Lian Zhu Pao (連珠砲) and Yu Gu Pao (漁皷砲)

Drawing of a Lian Zhu Pao (right) and Yu Gu Pao (left), from 'Wu Bei Ji Yao (《武備集要》)'.

Lian Zhu Pao (連珠砲, lit. 'Rapid bead cannon') and Yu Gu Pao (漁皷砲, lit. 'Fisherman's drum cannon') were two types of lightweight cannons commonly used by Ming border armies of the strategically important San Bian (三邊, lit. 'Three borders') of Shaanxi Province, namely Gansu Defence Region (甘肅鎮), Yansui Defence Region (延綏鎮), Ningxia Defence Region (寧夏鎮), as well as the main headquarters, Guyuan Defence Region (固原鎮).

The two cannons were more or less identical, except for the lack of reinforcing hoops in Yu Gu Pao. Both cannons were around three chi in length, six fen in barrel thickness, and had a bore diameter of around one cun one fen (1.4 in / 35.2 mm). Designed to be carriable by just one person, these cannons could either launch a single one cun diameter lead cannonball at considerable distance using five to six liang of gunpowder, or loaded with additional lead or iron pellets for close range scatter shot.

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Hu Wei Chong (虎尾銃)

Drawing of two Hu Wei Chong mounted on a double-ended stand, from 'Wu Bei Ji Yao (《武備集要》)'.

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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.

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Di Lei Lian Pao (地雷連砲) and Xun Lei Pao (迅雷砲)

Di Lei Lian Pao (地雷連砲, lit. 'Ground thunder rapid cannon')

Drawing of three soldiers firing three Di Lei Lian Pao, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Di Lei Lian Pao was a small volley gun that consisted of 10 small cannons brazed to a solid iron stock in a fan shape. Originated from Shaanxi (陝西) region of Northwest China, Di Lei Lian Pao was a very lightweight weapon weighing only twenty jin (11.8 kg or 26 lbs) which allowed the weapon to be easily deployed and transported without a wheeled gun carriage—an important feature allowing the weapon to be used more effectively against fast-paced Mongol horsemen. Despite being a volley gun that fired its shots in a spread, Di Lei Lian Pao was still fitted with an iron sight.

To prevent the huge recoil generated by all ten barrels firing simultaneously from throwing off such a light weapon, potentially even hurting its user, the iron stock of Di Lei Lian Pao had an integrated ring that allowed the weapon to be staked to the ground during use.

Drawing of one soldier firing multiple Di Lei Lian Pao, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Di Lei Lian Pao was originally a tripwire gun that uses Gang Lun Fa Huo (鋼輪發火) as its triggering mechanism (hence 'Di Lei [地雷]' in its name), although this was later changed to having a gunner to manually fire the volley gun, as this was found to be much more convenient and responsive.

Di Lei Lian Pao utilised a two-stage fuse, which consisted of a very short section of normal fuse (i.e. Chinese paper fuse), known as Zou Xian (走線, lit. 'Walking thread'), connecting to a much longer section of flat quickmatch fuse, known as Bian Xian (扁線, lit. 'Flat thread') that extended all the way to the touch hole of the volley gun. The use of long fuse to ignite Di Lei Lian Pao allowed the gunner to stand at a safe distance from the weapon, as well as for a single gunner to operate multiple guns by himself.

Xun Lei Pao (迅雷砲, lit. 'Quick thunder cannon')

Drawing of a Xun Lei Pao, from 'Li Qi Jie (《利器解》)'.

Xun Lei Pao was basically a larger, lighter, more powerful, but single shot version of Di Lei Lian Pao. It was a small iron cannon weighing only 10 jin (6 kg or 13 lbs) and came with a slightly flared muzzle, front and back iron sight, as well as an extended solid portion behind the cannon breach with a hole punched through it to allow the cannon to be staked to the ground during use much like its multi-shot counterpart.

Xun Lei Pao should not to be confused with Xun Lei Chong (迅雷銃), a weapon with similar name.

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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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Xuan Feng Pao (旋風砲)

Drawing of a Xuan Feng Pao, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Xuan Feng Pao (旋風砲, lit. 'Whirlwind trebuchet') was a type of traction trebuchet first invented in China but later spread westwards to Middle East and Europe. It was a "single pole" type trebuchet with its axle and frame mounted on the top of a single pole.

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Jue Chong (钁銃)

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

Jue Chong (钁銃, lit. 'Mattock gun'), also known as Gou Tou Chong (勾頭銃, lit. 'Hooked head gun'), was an odd-looking firearm used for siege defence. It was simply a handgonne fixed perpendicularly to a five chi long wooden pole, designed to allow a gunner to shoot at enemy troops at the base of the wall without exposing himself.

Due to the inherent difficulties in aiming with this weapon, Jue Chong was typically loaded with six to seven lead balls to offset its low accuracy. Its muzzle was also sealed with paper in order to prevent the bullets from falling out of the barrel.

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Zhang Xue Yan's Zhan Che (戰車)

Drawing of Zhang Xue Yan's war cart, from 'Deng Tan Bi Jiu (《登壇必究》)'.

The Zhan Che (戰車) was a type of war cart designed by Zhang Xue Yan (張學顏), Grand Coordinator of Liaodong based on an older model devised by Li Wen Da (李文達). It was designed to be able to keep up with Ye Meng Xiong's lightweight war cart and was equipped with a leather protective screen, two stacks of rockets and Shen Qiang (神鎗), as well as rows of anti-cavalry spears projecting from all four sides of the cart.

