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Huochong (simplified Chinese: 火铳; traditional Chinese: 火銃) was the Chinese name for hand cannons.[1] The oldest confirmed metal huochong, also the first cannon, is a bronze hand cannon bearing an inscription dating it to 1298 (see Xanadu gun).[2]
By the time of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) two types of huochong were in use. One was a hand held version with a wooden shaft known as a shouchong (手铳) whilst the larger Wankouchong (碗口铳 - bowl-mouthed cannon) or Zhankouchong (盏口铳 - cup-mouthed cannon)[3] rested on a supporting wooden frame.[4] It was invented presumably as an advance in warfare, a new way to fight.
Gallery
Drawing of a Chinese pole gun found in Java, 1421. It weighed 2.252 kg, length of 357 mm, and caliber of 16 mm. This gun features a rain cover connected with hinge, which is now missing. The hinge is still preserved.
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Chinese hand cannon (Chong), dated 1424. Length 35.7 cm, caliber 15 mm, weight 2.2736 kg.
A socketed Ming hand cannon, 1505.
Bronze cannon with inscription dated the 3rd year of the Zhiyuan era (1332) of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368); it was discovered at the Yunju Temple of Fangshan District, Beijing in 1935. It is similar to Xanadu gun.
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See also
- Hu dun pao, a term refers to trebuchet and cannon.
- Heilongjiang hand cannon, hand cannon, ca. 1287-1288.
- Xanadu gun, a bowl-mouthed cannon, 1298.
- Wuwei Bronze Cannon, late Western Xia (1214-1227).
- Gunpowder weapons in the Song dynasty
- Military of the Yuan dynasty
- Bedil tombak, Nusantaran hand cannon.
References
- ^ "Chinese Military Technology and Dai Viet: c. 1390-1497" (PDF). September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ "The World's Earliest Cannon (世界上最早的火炮)" (in Chinese). Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
- ^ Aung-Thwin, Michael Arthur (2011). New Perspectives on the History and Historiography of Southeast Asia: Continuing Explorations. Routledge. p. 83. ISBN 9781136819643.
- ^ History of Ming Army Records Chapter Four