UPDATED DECEMBER 19, 2023, minor update NOVEMBER 12, 2024
Da Zhui Feng Qiang (大追風鎗, lit. 'Great wind chasing gun')
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| Drawing of a Da Zhui Feng Qiang, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'. |
Da Zhui Feng Qiang, also known as
Zhui Feng Qiang (追風鎗, lit. 'Wind chasing gun') and
Zhui Feng Pao (追風砲, lit. 'Wind chasing cannon'), was a late Ming period heavy handgonne that possibly modified back from a
matchlock gun to simplify the reloading process. Zhui Feng Qiang had a four
chi four
cun long gun barrel equipped with front and rear iron sight, a stock similar to that of a matchlock gun, as well as an iron tripod gun rest. It was typically loaded with a six
qian five
fen (24 g) lead ball, as well as six
qian (22 g) of gunpowder, making it far more powerful than a typical arquebus.
Lacking a matchlock mechanism, Zhui Feng Qiang was ignited directly through its touch hole, and thus required a second operator.
Zi Mu Zhui Feng Qiang (子母追風鎗, lit. 'Mother-and-child wind chasing gun')
Late Ming period Liaodong commander Peng Hao Gu (彭簪古) also devised an upsized Da Zhui Feng Qiang with twice the barrel length. Designed to be mounted on ramparts and battlements, Zi Mu Da Zhui Feng Qiang was more powerful than even a
heavy musket, although its tremendous length posed a problem for muzzle reloading, necessitating further modification to allow the weapon to be reloaded
from an open breech.
