UPDATED JULY 04, 2022, minor update March 6, 2026
Firelock guns—such as the wheellock, snaphaunce, miquelet lock, and true
flintlock—represented the pinnacle of small-arms technology in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, offering superior reliability,
weather resistance, and firing speed compared with
matchlocks. Although the Ming Dynasty ultimately failed to adopt this advanced
firearm on a large scale before its demise, various contemporary records
and pieces of evidence suggest that knowledge of firelock guns was
surprisingly widespread in late Ming China and that they may have
entered limited service with the Ming military.
Zi Sheng Huo Chong (自生火銃, lit. 'Self-fire generating gun') (ca.
1635)
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Drawing of a Zi Sheng Huo Chong, from 'Jun Qi Tu Shuo
(《軍器圖說》)'.
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The seventeenth-century military treatise Jun Qi Tu Shuo
(《軍器圖說》) authored by Bi Mao Kang (畢懋康) is the only Ming
military treatise to record a firelock gun, likely a miquelet lock,
with a clear illustration. This weapon, called Zi Sheng Huo Chong, was
said to be weatherproof and more convenient than a matchlock
gun.
Qian Li Chong (千裡銃, lit. 'Thousand li gun') (ca. 1565)
The Qian Li Chong was a type of handheld firearm—likely a firelock
pistol—that was said to be a simple yet accurate weapon, worn on the
belt and capable of being drawn and fired at a moment’s notice.
This weapon was introduced by Zhang Gong Fu (張公輔), the Regional
Investigating Censor of Jiangxi (江西巡按), and was approved for mass
production by the Ming court in 1565, with the Liaodong Defence Region
noted as being capable of producing its own. This may possibly have been
the only firelock gun to enter full (albeit likely still limited) military
service with the Ming army.
Pi Li Huo Chong (霹靂火銃, lit. 'Thunderclap gun') (ca. 1599)
Ming firearm enthusiast and specialist
Zhao Shi Zhen (趙士楨) may have been the first to discuss the pros and cons of a firelock
gun—which he called the Pi Li Huo Chong—in detail. Regrettably, although
he successfully reverse-engineered the weapon for his own use, he did not
elaborate on the details of its ignition mechanism and considered the gun
too expensive and complex for large-scale adoption.
Xu Guang Qi's attestation (exact date unknown, possibly 1605)
The firelock gun was also attested by the Ming polymath and military
reformer Xu Guang Qi (徐光啟) in one of his memorials to the throne.
Although he did not specifically describe a firelock gun or make a
clear distinction between matchlock and firelock weapons, he did
attest to the existence of particularly well-crafted arquebuses that
could “use stone (i.e. either flint or pyrite) to ignite fire”.
Arquebuses and muskets mentioned in Bing Lu (《兵錄》) (ca. 1630)
In a section discussing arquebuses and muskets, the seventeenth-century
military treatise Bing Lu also attests that both weapons could be equipped
with either a matchlock or a firelock mechanism.
Fu Shou Ji (伏手機, lit. 'Concealed hand machine') (ca. 1632)
The Fu Shou Ji was a firearm of unknown type encountered by Chen Zi Yi
(程子頤), author of the military treatise Wu Bei Yao Lue (《武備要略》),
during a military operation to suppress a rebellion. He later
reverse-engineered the weapon, renamed it
Li Gong Guai (李公拐, lit.
'
Lord Li's crutch'), and attempted to promote it to the Ming army.
Although the Fu Shou Ji was evidently not a firelock gun, Chen Zi Yi
compared it favourably to both matchlock and firelock guns and lamented
that even the rebels had access to superior firearms that the Ming army
lacked. This suggests that firelock guns had already entered limited
service with the Ming army by his time.
