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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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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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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Shipborne close quarters weapons of pre-modern Chinese navies

19th century oil painting of a Qing-era war junk. Image Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.

When people think of pre-modern naval warfare in China and to a lesser extend East Asia, most think of imposing tower ships raining arrows and stones against the opposing fleet, or masses of fire ships turning the sea into a raging inferno à la Battle of Red Cliff.

But there were more to Chinese naval warfare than just missiles and fire. Though often overlooked and understudied, naval battle at close quarters such as boarding action remained an important, even predominant, facet of Chinese naval warfare. In this article, I will introduce some of the tools and weapons used by Chinese navies for close quarters engagement.

Gou Ju (鉤拒, lit. 'Hook-resist')

Since naval boarding was the oldest and predominant form of military tactic in the age of pre-modern naval warfare, it is unsurprising that the earliest naval weapons ever devised were tools to facilitate boarding. Gou Ju, also known as Gou Qiang (鉤強), was a tool, or possibly a set of tools, developed during China's Warring States period and attributed to legendary Chinese carpenter and inventor Lu Ban (魯班). Although the exact design of Gou Ju is now lost, its purposes couldn't be more straightforward: to hook and pull over an enemy ship for boarding, and to fend and push away enemy ship to prevent boarding. As such, it most likely took the form of grappling hook and wooden push pole, or a combination thereof, i.e. something akin to a boat hook. Gou Ju was one of the principal naval weapons of State of Chu (楚國), which used the boarding tool to great effect against the navy of the rival State of Wu (吳國). In fact, military training for Gou Ju became a cultural pastime for the people of Chu state and remained observed long after the demise of the state, eventually evolved into tug of war sport in China.

Ming period boarding tool Liao Gou (撩鈎) essentially fulfilled the same function as ancient Gou Ju.

Gou Ju became overshadowed by other, more advanced naval weapons as Chinese naval warfare became increasingly sophisticated, and largely disappeared from written records after the end of Warring States period. However, such useful tool(s) most definitely continued to see use, either in altered forms or under other names, for as long as naval boarding remained a viable tactic.

Zhuang Liang (撞樑, lit. 'Ramming beam') or Zhuang Gan (撞竿, lit. 'Ramming pole')

A curious and very obscure naval weapon, Zhuang Liang was essentially a wooden beam, longer than the ship's breadth, that was sodded with iron on both ends and built directly into the ship's hull, presumably by replacing one of the planks of its watertight bulkhead. The reinforced ends of Zhuang Liang jutted out from both sides of the hull and functioned as naval rams for the ship, although they were designed for lateral ramming rather than the more familiar head-on ramming. In fact, it may be the only weapon in the world purpose-built for such tactic, as side-mounted rams would seriously interfere with the rowing of oared vessels such as Mediterranean galleys, but won't present a problem for Chinese ships propelled by banks of yuloh (搖橹), as unlike normal oar, the blade of a yuloh is submerged at all time during sculling.

Zhuang Liang was one of the notable armaments of the powerful Wu Wei Chuan (烏尾船) fleet employed by notorious pirate lord Zeng Yi Ben (曾一本), which allowed him to pulverize Ming navy's Fu Chuan (福船) with ease. Fortunately, Ming navy was able to counter his formidable fleet by equipping the same weapon on its own purpose-built ironclad warships.

Naval ramming

Unlike their counterparts in the Mediterranean Sea, for the most part Chinese navies of the antiquities never seem to develop a specialised naval ram, and instead favoured fortified superstructures on warship to better capitalise on their advanced missile weaponry as well as to deter boarders. The formidable yet ponderous Lou Chuan (樓船) and its many derivatives, packed to the brim with commanding firepower yet ill-suited for ramming, thus remained a staple of Chinese navies for thousands of years.

