page_title: Military history of China before 1911
section_title: Guns and cannons
hierarchical_section_title: Military history of China before 1911 / Equipment and technology / Gunpowder weapons / Guns and cannons
caption_attribution_description: English: old Chinese Hand Cannon on display at the Shaanxi history museum in Xi'An, China. The placard reads "Bronze firearm, Yuan dynasty (1271-1368 ACE)". Photo taken by Yannick Trottier, 2007.
context_page_description: The recorded military history of China extends from about 2200 BC to the present day. Although traditional Chinese Confucian philosophy favored peaceful political solutions and showed contempt for brute military force, the military was influential in most Chinese states. Chinese pioneered the use of crossbows, advanced metallurgical standardization for arms and armor, early gunpowder weapons, and other advanced weapons, but also adopted nomadic cavalry and Western military technology. China's armies also benefited from an advanced logistics system as well as a rich strategic tradition, beginning with Sun Tzu's The Art of War, that deeply influenced military thought.
context_section_description: The first "proto-gun", the fire lance, was introduced in 905 AD. This consisted of a bamboo or metal tube attached to a spear filled with gunpowder that could be ignited at will, with a range of five metres. It was capable of killing or maiming several soldiers at a time and was mass-produced and used especially in the defense of cities. Later versions of the fire lance dropped the spear point and had more gunpowder content.
  Traditionally interpreted as a wind god, a sculpture in Sichuan was found holding a bombard, and the date must be as early as AD 1128 These cast-iron hand cannons and erupters were mostly fitted to ships and fortifications for defense.
  Cannon were used by Ming dynasty forces at the Battle of Lake Poyang. Ming dynasty era ships had bronze cannon. One shipwreck in Shandong had a cannon dated to 1377 and an anchor dated to 1372. From the 13th to 15th centuries cannon armed Chinese ships also traveled throughout south east Asia.
caption: Hand cannon from the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368)
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