Ming Folangji Cannon (Folangji Gun)

Timeline

1. c. 1510–1522Guangdong–Fujian coast · South ChinaFrom the late Zhengde to early Jiajing period, the Ming encountered the Folangji (breech-loader) through contact with Portuguese merchant ships and conflicts at Tuen Mun and elsewhere; officials such as He Zhen and Wang Hong pushed for copying captured sample guns, producing early Folangji guns with interchangeable chambers.
2. c. 1543–1550Zhejiang–Fujian coastal garrisons · Southeast coastAs wokou raids intensified along the southeast coast during the Jiajing reign, Qi Jiguang, Yu Dayou, and others drilled the naval forces; Folangji guns were issued to warships and signal towers in large, medium, and small sizes, forming an integrated infantry-cavalry-naval firepower system with bird guns and long shields, becoming core equipment against the wokou and for coastal defense.