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Ye Meng Xiong's Qing Che (輕車)

Drawing of Ye Meng Xiong's Qing Che, from 'Deng Tan Bi Jiu (《登壇必究》)'.

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Li Pai (立牌)

Different types of Song Dynasty Li Pai. From 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

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Zhua Zu Sha Ma Feng Lian (撾足殺馬風鐮)

Drawing of a Zhua Zu Sha Ma Feng Lian, from 'San Cai Tu Hui (《三才圖會》)'.

Zhua Zu Sha Ma Feng Lian (撾足殺馬風鐮, lit. 'Foot-catching, horse-killing wind sickle') was a simple yet vicious trap designed for anti-cavalry warfare. It consisted of a small wooden hexagonal or rounded hoop with twelve inward-pointing nails made of iron or bamboo, tethered to a sharp sickle blade with a rope.

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Gang Lun Fa Huo (鋼輪發火)

Components of Gang Lun Fa Huo, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Gang Lun Fa Huo (鋼輪發火, lit. 'Steel wheel igniter'), originally known as Zi Fan Gang Lun Huo (自犯鋼輪火, lit. 'Self-tripped trespassing steel wheel fire'), was a passive firing mechanism used to trigger land mines. The device was invented by renowned Ming commander Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光) during his post at Ji Defence Region (薊鎮) to bolster defence against Mongol incursions (the notion that this device was invented during fourteenth century was unsupported).

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Shou Pai (手牌)

A Shou Pai, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Shou Pai (手牌, hand shield) was a long and narrow hand shield made of poplar or pine wood. It was five chi seven cun tall, about one chi wide, and shaped like a concave hexagon.

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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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Flails of the Ming Dynasty

Tie Lian Jia Bang (鐵鏈夾棒, lit. 'Iron chain with clubs')

Drawing of a Tie Lian Jia Bang, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Tie Lian Jia Bang was the Chinese version of two-handed infantry flail. It was also known as Lian Ting (連梃, lit. 'Linked staff'), Lian Jia Bang (連耞棒), and several other names.

Early references of this weapon can be found in the works of Warring States period Mo Zi (《墨子》) and Tang period Tong Dian (《通典》). However, according to Song period Wu Jing Zong Yao (《武經總要》), this weapon originated from a specialised cavalry weapon used by the nomadic enemies of China.

A pair of flails, from 'Huang Chao Li Qi Tu Shi (《皇朝禮器圖式》)'.

During Qing period, flail became associated with Han Jun (漢軍, lit. 'Han Banners'). Qing flails were generally smaller and usually used in pairs.

Nowadays this weapon is known as Shao Zi Gun (梢子棍) and Pan Long Gun (盤龍棍, lit. 'Coiling dragon staff') by the Chinese martial arts communities.

Lian Zhu Shuang Tie Bian (連珠雙鐵鞭, lit. 'Linked bead double iron whip')

Drawing of a Lian Zhu Shuang Tie Bian (highlighted), from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Lian Zhu Shuang Tie Bian was a variant of common infantry flail that had two connected striking ends, making it an early predecessor of three-section staff.

Ball-and-chain-flail

Ming period painting of Lei Gong (雷公), Chinese god of thunder, with a ball-and-chain flail. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

While extremely uncommon, ball-and-chain flail was known to the Chinese. However, whether this weapon was actually used on the battlefield is anyone's guess.

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Bu Cheng (布城)

Drawing of a Bu Cheng (highlighted), from 'Ji Xiao Xin Shu (《紀效新書》)'.

Bu Cheng (布城, lit. 'Cloth fortress') was a defensive cloth wall designed by Ming general Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光). It was intended as a substitute of wagon fort in South China, as the muddy terrain of South China made ordinary war wagons unfeasible.

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Huo Qiang (火鎗)

UPDATED NOVEMBER 9, 2023

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

Huo Qiang (火鎗, lit. 'Fire spear' or 'Fire lance') was an archetypal fire lance with an archetypal name. It had a seven chi long shaft, a one chi long spearhead, two prongs with integrated hooks similar to Mao Lian Tang (茅鐮鎲), a butt spike, as well as two linked Pen Tong (噴筒) that fired in succession.

Contrary to a popular misconception, fire lance was probably not the direct predecessor of true guns but a branched development/specialisation of earlier gunpowder-based flamethrowers and proto-guns, only appearing in recorded history around 1230s. In fact, this particular Huo Qiang was only devised around the turn of the seventeenth century.

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Axes of the Ming Dynasty

While not as visible as sword, spear, bow or gun, axe remained an important weapon in Ming arsenal. For the most part, Chinese axes were quite consistent in form, and different types of axes were simply minor variations of each other.

Da Fu (大斧, big axe)

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Li Hua Qiang (梨花鎗)

Drawing of a Li Hua Qiang, from 'Chou Hai Tu Bian (《筹海图编》)'.

The Li Hua Qiang (梨花鎗, lit. "Pear Blossom Spear"), likely named because its fire tube produced explosive, scattering sparks reminiscent of a type of firecracker popular during the Ming period known as Da Li Hua (大梨花, lit. 'Great Pear Blossom'), was often regarded as the classic or quintessential example of a fire lance. 

In reality, however, it was quite atypical among fire-lance-type weapons. Instead of the more common bamboo Pen Tong (噴筒) barrel, it mounted either a disposable paper tube or a reusable iron tube onto its shaft. Additionally, the Li Hua Qiang was considerably longer than most Chinese fire lances, as it had been modified from a standard Chang Qiang (長鎗).

The fire tube of Li Hua Qiang could also be mounted on a Lang Xian (狼筅).

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