Firearms Evolution · Strategies · Canon

Firearms grew from the fire lance to heavy cannon, moving warfare from personal bravery and formations to killing at range, with artillery central to attack and defence.

Southern Song to late Qing

1132 · OriginAt the siege of De'an in 1132 in the Southern Song, the defender Chen Gui used bamboo fire lances to burn the enemy's siege engines, the earliest recorded combat use of the fire lance.1298 · EvolutionThe bronze Xanadu gun, cast in 1298 under the Yuan, is the oldest surviving metal-barrelled firearm with a firm date.1626 · ImpactAt the Battle of Ningyuan in 1626, Ming forces used European-style 'red barbarian' cannon to repel the Later Jin, and heavy artillery became central to attack and defence.

Song Yuan Ming Qing

Sources (3)

Firearms are weapons worked by gunpowder. From the fire lance of bamboo, to the gun cast in bronze, to the thick, heavy cannon, it is the same tube, with its material and size changing step by step.

At the siege of De'an in 1132 (Shaoxing 2 of the Southern Song), the defender Chen Gui used bamboo fire lances to burn the enemy's siege equipment, the earliest recorded combat use of the fire lance.

The bronze Xanadu Gun, cast in 1298 (Dade 2 of the Yuan), is the oldest surviving metal-barrelled firearm with a firm date.

At the battle of Ningyuan in 1626 (Tianqi 6 of the Ming), Ming forces used cannon copied from European models, called Hongyi, to repel the Later Jin, and heavy artillery became central to attack and defence.

Firearms Evolution is the class in the chapter on Strategies on firearms. It covers how firearms advanced step by step to the centre of the battlefield, from the bamboo fire lance at the siege of De'an in the Southern Song and the bronze Xanadu Gun of the Yuan to the European-style Hongyi cannon at the battle of Ningyuan in the Ming.