Yuan Gunpowder Weapon Application

Timeline

1. 1290–1294Dadu Armaments Workshop · North ChinaThe Yuan dynasty established firearms manufacturing and storage institutions at both central and local levels, incorporating bronze hand cannons and paper fire tubes into army organization. Archaeological finds of Zhizhong-era bronze cannons indicate that firearms casting techniques were already quite mature at this time.
2. 1294–1299Southeast China coast and southwestern frontier · ChinaYuan forces widely used thunderclap bombs, fire arrows, and hand cannons in southern naval battles and sieges, combining them with ballistae and trebuchets to form composite firepower. Campaigns against Annam and Burma and coastal defense deployments in the 1290s further tested and spread gunpowder weapon tactics.