Chinese Inventions Codexery

Fire arrow

Early gunpowder weapon, precursor to firearms and rockets.

Fire arrows were an early gunpowder weapon, first used from the 9th century onward, and the term originally described a bag of incendiary gunpowder attached to an arrow shaft.[1] Later, gunpowder-propelled rockets also came to be called fire arrows, and the Chinese term huǒjiàn (火箭) literally means "fire arrow."[1][2]

Quick Facts

Field
Military technology
Known for
Early gunpowder incendiary and rocket projectile

Facts from the source article.

How it changed

The earliest fire arrows consisted of a pouch of gunpowder tied to an arrow, not a rocket mechanism.[3] Incendiary gunpowder had an advantage over earlier incendiaries because it contained its own oxygen supply, making flames harder to extinguish, similar to Greek fire.[2] Rocket-propelled fire arrows appeared later, and by the mid-14th century, rocket arrow launchers were used in the Ming dynasty.[4] These mobile launchers later spread to Korea.[4]

Fire arrows were first reported in 904 during the siege of Yuzhang by the Southern Wu of Tang dynasty.[1] Gunpowder is a solid substance, which gives it an advantage over Greek fire in terms of storage and loading convenience.[2] The maximum distance that gunpowder-propelled fire arrows could travel was possibly 1,000 feet.[4] Yue Yifang and Feng Jisheng are credited with inventing gunpowder-propelled rocket arrows in the year 969.[5]

What the maker and period sources say

The Japanese version of the fire arrow was known as the bo hiya, and in the 16th century wokou pirates used it, launching it from a mortar-like weapon or a wide-bore matchlock arquebus.[6] The Wujing Zongyao, which came out in 1044, records that in 994 a Liao force of 100,000 men attacked Zitong but was repelled using standard war machines and fire arrows.[7] During the Jingkang Incident in 1126, Song commander Li Gang deployed a fire arrow device called the Thunderbolt thrower.[8] At the Battle of Caishi in 1161, general Yu Yunwen employed fire arrows against a Jin naval attack.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Fire arrow" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Andrade 2016, p. 31 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Fire arrow" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Needham 1986, p. 68 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Fire arrow" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: The History of Early Fireworks and Fire Arrows — About.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Fire arrow" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "History of Rocketry: Ancient times to the 17th Century", Spaceline.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Fire arrow" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Liang 2006 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Fire arrow" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Turnbull, "Pirate of the Far East: 811-1639", Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012-01-20 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Fire arrow" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Needham 1986, p. 68; This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age (Google eBook), William E. Burrows, Random House Digital, Inc., Nov 5, 1999P.8 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Fire arrow" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: （靖康元年二月六日）是夕，宿于咸丰门，以金人进兵门外，治攻具故。先是，蔡楙号令将士，金人近城不得辄施放，有引炮及发床子弩者，皆杖之，将士愤怒。余（李纲）既登城，令施放，有引炮自便，能中（金）贼者，厚赏。夜，发「霹雳炮」以击，（金）贼军皆惊呼。(Rough Translation: [On March 1, 1126 ( (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Fire arrow" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: （绍兴辛已年）我舟伏于七宝山后，令曰：「旗举则出江！」。先使一骑偃旗于山之顶，伺其半济，忽山上卓立一旗，舟师自山下河中两旁突出大江，人在舟中，踏车以行船。但见船行如飞，而不见有人，（金）虏以为纸船也。舟中忽发一「霹雳炮」，盖以纸为之，而实之以石灰、硫黄。炮自空而下落水中，硫黄得水而火作，自水跳出，其声如雷，纸裂而石灰散 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Fire arrow (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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