Fire Lance (Erupting Fire Lance)

Timeline

1. c. 900–1131Central Plains and Jiangnan · ChinaTang dynasty alchemists gradually mastered gunpowder formulas containing nitre, sulfur, and charcoal; in the 10th-11th centuries incendiary and explosive firearms such as fire arrows and fire balls appeared (records of 'triggered flying fire' in 904, use of firearms in the Song conquest of Southern Tang in 975-976, etc.), all of incendiary/explosive type with no tube-projected firearms yet. In the 919 Battle of Langshan River, Wuyue used iron tubes to spray 'fire oil' (menghuoyou) to burn Wu warships, also a petroleum incendiary weapon rather than a gunpowder fire lance.
2. 1132De'an (around present-day Anlu, Hubei) · HubeiIn the second year of Shaoxing (1132), Chen Gui, prefect of De'an, defended the city against Li Heng's siege. The defenders used bamboo fire lances (long bamboo poles loaded with 'fire cannon powder') to spray fire, coordinating with hook-sickle weapons to repel the 'sky bridge' siege engine, and at one point led fire lancers out of the city to burn enemy siege equipment. This battle is the earliest reliable record of the fire lance used in actual combat (see the Shoucheng Lu and studies of the Battle of De'an). The besiegers were mainly Li Heng's rebel forces and should not be directly called the main Jin army.
3. c. 1160–1259Military prefectures across China · ChinaIn the mid-to-late 12th century fire lances were gradually used by Song and Jin forces, with models loading iron slag, porcelain fragments, etc.; the Jin also used reusable paper-tube fire lances. In 1259 the Shouchun Prefecture (present-day Shou County, Anhui) produced the 'erupting fire lance', using a giant bamboo tube with a projectile (zike) inside; when the flame was exhausted the projectile shot out with a cannon-like report, making it a clearly documented precursor of tube-firing firearms.