Despite having been employed only sporadically in previous dynasties, naval ramming suddenly gained popularity in the Ming era, when the tactic came to be known as Chong Li (衝犁, lit. 'Charge and plough') or simply Li (犁, lit. 'Ploughing'). Curiously, this only happened after older oar-powered ships were largely phased out by sailing junks, and ramming was largely abandoned by navies elsewhere. The reason for this change is unknown, although it may be related to the primary naval threat faced by Ming Dynasty at the time: the Wokou (倭寇) or Japanese pirates. To elaborate, Japanese ships were considered rather shoddily built by Chinese standard and could be easily destroyed in a collision, which probably enabled ramming to become a viable tactic. This is indirectly supported by the fact that Ming military thinkers never seem to bother with ramming prevention/defence or military formations designed around ramming tactic, as the underlying assumption seem to be that ramming was one-sided, and Ming ships were largely safe from retaliation.

Still more questions remain. For example, how was ramming conducted with typically flat-prowed sailing junks without a ram? How did Chinese ship captains avoid the common pitfalls associated with ramming, such as getting stuck in the hull of the ramming target? Fortunately, a late Ming period military treatise, Bing Lu (《兵錄》), sheds some light on these questions, and the solution was surprisingly simple and ingenious: anchor.

A large Ryukyu Kingdom wooden anchor displayed in Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum.

It turns out instead of designing a purpose-built ram, Chinese sailors simply used secured anchors as rams instead. Traditional Chinese anchors, of both arrow-shaped wooden and four-clawed iron varieties, could weigh anywhere from 400 kg to 800 kg (for comparison, the Athlit bronze ram, the largest naval ram ever discovered, weighs 465 kg) and equipped with long arms to prevent overpenetration, which made for an ideal ramming weapon. In addition, anchor had the added benefits of being readily available on practically every ship, and could be easily cut loose if it somehow got stuck.

Old photo of a Chinese junk with its anchor fixed to the prow.

Using an anchor as a ram was only possible with a Chinese junk, thanks to its flat prow that allowed an anchor to be directly fixed to the front. Ships with curved/pointed prows, or those with long bowsprits, generally required a cathead to secure the anchor to the side, rendering them unable to use it for ramming. Moreover, many war junks like Fu Chuan typically had multiple anchors, which made their ramming all the more devastating (not to mention an entire row of anchors was visually strikingly reminiscence of a plough).

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Unique Chinese weapon — Pai Gan (拍竿)

MINOR UPDATE JUNE 10, 2025

Scale model of a Sui Dynasty capital warship equipped with six V-shape Pai Gan. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Pai Gan (拍竿, lit. 'Swatting pole') was an ancient Chinese naval weapon fitted to various warships to pulverise enemy ship at close range. Said to be able to outright sink a ship in one tremendous downward smash, it was in many ways an omni-directional alternative to naval ram. 

Pai Gan was first recorded in use during an uprising against Western Jin Dynasty led by Du Tao (杜弢) in 311 A.D. and quickly grew in popularity in the subsequent dynasties. Before long, this potent weapon had become one of the most common naval weapons in China, so much so specialised warships designed to use Pai Gan as their primary armament became a staple in various Chinese navies and were given descriptive names such as Pai Jian (拍艦, lit.'Swatting ship') and Jin Chi Jian (金翅艦, lit. 'Golden wings ship', likely named after raised Pai Gan mounted at the port and starboard of said ship). Pai Gan gradually fell out of popularity after Song period due to the advent of firearms, although it continued to see limited use during Ming period.

Theoretical operation

Illustration of a Lou Chuan (樓舡), or tower ship, from 'Wu Jing Zong Yao (《武經總要》)'. Historians are yet undecided about whether the crane-like device mounted on the top of the ship is an indigenous form of counterweight trebuchet or a Pai Gan.

Although the exact nature of this weapon is unclear, written records describe Pai Gan as being similar to a ship's mast, as well as compare it to a Jie Gao (桔槔), a.k.a. shadoof. In fact, the weapon was simply called Jie Gao initially before acquiring a more specific name to distinguish it from the irrigation tool. Pai Gan had a short range, and was seemingly a one-off weapon or at least took a very long time before it could be used again. This led to the development of countermeasure tactics such as sending out small boats to bait enemy ships into activating their Pai Gan prematurely.

