered down the wall with the help of a wall-mounted crane, which allowed the turret to fend off besieging troops, particularly sappers, hiding in the hard-to-reach "dead zone" of the fortress. Since it would be nearly suicidal to man the turret with gunners and send them outside the wall, Tai Ping Che was also equipped with a Gang Lun Fa Huo (鋼輪發火) so that its five guns could be fired remotely.

The gun turret can be considered a successor of Warring States period Mohist Xian Pi (縣脾, lit. 'Hanging spleen').