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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Xi Gua Pao (西瓜砲)

Xi Gua Pao (西瓜砲, lit. 'Watermelon bomb')

Drawing of a Xi Gua Pao and its contains, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

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Huo Dan (火彈)

Hand Grenade variant

Five huo dan, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

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Huo Fei Zhua (火飛抓)

Drawing of a Fei Huo Xiang Mo Chui, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Huo Fei Zhua (火飛抓, lit. 'Fire flying catcher'), also known by another fancier name Fei Huo Xiang Mo Chui (飛火降魔槌, lit. 'Flying fire demon-subjugating hammer'), was a rather unique weapon of the Ming Dynasty. Essentially a spiked, baton-shaped grenade, it served as the Ming equivalent of anti-ship sticky bomb (although Fei Huo Xiagn Mo Chui did not attach to its target through sticky adhesive, but by barbed spikes).

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Huo Zhuan (火磚)

Drawing of a Huo Zhuan and its content, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Huo Zhuan (火磚, lit. 'Fire brick') was a type of brick-shaped hand grenade used by the Ming navy. It was a small box made of thin wooden plantes and filled with one jin and four liang of gunpowder charge, twenty paper firecrackers, twenty Fei Yan (飛燕) and thirty iron caltrops. The grenade was waterproofed by wrapping it in four to five layers of oil paper, and was ignited by means of a burning fuse.

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Huo Guan (火罐)

Drawing of a Huo Guan, from 'Wu Bei Yao Lue (《武備要略》)'.

Huo Guan (火罐, lit. 'Fire jar') was a ceramic grenade used in naval warfare. It was a large ceramic pot filled with explosive gunpowder, poison smoke powder, firecrackers, Di Shu (地鼠), fragmentation and caltrops. When thrown, Huo Guan would break and explode upon impact, spreading fragmentation and caltrops over a large area. The erratically moving Di Shu distracted the enemy, causing them to step on the caltrops amid the confusion.

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Guo Xing Ping (國姓瓶)

A Guo Xing Ping, National Museum of China.

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