There are ongoing debates on the exact workings of Pai Gan. Some see Pai Gan as nothing more than a ship-mounted traction trebuchet, while others imagine Pai Gan as a boulder tied to a crane arm, intended to be used as a giant striking hammer. Currently, the striking hammer interpretation seem to be the dominant view, with researchers proposing several candidate designs for Pai Gan, although each comes with their own pros and cons. The first candidate, a "T-shape" Pai Gan, most closely resembles a Jie Gao/shadoof, but has abysmal reach and is mechanically inefficient, not to mention its hammer has a high chance of smashing into the ship it is mounted on. On the other hand, the second candidate, a "V-shape" Pai Gan, operates on a similar principle as Greek Sambuca and Roman Corvus which is far more mechanically sound, although this design certainly does not evoke the image of a Jie Gan/shadoof.

Personally, I lean heavily towards the view that Pai Gan was simply a trebuchet, as there is at least one record mentioning Pai Gan being used to attack shore fortifications.I believe that with some tweaks to the "T-shape" Pai Gan—namely mounting the arm on a much shorter pole and having it face inwards, as well as arranging it so that the arm must be manually pulled rather than simply released—it can easily be turned into a functioning stone-thrower while still matching the available written descriptions. Better yet, my proposed Pai Gan does not preclude the striking-hammer interpretation and will in fact resolve all the issues present in both the "T-shape" and "V-shape" versions while being more stable and powerful than either.

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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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Du Huo Fei Pao (毒火飛砲)

Drawing of a paper fuse (top right), paper sealing tube (middle right), wooden fuse (top bottom), shell casing (top left) and bombard (bottom left), from 'Wu Bei Ji Yao (《武備集要》)'.

Du Huo Fei Pao (毒火飛砲, lit. 'Poisonous fire flying cannon') was a bombard-launched explosive shell designed to be launched from Wan Kou Pao (碗口砲, lit. 'Bowl-muzzle cannon'), an ordinary stone-throwing bronze bombard already in widespread use since the founding of Ming Dynasty.

First appeared in late 15th/early 16th century and entered mass production by 1544 at the latest, Du Huo Fei Pao was a spherical cast iron shell filled with black powder and up to five liang of sulfur, arsenic and other poisonous substance/irritants (hence the name "poisonous fire"), and was equipped with a fuse known as Mu Xin (木信, lit. 'Wooden fuse'), which consisted of burning fuse(s) winded around a screw-threaded wooden rod and sealed inside a thick paper tube to prevent premature contact between the fuse and bursting charge inside the shell. A cleverly designed ignition device, Mu Xin allowed for easy adjustment of time-delay before detonation through increasing or decreasing the number of threads on the wooden rod (and thus the length of the burning fuse).

Despite its ingenuity, Mu Xin did have some drawbacks, namely It was a fairly complicated device assembled from three different components (burning fuse, wooden rod and paper tube), not to mention hand-carving screw threads onto a wooden rod took considerable amount of skill and time. Fortunately, an alternative that offered similar level of consistency whilst being far easier to made was later discovered. Known as Zhi Xin (紙信, lit. 'Paper fuse'), this alternative fuse was simply the motor part of a Chinese rocket being adapted into a fuse.

EXTRA: Bigyeok Jincheonroe (비격진천뢰 or 飛擊震天雷)

Drawing of a large Bigyeok Jincheonroe, from 'Yungwon pilbi (《융원필비》 or 《戎垣必備》)'.

Bigyeok Jincheonroe was a cast iron shrapnel shell invented in Joseon Dynasty Korea by weapon engineer Yi Jangson (이장손 or 李長孫) in 1591, and proved instrumental in the liberation of Gyeongju city from Japanese invaders during Imjin War that broke out one year after its invention.

