CHINATHE GENIUS OF

3,000 YEARS OF INVENTION

WARFARE

CHINESE DYNASTIESTIMELINESh

ang

Dyn

asty

1570

- 10

45 B

C

Zhou

Dyn

asty

1045

- 25

6 BC

Qin

Dyn

asty

221

- 206

BC

Han

Dyn

asty

206

BC -

220

ADSu

i Dyn

asty

589

- 618

Tang

Dyn

asty

618

- 907

Song

Dyn

asty

960

- 127

9Yu

an D

ynas

ty12

79 -

1368

Min

g D

ynas

ty13

68 -

1644

Qin

g D

ynas

ty16

44 -

1912

THE CROSSBOWZhou Dynasty

THE FLAMETang Dynasty

THE ROCKET LAUNCHERSong Dynasty

THE CANNONMing DynastyTHROWER

CHEMICAL WARFARE and POISON GAS

Chemical warfare using poison gas goes back to at least the early fourth century BC in China. It is described in writing of that date by the sect known as the Mohists, founded by a philosopher and social reformer.

ZhouDynasty1045 - 256 BCTHE CROSSBOW

The crossbow was the standard weapon of Chinese armies. The original idea for it came from the primitive bow-trap used by aboriginal peoples to kill game.

Can fired eleven bolts in fifteen seconds. The magazine resting on top can carry ten bolts. Three of the bolts are displayed beside the weapon. They had an effective range of about 80 yards with an extreme range of 200 yards. The length of this weapon is 39 inches, with the bolts 14.5 inches long.

ZhouDynasty1045 - 256 BCTHE CROSSBOW

ZhouDynasty1045 - 256 BCTHE CROSSBOW

The crossbow was made of mulberry wood with the body of brass and the string of hemp. This remarkable weapon ‘could pierce a large elm from a distance of 140 paces’. Killing ten persons at a time.

TangDynasty618 - 907THE FLAME THROWER

It was invented by the Chinese by the tenth century AD and consider it to be the first genuine flame-thrower.. If the enemy comes to attack a city, these weapons are places on the great ramparts, or else in outworks, so that large numbers of assailants cannot get through.

TangDynasty618 - 907THE FLAME THROWER It sent out a burst of flame, was repumped, and then gave another burst. This stream of fire was either burnt from gasoline or kerosene.

How was the ejected gasoline ignited as it left the flame-thrower? A lighted fuse was held in front of the nozzle, so that when the gasoline was squirted out, it was ignited.

TangDynasty618 - 907THE FLAME THROWER

There is a lengthy description of the device, which commence:The tank is made of brass, and supported on four legs. They are all connected with the tank. The head and has two round openings 1.5 inches in diameter.

The invention of the rocket from China, it’s an arrow-shaft which could have a rocket mounted on it, so that arrows would no longer need to be fired from bows known as the ‘ground rat’ or the ‘earth rat’.

SongDynasty960 - 1279THE ROCKET LAUNCHER

SongDynasty960 - 1279THE ROCKET LAUNCHER

Rockets were invented in china by the 11th century, arrows with poisoned tips. These rockets had a range of 200 yards or more, not heavy. Ten of thousands of rockets were often fired during a single battle. These rockets could fly between 500 and 1,150 yards.

SongDynasty960 - 1279THE ROCKET LAUNCHER One uses a bamboo stick 4 feet 2 inches long, with an iron or steel arrow-head 4.5 inches. Behind the feathering there is an iron weight four-tenths of an inch long.

When you want to fire it off, you use a frame shaped like a dragon or else conveniently a tube of wood or bamboo to certain it.

The bronze cannon which, was cast during Ming dynasty. Its calibre is 5.5 inches, length 7 feet 10 inches. But it could not be done if the wind blew in the wrong direction even it’s a useful weapon.

MingDynasty1368 - 1644THE CANNON

Any old bits of broken pottery, stones, and iron or steel chips or balls, would be blown out of a fire lance in a deadly swarm to splatter the unfortunate enemy, it can be shot out 30 or 40 yards.

These fire-lances was just noisy toys unlikely to cause much damage, it’s about a 3 foot long which fired arrows and was called the ‘single-flight magic-fire arrow’. It can pierce the heart or the belly when it strikes a man or a horse, and can even transfix several persons at once.

MingDynasty1368 - 1644THE CANNON (fire-lances)

Fire-lances with several barrels used when one fire-tube had exhausted itself, a fuse ignited the next, and so on. A quaint description of its use in defending a besieged city.

THANK YOU