Jiao Yu

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
An illustration of a fragmentation bomb from the Huolongjing. The black dots represent iron pellets.
Depiction of a fire arrow rocket launcher from the Huolongjing
Essentially a fire lance on a frame, the 'multiple bullets magazine eruptor' shoots lead shots, which are loaded in a magazine and fed into the barrel when turned around on its axis.

Jiao Yu (

Mongol Yuan dynasty, and established the Ming dynasty.[1]

As a senior adviser and general, he was later appointed to the venerable and noble status of the

rocket launchers, two-stage rockets, and various gunpowder solutions including poisonous
concoctions.

Life and career

Jiao Yu was an aspiring scholar in his youth during the

Red Turban Rebellion against the Yuan dynasty. Zhu was impressed with Jiao's knowledge of firearms which he had earlier acquired from Daoren, yet Zhu wanted to test their abilities. Zhu ordered his officer Xu Da to provide a demonstration of their destructive capabilities, and after the display Zhu Yuanzhang was most impressed with their power.[4]

With the aid of Jiao's 'fire-weapons', Zhu's army, once stationed in Hezhou among a plethora of different rebel groups in surrounding towns, conquered Jingzhou and Xiangzhou in one expedition. In the second expedition the provinces of Jiang and Zhe, and in the third campaign the entire province of Fujian was taken, including its surrounding waterways.[2] After this, Zhu's army captured the whole of Shandong in one campaign, strengthening his base while the authority of the Mongol regime at Beijing was collapsing all around.[2] Zhu finally drove the Mongols north in 1367, establishing a new capital at Nanjing soon after while Beijing became the secondary capital.

After the successful rebellion and establishment of Zhu Yuanzhang as the Ming dynasty's new Hongwu Emperor, Jiao was charged with manufacturing firearms for the government.

Armory, where multitudes of manufactured guns and artillery were deposited for storage and safekeeping.[4] Proper maintenance and safety measures for gunpowder arsenals were taken very seriously during Jiao's time due to the memory of previous disasters during the Song dynasty, such as Prime Minister Zhao Nanchong's personal arsenal catching fire and exploding in 1260 AD,[5] alongside the monumental disaster of the enormous Weiyang arsenal accidentally catching fire in 1280 AD and killing more than 100 people.[6] With Zhu Yuanzhang in power over the government, he established various production facilities in the capital at Nanjing for the manufacture of gunpowder and fire-weapons, stored in various arsenals throughout the country.[4] The Hongwu Emperor established a new Gunpowder Department in the central administration of the capital.[2] Jiao Yu placed a lot of emphasis on the importance of fire-weapons, as he once wrote in a preface to his book, "the very existence or destruction of the Empire, and the lives of the whole armed forces depend on the exact timing of these weapons. This is what fire-weapons are all about."[3]

Along with the scholar, general, and court adviser

Pen Huo Qi) in the 10th century.[8] The oldest passages found in the Huolongjing were collected from sources no earlier than circa 1270 AD.[9]

Although Jiao Yu's biography does not appear in the History of Ming (1739), Yu was mentioned in Zhao Shizhen's Shenqipu (1598 AD), He Rubin's Binglu (1606 AD), and Jiao Xu's Zekelu (1643 AD).[4] His text Huolongjing was reprinted in the 19th century, during the late Qing dynasty.[7]

The Huolongjing

The Huolongjing (Chinese: 火龍神器陣灋), compiled and edited by Jiao Yu and Liu Zhi, outlined the use of many different gunpowder weapons found in China during the 14th century. It provided information for:

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 26.
  2. ^ a b c d Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 31.
  3. ^ a b c Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 29.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 27.
  5. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 209.
  6. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 209–210.
  7. ^ a b c Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 25.
  8. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 82.
  9. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 24.
  10. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, pp. 180–187.
  11. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, p. 183.
  12. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, pp. 153–154.
  13. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, pp. 192–196.
  14. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, pp. 203–205.
  15. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, p. 229.
  16. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, pp. 314–325.
  17. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, p. 264.
  18. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, p. 459.
  19. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 489.
  20. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, p. 508.
  21. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, pp. 498–503.

References

  • Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7, Military Technology; the Gunpowder Epic. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.

External links