Fei Lun Jia Hai Zhou (飛輪架海舟) and Tao Chuan Zi Mu Lun Zhou Chuan (套船子母輪舟船)

Fei Lun Jia Hai Zhou (飛輪架海舟, lit. 'Flying wheel sea-rack ship')

Drawing of a Fei Lun Jia Hai Zhou, from 'Bing Jing (《兵鏡》)'.

Fei Lun Jia Hai Zhou was a warship of unusual design, possibly a Ming-era throwback to older paddle wheel warships from the previous dynasties (as hinted by its tower ship-style crenellated superstructure). Intended as a capital-class warship despite its moderate size, Fei Lun Jia Hai Zhou was made of expensive and durable nanmu wood and came with two masts, four inboard paddle wheels and twelve large oars. In addition, it also had two large slots at the bow and stern, which allowed two ships to be connected together via wooden beams into a catamaran-like configuration for increased stability.

Tao Chuan Zi Mu Lun Zhou Chuan (套船子母輪舟船, lit. 'Ship-sheathing mother and child wheeled ship')

Drawing of a Tao Chuan Zi Mu Lun Zhou Chuan, from 'Bing Jing (《兵鏡》)'.

Tao Chuan Zi Mu Lun Zhou Chuan was actually not a different ship design per se, but a detachable exterior shell/auxiliary armour equipped by Fei Lun Jia Hai Zhou. Made of Chinese fir, the exterior shell enclosed the warship from the front and both sides, and came with a bow fitted with barbed spikes and storage space filled with gunpowder and flammable materials. Beside protecting the warship from grounding hazards, the exterior shell was also a potent weapon in its own right, allowing the warship to ram into enemy ship, ignite the payload, then discard the shell to disengage.

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Patreon supporter only: Zhang Lian (張璉), Flying Dragon Emperor

Flying Dragon Temple in Raoping County, Guangdong, built to venerate Zhang Lian.

I came across Zhang Lian's rebellion while researching and revising my blog posts about Wokou. A very interesting figure, Zhang Lian was not a Wokou but a mountain bandit through and through, although he was often conflated and lumped together with other Wokou, especially by later historians, in part due to the unfortunate timing of his rebellion (happened around the same time as Jia Jing Da Wo Kou), and in part due to the legends that arose after his death. In any case, Zhang Lian's rebellion (and many rebellions like it), is an interesting case study of the drastic difference in scale and behavior between Chinese-initiated outlawry and Japanese-initiated Wokou raids, which adds to the reason as to why Jia Jing Da Wo Kou should not be viewed as a Chinese phenomenon.

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Chinese fire gourd

Chong Zhen Huo Hu Lu (衝陣火葫蘆, lit. 'Phalanx-charging fire gourd')

Drawing of a Chong Zhen Huo Hu Lu, from 'Wu Bei Zhi (《武備志》)'.

Chong Zhen Huo Hu Lu was an unusual weapon which was essentially a gourd-shaped iron "gun barrel" mounted on a six chi long wooden pole. Intended to be paired with a weaponised shield, this handgonne/fire lance hybrid was loaded with both lead pellets as well as incendiary gunpowder that generated poisonous smoke as it burned, and was said to be effective against both infantry and cavalry. 

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