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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Tian Bing Jian (天兵箭)

Drawing of a Tian Bing Jian, from a Qing Dynasty print of 'Huo Long Jing (《火龍經》)'.

Tian Bing Jian (天兵箭, lit. 'Heavenly soldier arrow') was perhaps one of the most ingenious weapons ever devised before the modern era. It was essentially a huge war kite, seven to eight chi long and three to four chi wide and made of straw mat nailed to a wooden frame, which carried a rocket pod containing one hundred rocket arrows as well as dozens of bombs. Specifically designed for night raid, the rocket pod and bombs on the kite were ignited by a slow-burning incense fuse that gave off minimal light, allowing ample time for the kite to be guided to its target in complete darkness and silence before it began to rain down fire and chaos, creating a scene that could be easily mistaken for divine judgement (hence its namesake).

A variant of the kite, known as Tian Lei Pao (天雷砲, lit. 'Heavenly thunder bomb'), replaced the rocket pod with a human bombardier. who was a death row convict being forcibly tied to the kite.

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Qiang Chong (鎗銃)

Drawing of a Qiang Chong and its ramrod, from 'Wu Bei Ji Yao (《武備集要》)'.

Qiang Chong (鎗銃, lit. 'Gun spear') was, as its name suggests, a combination of a spear and a gun. It consisted of a two chi long gun barrel mounted on a five chi long spear shaft, with two five cun long spearheads (or possibly one spearhead forged in two halves) mounted near the muzzle, as well as a two cun long butt spike mounted on the rear end of the spear shaft. The gun part of Qiang Chong had a three fen calibre, and was typically loaded with two qian five fen of gunpowder as well as a one qian six fen lead bullet (which was roughly half the weight of a typical Ming arquebus bullet). 

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