Hui Ping (灰瓶) and Yan Guan (煙罐)

Some ceramic containers that could be made into Hui Ping and Yan Guan (highlighted), from 'Wu Bei Ji Yao (《武備集要》)'.

Hui Ping (灰瓶, lit. ‘ash bottle’) and Yan Guan (煙罐, lit. ‘smoke jar’) were two oft-overlooked Ming less-lethal weapons commonly used in siege defence and naval warfare. As their names suggest, Hui Ping was a ceramic bottle filled with quicklime powder, meant to be thrown at enemy soldiers to blind and suffocate them, whereas Yan Guan was a black powder-based ceramic smoke bomb used to create a smoke screen, generate choking smoke, or possibly both.

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Fei Kong Hua Shui Shen You Guan (飛空滑水神油罐)

Drawing of Fei Kong Hua Shui Shen You Guan, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

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Duo Qian Fang Pai (奪鉛防牌)

MINOR UPDATE JUNE 28, 2023

Drawing of a Duo Qian Fang Pai (highlighted), from 'Wu Bei Ji Yao (《武備集要》)'.

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Gu Wang (罟網)

Drawing of a Gu Wang, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Gu Wang (罟網, net) was the Chinese term for fishing net and, in military context, also referred to anti-boarding net used to deter enemy boarders. Made of recycled fishing net, it was typically used on smaller warships not equipped with defensive parapets.

Chinese sailors sometimes wrapped their vessels with anywhere from a few dozens to sixty layers of netting, so that these fishing nets could also resist enemy arrows and firearms.

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Gou Lian (鈎鐮)

Drawing of a Gou Lian, from 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'.

Gou Lian (鈎鐮, lit. 'Hook sickle') was a type of long polearm designed for naval use. Essentially a sharpened hook mounted on a one zhang five chi bamboo pole, Gou Lian was comparable in length to some Chang Qiang (長鎗). Gou Lian was used to hook enemy warship or cut off enemy cordage, as well as scooping up dead bodies from the water. Due to its softer bamboo shaft and heavier weight of the hook, it was unsuitable for land use.

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Li Tou Biao (犁頭鏢)

Li Tou Biao (犁頭鏢, lit. 'Plough head javelin')

Drawing of a Li Tou Biao, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Li Tou Biao was a type of specialised harpoon designed for naval warfare. Unlike regular javelin, Li Tou Biao had a very long shaft and weighted spearhead. It was designed to be thrown from a high place (i.e. a fighting top of a large warship) at a target positioned at lower place (i.e. a small boat, enemy boarding parties. etc.), in a fashion not unlike traditional spearfishing. The heavy spearhead of Li Tou Biao could damage or even outright punch through a smaller boat.

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