Southern Song Fire Lances and Firearms

Timeline

1. 1161Caishi Rock (southwest of Ma'anshan, Anhui) · Western HuaiIn November 1161, Wanyan Liang led the Jin fleet south; civil official Yu Yunwen directed the armies to meet them at Caishi Rock. Song forces struck with fire ships, thunderclap bombs and zhentianlei explosives against Jin ships, combined with massed bow and crossbow fire, decisively defeating the Jin navy. This battle was a landmark of large-scale Southern Song firearm use in naval warfare, with tube-type fire lances coordinated with thrown explosives.
2. 1162–1170Lin'an (Southern Song temporary capital) · JiangnanAfter the great victory at Caishi, the Southern Song court strengthened firearm development and mass production; the Directorate of Armaments and local xiang army workshops produced fire lances, fire bombs and thunderclap fire bombs. In the mid-to-late 1160s, fire lances evolved from bamboo tubes to more durable materials and were entered into city-defense and naval equipment lists, laying the foundation for the further maturation of tube firearms in the 13th century.