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Ming Army Hand Guns (Huochong)

Type Object Region East Asia Time c. 1368–1644

Ming-era individual and garrison firearms firing lead or stone balls from cast bronze or iron barrels, in types such as hand guns, bowl-mouth guns, a…

Timeline

  1. c. 1380–1400Nanjing arms workshops · Yingtian PrefectureIn the early Ming, the court set up arms workshops in Nanjing casting bowl-mouth guns and hand guns, with the Hongwu era name and guard unit numbers engraved on the barrels, establishing an early system of firearm production and distribution.
  2. c. 1472–1480Datong, Xuanfu, and other key towns of the Nine Borders · Nine BordersDuring the Chenghua era the court allocated additional bronze guns and gunpowder to the Nine Borders; guard soldiers drilled in gunnery and flag signals, and firearms were mixed with bows, crossbows, and long spears among garrison troops at beacon towers to counter Mongol cavalry raids.
  3. c. 1520–1550Southeast coast and the capital camps · FujianFrom the Zhengde to Jiajing eras, falconets were captured from Portuguese vessels and copied; their breech-loading powder chamber and sight design improved Ming firearm design, driving upgrades to city-defense and field firearm systems.

Sources