Chapter 9 Chapter 3 Firearms
The gunpowder invented in ancient my country is a mixed gunpowder made of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal, which are mixed evenly. Call it black powder or pyrotechnic powder.Its invention has gone through a long historical process and laid the foundation for the creation of firearms.
How was gunpowder invented?Historical development has proved that it is not the product of individual geniuses, but the result of thousands of years of hard work by generations.As early as the Spring and Autumn Period in the 6th century BC, a man named Ji Ran mentioned the origin of saltpeter and sulfur.He said that "the stones that eliminate [nitrate] come out of the Long Road", and "the stones that flow sulfur [sulphur] come out of Hanzhong".Under his inspiration, many writers later listed more origins of saltpeter and sulfur in the medical classics.With the continuous discovery of the origin of saltpeter and sulfur, it has attracted the attention of pharmacologists and doctors.After several experiments, they believed that saltpeter and sulfur could be used as medicine.After learning the magical effects of saltpeter and sulfur, alchemists used them to refine the elixir of life.Coincidentally, during the long-term refining of elixir, alchemists accidentally discovered the combustion and explosion of the mixture of saltpeter and sulfur.The first experimenter in this area was Ge Hong, an alchemist in the Jin Dynasty.He once put saltpeter, sulfur, Xuantong (dongdong) intestine (i.e. pig large intestine) and charcoal (here refers to organic matter containing carbon) together to produce a white as ice mixture of arsenic oxide (As2O3).If enough saltpeter is used in the experiment, the product is set on fire and an explosion occurs.Has Ge Hong discovered this phenomenon?He doesn't say that in his writings.However, his alchemy activities had a positive effect on the invention of gunpowder.
The alchemists in the Tang Dynasty inherited and developed the alchemy business of their predecessors. They used a method of igniting fire to experiment with changing the characteristics of saltpeter and sulfur medicines, so as to avoid fires and refine the required elixirs.There was an alchemist named Qing Xuzi who used a "submerged fire alum method" to conduct a submerged test on saltpeter and sulfur.His method is to put two taels of nitric acid powder, two taels of sulfur powder, and three taels of aristolochia (a carbon-containing substance) powder into a tank and mix evenly, and then bury the tank in a pit so that the mouth of the tank is level with the ground. .Then put a marble-sized fire (such as red-hot charcoal) into the jar, and the smoke rises from it.In order to prevent the fire from rushing up, four or five layers of wet paper were used to seal the mouth of the tank, and the top was compacted with brick soil.Judging from the whole process of volting, the three mixtures are burned in an oxygen-deficient tank, and the smoke has a strong upward momentum.This shows that this mixture burns by the oxygen released by itself after ignition.Later, people called this kind of powder that can catch fire and spontaneously ignite.The "Volume Fire and Alum Method" adopted by Qing Xuzi is recorded in "The Secret of the Supreme Holy Ancestor Golden Elixir".This book was published in the third year of Tang Xianzong Yuanhe (808 AD), and was later compiled into the second volume of "The Collection of Leading and Mercury Jiageng Zhibao".Therefore, it can be said that the alchemists in ancient China had prepared the original gunpowder no later than 808 AD.Therefore, it is often said that the invention of gunpowder should be attributed to the ancient alchemists.
Gunpowder, which was invented by alchemists in order to seek immortality, has been improved for more than 100 years. It was created by Feng Jisheng, Tang Fu, Shi Pu, a firearms developer and general in the early Northern Song Dynasty, into the first batch of primary fireballs, gunpowder arrows, etc. Firearms are used in combat. "Wu Jing Zongyao" records the three earliest gunpowder formulas in the world, including "fireball gunpowder prescription", "tribulus fireball gunpowder prescription" and "poison smoke ball gunpowder prescription".
The fireball gunpowder recipe includes: 14 taels of Jinzhou sulfur, seven taels of nest sulfur, two and a half catties of flame nitrate, one tael of Maru, one tael of dry lacquer, one tael of arsenic, one tael of fixed powder, one tael of Zhuru, Huang Dan 1 liang, yellow wax half liang, clear oil 1 part, tung oil 1/2 liang, turpentine 14 liang, thick oil 1 part.If these substances are classified and combined according to saltpeter, sulfur, and carbon-containing substances, then the weight of saltpeter is 40 taels, the total weight of sulfur and nest sulfur is 21 taels, the total weight of carbon-containing substances is 18.02 taels, and the total weight of the three is 79.02 taels.Their combination ratio (that is, the raw material saltpeter, sulfur, and carbonaceous substances that make up the gunpowder, the percentage in the gunpowder) is 50.6%, 26.6%, and 22.8% respectively.
