Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms

Implements, Volume 8 Military Weaponry

Yunjian is a literary name for Songjiang, a cultural hub near modern-day Shanghai. Wang Siyi was the son of the encyclopedia's primary author, Wang Qi; he was instrumental in expanding and completing this work.

original: "Fa-gong" (發貢). These were heavy bronze breech-loading cannons. The name may be a phonetic rendering of a foreign term or refer to "sending tribute."
original: "Bird-beak Musket" (鳥嘴銃). This refers to the matchlock musket, so named because the curved serpentine of the firing mechanism resembled a bird's beak.
original: "Mother-and-Son Cannon" (子母炮). A sophisticated breech-loading system where the "mother" (the main barrel) received the "son" (a detachable breech block pre-loaded with powder and shot) to allow for rapid fire.
original: "Frankish Cannon" (佛狼機/Folangji). Derived from the word "Frank," this was the Chinese term for Portuguese breech-loading swivel guns introduced in the early 16th century.
original: "Nest of Bees" (一窩蜂). A devastating rocket-propulsion weapon consisting of a box filled with up to 32 hexagonal rocket-arrows that could be fired simultaneously.
original: "Fire Brick" (火磚). An incendiary device made of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal mixed with oil and molded into a brick shape, used to set enemy fortifications or ships ablaze.