Named after another Chinese weapon, Bigyeok Jincheonroe bore a striking resemblance to Du Huo Fei Pao even down to design of the fuse based on screw-threaded wooden rod, which suggests that its invention may be inspired by Du Huo Fei Pao. Nevertheless, there were some notable differences between the two as well, chief among them material of the sealing tube—the Koreans used a bamboo tube whereas the Chinese used a paper tube—which likely influenced the design of the fuse hole as well. Specifically, Bigyeok Jincheonroe had a large rectangular fuse hole with a matching iron lid, but this was not found on Du Huo Fei Pao (which had a normal round fuse hole). This was due to the fact that bamboo is relatively rigid and smooth-surfaced, which may cause the fuse to slip out of the hole if it is not pinned in place by the iron lid. In contrast, paper is supple and coarse and serves as natural wadding, allowing the fuse to fit snugly into the hole like a stopper.

Bamboo sealing tube (left), iron lid (middle), and bomb casing of a Bigyeok Jincheonroe with a squarish fuse hole (right).

Interestingly, the Koreans also never appeared to adopt the more convenient Zhi Xin fuse.

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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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Patron only: Telling apart Chinese polearms — EXTRA: Armour-piercing awl and hanging moon spear

This blog post contains some extra information about Chinese polearms, which is exclusive to my Patrons and can be accessed here. If you like my content, please support me via Patreon!

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Telling apart Chinese polearms: a quick visual guide

UPDATED JANUARY 10, 2025

(Note: The descriptions below correspond to the items in the image from left to right, in the same order they appear.)

1. Ancient Chinese polearms (Shang to Han Dynasty)

1.1 Common polearms

Various ancient Chinese polearms. It should be noted that these weapons are not to scale with each other. For example, the head of a Shu is much smaller than other polearms.

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Huo Qiu (火毬)

Huo Qiu (火毬, lit. 'Fire ball') was a type of primitive incendiary trebuchet ammunition made of paper, bamboo basketry, or even clay. Developed in the eleventh century, Huo Qiu was one of the earliest gunpowder weapons in the world (along with gunpowder-based fire arrows and early rockets), predating even the fire lance.

At the time of its invention, the Chinese had yet to perfect the formula for explosive gunpowder, and the fuse would not be invented for another century. As a result, the Huo Qiu could only burn but not explode, and it lacked a burning fuse. Instead, an iron awl was used to ignite the bomb (by poking a red hot awl into the ball). Huo Qiu was usually flung by a trebuchet, although some versions could be thrown by hand or launched from a sling.

A straight awl (top) and hook awl (bottom) used to ignite Huo Qiu. From 'Wu Jing Zong Yao (《武經總要》)'.

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Patron only: A brief overwiew of the invention and development of naval mine during the Ming Dynasty

A brief overview of the development of naval mine during Ming period. Article highlight includes limpet mine and a primitive torpedo.

This blog post is exclusive to my Patrons and can be accessed here. If you like my work so far, please support me via Patreon!

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Fei Chui (飛鎚)

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

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Shui Di Long Wang Pao (水底龍王砲) and Hun Jiang Long (混江龍)

Shui Di Long Wang Pao (水底龍王砲, lit. 'Underwater dragon king bomb')

Drawing of Shui Di Long Wang Pao, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

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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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Si Chuan Fei Shi (四川飛石)

Drawing of a Si Chuan Fei Shi, from 'Zhan Shou Quan Shu (《戰守全書》)'.

Si Chuan Fei Shi (四川飛石, lit. 'Sichuanese flying stone') was a type of lightweight, two-man operated traction trebuchet. True to its namesake, the trebuchet was commonly found in Sichuan, although it was also manufactured in Beijing during the twilight years of the Ming Dynasty.

Unlike other Chinese trebuchets, Si Chuan Fei Shi had a A-shaped arm mounted on a single pole, which allowed it to be propped on narrow places and pivot easily. This was presumably an adaptation to the mountainous, narrow and uneven terrain of western Sichuan, where many Tusi mountain fortresses stand.

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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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