The materials used in the fireball gunpowder prescription of Tribulus terrestris are: one catty four taels of sulfur, two and a half catties of flame nitrate, five taels of coarse charcoal powder, two and a half ounces of asphalt, two and a half ounces of dry paint, pounded into powder; Divide one or two into pieces, cut into pieces; use two halves each of tung oil and small oil, two halves of wax, and melt the juice.Among them, 40 taels of saltpeter, 20 taels of sulfur, and 19.07 taels of carbon-containing substances weighed 79.07 taels in total.Their matching ratios are 50%, 25%, and 25%, respectively.
Poison smoke ball gunpowder square ball weighs five catties.Use 15 liang of sulfur, 5 liang of aconitum, 14 liang of nitrate per catty, 5 liang of croton, 5 liang of chamaejamas, 2 and a half of tung oil, 2 and a half of small oil, 5 liang of charcoal powder, 2 and a half of asphalt, and 2 of arsenic 2. Huangwa 1 liang, Zhuru 1 liang 1 fen, Maru 1 liang 1 fen, pound them together to form a ball, and connect it with a piece of hemp rope, 1 zhang 2 chi long, weighing half a catty, which is called a string.Among them, 30 taels of saltpeter, 15 taels of sulfur, and 15.07 taels of carbon-containing substances weighed 60.07 taels in total.Their matching ratios are 49.06%, 24.8%, and 25.6%, respectively.Aconitum, croton, chamaejamas, and arsenic contained 17 taels in total.
The above three gunpowder formulas are based on nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal, and then mixed with some other substances.The gunpowder prepared according to these three formulas is then processed into a fireball, which becomes a firearm with combat functions such as burning, emitting smoke, and dissipating poison.They are the fruitful achievements of ancient Chinese working people, pharmacologists, medical scientists, and alchemists after hundreds or even thousands of years of hard work and exploration.Their successful creation marked the end of the invention stage of gunpowder in our country, and entered the stage where military experts made firearms for combat, which has epoch-making significance in the history of weapon development.But, because also contain more other materials in these three kinds of gunpowders, so also can only be used as the elementary gunpowder of combustion, smoke or disperse poison, wait for continuous improvement and raising in combat.
During the more than 500 years from the early Northern Song Dynasty to the late Ming Dynasty, the refining and preparation technology of raw materials used in primary gunpowder has been greatly improved and improved.In the late Ming Dynasty, such military books and firearm monographs as "Ji Xiao Xin Shu", "Shen Qi Pu", "Bing Lu", "Wu Bei Zhi", "Xi Fa Shen Ji", "Huo Gong Qi Yao" and other military books and firearm monographs recorded matchlock guns. There are six gunpowder formulas for launching projectiles, one gunpowder formula for soaking matchsticks, and fifty or sixty traditional gunpowder formulas with the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine formulas.
The gunpowder formula used for matchlock guns to launch projectiles has three common characteristics: one is that the raw materials used are only three kinds of nitrate, sulfur and charcoal, and other miscellaneous materials have been removed, and the content of nitrate has been increased to more than 77%. So they burn fast and powerful.The second is that they are divided into gunpowder for guns and gunpowder according to the division of firecrackers.The third is that the combination ratios of nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal in these gunpowder formulas are similar to those of propellant gunpowder used in Europe during the same period, which is a reflection of the exchange of gunpowder preparation technology between the East and the West at that time.
There are many traditional gunpowder formulas with the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine formulas, most of which are derived from the three gunpowder formulas contained in "Wu Jing Zong Yao".There are roughly two types of their combination methods: the first type is composed of the same heterogeneous raw materials of nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal; the second type is composed of nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal, and other raw materials made.
In the first type of gunpowder, saltpeter, charcoal and sulfur are used to combine to form a strong burning gunpowder with high combustion efficiency; Combination of charcoal, charcoal and poisonous arsenic into toxic gunpowder; combination of saltpeter and sulfur with charcoal powder burnt from willow branches, eggplant stalks, honeycombs, and gourd shells that are easy to catch fire; combination of saltpeter and sulfur Strong gourd charcoal powder is combined to make strong burning gunpowder; saltpeter and sulfur are combined with Ruo 〔ruo 〕 (箬竹) leaf charcoal powder to make explosive gunpowder.
The second category is the derivative gunpowder with special combat effects after adding other raw materials to the commonly used gunpowder.Among them: adding golden needles, sand (poisonous), iron, magnetic front and other raw materials to form "rotten gunpowder" that can rot human skin; adding toxic raw materials such as aconite, croton, tripod, water horse, etc Raw materials, combined into "blood-throat sealing medicine" that makes people speechless; Jiangzi, Changshan, Banxia, Chuansulfon and other raw materials are added to form "fire-throwing powder" that can spray poisonous flames; Raw materials such as tung oil, rosin, soybean powder, etc. are combined into "flying gunpowder" that can burn the enemy's food and grass and camps; Gunpowder; raw materials such as wolf dung that can produce strong smoke after burning are added to form an alarm fireworks that can generate smoke during the day and glow at night; add finless porpoise oil, finless porpoise bone, wolf dung, ai 肭 [na Na], etc. The raw materials are combined into "headwind gunpowder" that can burn in headwinds.And so on, and so on.Some people use the form of songs and poems to compile some content such as the preparation method, performance, usage and power of gunpowder into singable verses, which are easy to understand and remember, and easy to use.
