Ming hand cannon

Timeline

1. 1368–1424Nanjing Armaments Bureau and Beijing Armaments Bureau · JiangsuAfter founding the dynasty, the Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang inherited Yuan tube-shaped firearm technology, ordered the Armaments Bureau to cast bronze and iron hand cannons on a large scale, set relatively uniform caliber and charge standards, and incorporated hand cannons into infantry organization, making them an important light firearm against the residual Northern Yuan forces in the early Ming.
2. 1451–1460Ming Nine Frontier towns · North ChinaAfter the Tumu Crisis (1449), the Ming court, learning from the experience, greatly strengthened northern frontier defenses, distributing large numbers of hand cannons to key frontier towns such as Xuanfu, Datong, and Jizhou among the Nine Frontier towns from Jingtai to Tianshun, and combining them with Shenjiying tactics to counter Oirat cavalry using a three-stage tactic of hand cannon—bow and crossbow—long spear; the scale of hand cannon issue reached its peak in the early-to-mid Ming during this period.
3. c. 1461–1550Ming dynasty China · ChinaAfter matchlock guns (bird guns) spread from the southeastern coast during the Jiajing era, hand cannons gradually withdrew from the main infantry equipment roster because their range and accuracy were inferior to matchlocks, but their smelting and casting technology and gunpowder loading experience laid the foundation for the subsequent development of matchlocks, three-eyed guns, and other firearms.