page_title: Fire arrow
hierarchical_section_title: Fire arrow
caption_attribution_description: English: The oldest depiction of rocket arrows. From the Huolongjing. The right arrow reads 'fire arrow,' the middle one is an 'arrow frame in the shape of a dragon,' and the left one is a 'complete fire arrow.'
context_page_description: Fire arrows were one of the earliest forms of weaponized gunpowder, being used from the 9th century onward. Not to be confused with earlier incendiary arrow projectiles, the fire arrow was a gunpowder weapon which receives its name from the translated Chinese term huǒjiàn, which literally means fire arrow. In China a 'fire arrow' referred to a gunpowder projectile consisting of a bag of incendiary gunpowder attached to the shaft of an arrow. Fire arrows are the predecessors of fire lances, the first firearm.
  Later rockets utilizing gunpowder were used to provide arrows with propulsive force and the term fire arrow became synonymous with rockets in the Chinese language. In other languages such as Sanskrit 'fire arrow' underwent a different semantic shift and became synonymous with 'cannon'.
context_section_description: Fire arrows were one of the earliest forms of weaponized gunpowder, being used from the 9th century onward. Not to be confused with earlier incendiary arrow projectiles, the fire arrow was a gunpowder weapon which receives its name from the translated Chinese term huǒjiàn (火箭), which literally means fire arrow. In China a 'fire arrow' referred to a gunpowder projectile consisting of a bag of incendiary gunpowder attached to the shaft of an arrow. Fire arrows are the predecessors of fire lances, the first firearm.
  Later rockets utilizing gunpowder were used to provide arrows with propulsive force and the term fire arrow became synonymous with rockets in the Chinese language. In other languages such as Sanskrit 'fire arrow' (agni astra) underwent a different semantic shift and became synonymous with 'cannon'.
caption: The oldest known depiction of rocket arrows, from the Huolongjing. The right arrow reads 'fire arrow', the middle is an 'arrow frame in the shape of a dragon' and the left is a 'complete fire arrow'.
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