The Huolongjing (traditional Chinese: 火龍經; simplified Chinese: 火龙经; pinyin: Huǒ Lóng Jīng; Wade-Giles: Huo Lung Ching; rendered in English as Fire Drake Manual or Fire Dragon Manual), also known as Huoqitu (“Firearm Illustrations”), is a Chinese military treatise compiled and edited by Jiao Yu and Liu Bowen of the early Ming dynasty (1368–1683) during the 14th century. The Huolongjing is primarily based on the text known as Huolong Shenqi Tufa (Illustrations of Divine Fire Dragon Engines), which no longer exists.
History
The Huolongjing's intended function was to serve as a guide to "fire weapons" involving gunpowder during the 1280s to 1350s. Its predecessor, the Huolong Shenqi Tufa (Fire-Drake Illustrated Technology of Magically (Efficacious) Weapons), has since been lost. The Huolongjing was one of three early Ming military treatises that were mentioned by Jiao Xu, but only the Huolongjing remains. Although the earliest edition of the Huolongjing was written by Jiao Yu, a Ming general, sometime between 1360-1375, its preface was not provided until the Nanyang publication of 1412. The 1412 edition, known as Huolongjing Quanji (Complete Collection of the Fire Dragon Manual), remains largely unchanged from its predecessor with the exception of its preface, which provides an account of Jiao Yu's time in the Hongwu Emperor's army. In the preface Jiao Yu claims to describe gunpowder weapons that had seen use since 1355 during his involvement in the Red Turban Rebellion and revolt against the Yuan dynasty, while the oldest material found in his text dates to 1280. Jiao Yu was a firearm manufacturer for the first Ming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, during the mid-14th century. He was eventually put in charge of the Shenjiying armoury where all the firearms were stored. A second and third volume to the Huolongjing known as Huolongjing Erji (Fire Dragon Manual Volume Two) and Huolongjing Sanji (Fire Dragon Manual Volume Three) were published in 1632 with content describing weapons such as the musket and breech-loading cannons. After the end of the Ming dynasty, the Qing dynasty outlawed reprinting of the Huolongjing for using expressions such as 'northern barbarians,' which offended the ruling Manchu elite.
Contents
Gunpowder and explosives Although its destructive force was widely recognized by the 11th century, gunpowder continued to be known as a "fire-drug" (huo yao) because of its original intended pharmaceutical properties. However soon after the chemical formula for gunpowder was recorded in the Wujing Zongyao of 1044, evidence of state interference in gunpowder affairs began appearing. Realizing the military applications of gunpowder, the Song court banned private transactions involving sulphur and saltpeter in 1067 despite the widespread use of saltpeter as a flavor enhancer, and moved to monopolize gunpowder production. In 1076 the Song prohibited the populaces of Hedong (Shanxi) and Hebei from selling sulphur and saltpetre to foreigners. In 1132 gunpowder was referred to specifically for its military values for the first time and was called "fire bomb medicine" rather than "fire medicine". While Chinese gunpowder formulas by the late 12th century and at least 1230 were powerful enough for explosive detonations and bursting cast iron shells, gunpowder was made more potent by applying the enrichment of sulphur from pyrite extracts. Chinese gunpowder solutions reached maximum explosive potential in the 14th century and at least six formulas are considered to have been optimal for creating explosive gunpowder, with levels of nitrate ranging from 12% to 91%. Evidence of large scale explosive gunpowder weapons manufacturing began to appear. While engaged in war with the Mongols in 1259, the official Li Zengbo wrote in his Ko Zhai Za Gao, Xu Gao Hou that the city of Qingzhou was manufacturing one to two thousand strong iron-cased bomb shells a month, and delivered them to Xiangyang and Yingzhou in loads of about ten to twenty thousand shells at a time. The Huolongjing's primary contribution to gunpowder was in expanding its role as a chemical weapon. Jiao Yu proposed several gunpowder compositions in addition to the standard potassium nitrate (saltpetre), sulphur, and charcoal. Described are the military applications of "divine gunpowder", "poison gunpowder", and "blinding and burning gunpowder." Poisonous gunpowder for hand-thrown or trebuchet launched bombs was created using a mixture of tung oil, urine, sal ammoniac, feces, and scallion juice heated and coated upon tiny iron pellets and broken porcelain. According to Jiao Yu, "even birds flying in the air cannot escape the effects of the explosion". Explosive devices include the "flying-sand divine bomb releasing ten thousand fires", which consisted of a tube of gunpowder placed in an earthenware pot filled with quicklime, resin, and alcoholic extracts of poisonous plants.
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