Qian Dan Yi Wo Feng (鉛彈一窩蜂)

Qian Dan Yi Wo Feng (鉛彈一窩蜂)

Drawing of Qian Dan Yi Wo Feng in shoulder bag for transportation (top right), and the same cannon when deployed (top bottom), from 'Wu Bei Ji Yao (《武備集要》)'.

Qian Dan Yi Wo Feng was a portable anti-personnel cannon that entered Ming arsenal in the early to mid-sixteenth century. Forged with the same method as a matchlock gun barrel, Qian Dan Yi Wo Feng had a short but wide body that could be loaded with up to 100 lead bullets, yet was light enough to be carried by a single person. It also came with a small iron bipod, which was used to prop up the muzzle when the cannon was staked to the ground for firing, as it had little to no extra weight to offset its considerable recoil.

Qian Dan Yi Wo Feng was also known as Bai Zi Chong (百子銃, lit. 'Hundred bullets gun'), although it should not to be confused with another weapon of the same name. It may also be the predecessor of Hu Dun Pao (虎蹲砲).

Volley gun version

Drawing of a matchlock volley gun Yi Wo Feng, from 'Wu Bei Ji Yao (《武備集要》)'.

This version of Yi Wo Feng, though still called by the same name, was only inspired by but not directly related to the anti-personnel cannon above. It was actually a matchlock volley gun that consisted of four to six gun barrels recycled from damaged matchlock guns, modified and bundled together and mounted on a wooden receiver that also housed a matchlock mechanism and a handle bar. The volley gun was mounted on a tripod-like gun mount that allowed the gun to be freely traversed and elevated, and each of its gun barrels was loaded with four lead bullets.