The various gunpowder formulas mentioned above were developed by the developers of gunpowder in the Ming Dynasty in my country, using the characteristics of nitrate, sulfur, charcoal, and some animals, plants, minerals, and oils, and obtained them after repeated research and testing. It is an original development of ancient gunpowder. contribute.
The developers of gunpowder in the late Ming Dynasty not only manufactured all kinds of excellent gunpowder in practice, but also carefully summarized the practical experience, making it a rational theory and forming a unique theoretical system of gunpowder in ancient my country.They used the ethics of the monarch, ministers and assistants, which were easy to accept and understand at that time, and the practice of preparing pills in traditional Chinese medicine, and called nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal respectively the monarch, minister, and assistant, and compared the dominant position of nitrate in gunpowder and the auxiliary functions of sulfur and charcoal. .If the refinement of the three is very pure and the combination is proper, then after ignition and combustion, the magic of fire attack can be obtained.On the contrary, if the emperor is faint and the minister is weak, the leadership is unclear, the assistance is weak, or the subordinates are powerful and bully the emperor, then the prepared gunpowder will not be able to play its combat role, or even completely ineffective.At the same time, Zhao Shizhen, a military technician, in his book "Shen Qi Pu", through the determination of the proportion of nitrate contained in the two gunpowders of Japan and Lumi, explained the influence of air humidity on the dryness of the gunpowder produced. : The air humidity is high, the gunpowder is easy to absorb moisture and turn damp; if the nitrate content is too small, the gunpowder has insufficient firing power.Therefore, he asked all localities to prepare gunpowder according to the differences in weather, rainfall, dryness and coolness, and heat and steam in the northern and coastal areas.In sunny and dry places, the content of nitrate can be increased; in cloudy and humid places, the content of nitrate should not be too much.This is like the people of the Qin State must abide by the laws of the Qin State and cannot be violated.Only in this way can the commander of the army be called a general with careful planning and accurate calculations.The achievements made by gunpowder developers in the late Ming Dynasty in gunpowder theory were also unique in the world at that time.
After the gunpowder invented in ancient my country was made into firearms, it was spread to Korea and Japan in the east, and to Arabia and Europe in the west during the foreign operations of the Mongolian army (the Yuan army after the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty).Among them, the influence of the west transmission is particularly huge.
Why is it said that Arab and European gunpowder was passed from China?This is based on facts.It turns out that the Arabs wrote some military books before 1225 AD. Although some cold weapons and fire attack equipment made of sulfur and grease were mentioned in it, they had not yet used nitrate in fire attack equipment.There was an Arab doctor named Ibn Albayta, who between 1225 and 1250 A.D. compiled a medical dictionary "Single Testament Encyclopedia".The dictionary mentions a drug called "China Snow". "Chinese Snow" in Egypt is the name of a drug from China, and it is called "Baroud" in modern Arabic, which means gunpowder.In 1280 AD, the Syrian Hassan mentioned a gunpowder formula called "Flying Fire" in his "Encyclopedia of Equestrianism and Military Tactics". The ratio of nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal in the formula was 10:1:3.The book also mentions pyrotechnic names such as "Chinese steamer" and "Khitan flower", which clearly show that they are gunpowder formulas that were influenced by China or passed down directly from China.
There is an Arabic manuscript from the end of the 13th century to the beginning of the 14th century in the Museum of St. Petersburg, Russia, in which the words of 1300 are recorded, and there is a picture of an Arab holding a "madfa" in the book. "Madafah" is an early wooden tube-shaped shooting firearm used by the Arabs.Ma Chengfu, a Japanese researcher on the history of firearms, said in "The Origin and Spread of Artillery": "Moda method" was made following the flying firearms used by the Chinese Jin army and the sudden firearms used by the Southern Song army. They belong to the early firearms series.The Arabs used the "Moda method" to fight against the Spaniards in 1325 AD. In the middle of the 14th century, the Spaniards brought the "Moda method" obtained from the Arabs to Western Europe. The Europeans used it as a sample to make the earliest European Tube-shaped shooting firearm Hand gun (handgun).
The historical fact that China invented gunpowder and firearms spread to the west has long been recognized by the world.However, some people in the West have put forward some different claims about the invention of gunpowder. However, because they do not conform to historical facts, they have been overturned by the research results of many firearms historians.
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