Chinese Hand Cannons / Huochong

Timeline

1. 1280–1368Dadu · ChinaThe Yuan dynasty widely used firearms in its conquest of the Southern Song and foreign wars; excavated artifacts such as a bronze hand cannon of the Zhizheng 11th year prove that individual handheld firearms saw actual combat, with the technology spreading via Western Regions and Southeast Asian trade routes.
2. 1368–1400Nanjing · ChinaDuring the Hongwu era, the court established the Treasure Ship Yards and cast cannons at various guards; hand cannons were listed in the armament provisions of the Great Ming Code, and in the 1390s, during northern frontier defense and suppression of internal rebellions, hand cannons and bowl-mouth cannons were used together, forming mixed infantry-cavalry firearms tactics.
3. 1400–1449Beijing · ChinaDuring the Yongle era, the northern campaigns against the Mongols and Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas were both equipped with large numbers of hand cannons; the Shenji Camp organization established a model of coordinated combat between firearms and cold weapons, and the hand cannon became standard equipment for elite Ming infantry.