Early Yuan Rockets

Timeline

1. c. 1250–1273Xiangyang–Fancheng · HubeiDuring the Mongol siege of Xiangyang–Fancheng, large numbers of Song and Jin firearms craftsmen were conscripted; records mention 'rockets' and 'tu huotong' (blowfire tubes) used to burn wooden palisades and suppress defenders on the walls. This stage marked early Yuan rockets rising from local experience to an imperial ordnance program.
2. c. 1271–1350Dadu (present-day Beijing) and the various provinces · North ChinaAfter the establishment of the Yuan dynasty, rockets were included alongside 'fire lances' and 'fire cannons' in military equipment lists. By the mid-14th century, Yuan forces still used arrow-type rockets with gunpowder tubes attached in city defense, night battles, and signaling, coordinated with trebuchets and ballistae. During the turmoil of the late Yuan (1341–1350), local armed forces also continued using such firearms.
3. c. 1351–1368Various places in China · ChinaIn the peasant wars and rival warlordries of the late Yuan, rockets and firearms appeared frequently on both offensive and defensive sides. After the establishment of the Ming dynasty, the early Ming firearms system continued to develop on the basis of Yuan models, with early Yuan rocket experience becoming a precursor to Ming 'rockets' and 'divine engine' weapons.