Jiao Yu
Encyclopedia
History of China
Chinese civilization originated in various regional centers along both the Yellow River and the Yangtze River valleys in the Neolithic era, but the Yellow River is said to be the Cradle of Chinese Civilization. With thousands of years of continuous history, China is one of the world's oldest...
military officer loyal to Zhu Yuanzhang (1328–1398 AD), the founder of the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
(1368–1644 AD). He was entrusted by Emperor Hongwu
Hongwu Emperor
The Hongwu Emperor , known variably by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang and by his temple name Taizu of Ming , was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China...
(洪武) as a leading artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
officer for the rebel army that overthrew the Mongol Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, and established the Ming Dynasty. As a senior advisor and general, he was later appointed to the venerable and noble status of the Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
of Dongning. He edited and wrote a famous military treatise that outlined the use of Chinese military technology during the mid 14th century, as far back as his military campaign of 1355 AD. However, descriptions of advanced gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
weapons in his treatise extended back to the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
(960–1279 AD) in battles against the Khitans, Jurchens and Mongols. In his Huolongjing
Huolongjing
The Huolongjing is a 14th century military treatise that was compiled and edited by Jiao Yu and Liu Ji of the early Ming Dynasty in China...
, he described the fire arrow
Fire Arrow
Fire arrows are an early form of gun powder rocket which were attached to a stick. The Chinese are credited with the first use of fire arrows in a military application, they may have developed fire arrows from their use of fireworks.- Design :...
, fire lance
Fire lance
The fire lance or fire spear is one of the first gunpowder weapons in the world.- Description :The earliest fire lances were spear-like weapons combining a bamboo tube containing gunpowder and projectiles tied to a Chinese spear. Upon firing, the charge ejected a small projectile or poison dart...
, the early grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
, firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
, bombard
Bombard
Bombard may refer to:*The act of carrying out a bombardment*Bombard , a type of late medieval siege weapon.*Bombard , a contemporary double reed instrument used to play traditional Breton music....
, cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
, exploding cannonball
Round shot
Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...
s, land mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
, matchlock
Matchlock
The matchlock was the first mechanism, or "lock" invented to facilitate the firing of a hand-held firearm. This design removed the need to lower by hand a lit match into the weapon's flash pan and made it possible to have both hands free to keep a firm grip on the weapon at the moment of firing,...
s, naval mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
, rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
, rocket launcher
Rocket launcher
A rocket launcher is any device that launches a rocket-propelled projectile, although the term is often used in reference to mechanisms that are portable and capable of being operated by an individual....
, two-stage rockets, and use of various gunpowder solutions that included poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ous concoctions.
Life and career
Jiuhuashan
Mount Jiuhua is one of the four sacred mountains of Chinese Buddhism. It is located in Qingyang County in Anhui province and is famous for its rich landscape and ancient temples....
Mountains known as Chichi Daoren (the "Knowing-when-to-stop Daoist"). Like Jiao Yu, Daoren accepted the Confucian teachings of Confucius
Confucius
Confucius , literally "Master Kong", was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period....
and Mencius
Mencius
Mencius was a Chinese philosopher who was arguably the most famous Confucian after Confucius himself.-Life:Mencius, also known by his birth name Meng Ke or Ko, was born in the State of Zou, now forming the territory of the county-level city of Zoucheng , Shandong province, only thirty kilometres ...
, but in military affairs Jiao was convinced that he had inherited the skill of the ancient Sun Tzu
Sun Tzu
Sun Wu , style name Changqing , better known as Sun Tzu or Sunzi , was an ancient Chinese military general, strategist and philosopher who is traditionally believed, and who is most likely, to have authored The Art of War, an influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy...
. After Jiao Yu became his protege, Daoren urged Yu to join the cause of Zhu Yuanzhang's rebellion. Daoren had also shared with him various literatary works on 'fire-weapons' and their recorded uses in battle. After joining his ranks, Jiao Yu became one of Zhu Yuanzhang's trusted confidants in the Red Turban Rebellion
Red Turban Rebellion
The Red Turban Rebellion was an uprising much influenced by the White Lotus Society members that targeted the ruling Yuan Dynasty.- Causes :...
against the ruling Mongols of Yuan Dynasty China. Zhu was impressed with Jiao's designs of firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s, the knowledge of which he had earlier acquired from Daoren, yet Zhu wanted to test their abilities. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered his officer Xu Da to provide a demonstration of their destructive capability, and after the display Zhu Yuanzhang was most impressed with their power.
With the aid of Jiao's 'fire-weapons', Zhu's army (once stationed in Hezhou
Hezhou
-Administration:Hezhou has 2 urban district, 2 counties, and 1 autonomous county.Urban District:*Babu District *Pinggui District Counties:*Zhongshan County *Zhaoping County -Administration:Hezhou has 2 urban district, 2 counties, and 1 autonomous county.Urban District:*Babu District (八步区)*Pinggui...
amongst a plethora of different rebel groups in surrounding towns) conquered Jingzhou
Jingzhou
Jingzhou is a prefecture-level city in Hubei Province, People's Republic of China. The city is located on the banks of the Yangtze River.Its population is 5,691,707 at the 2010 census whom 1,154,086 in the built up area made of 3 urban districts.-Geography:Jingzhou occupies an area of...
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
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
was taken, including its surrounding waterways. After this, Zhu's army captured the whole of the Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
province in one campaign, strengthening his base while the authority of the Mongol regime at Beijing was collapsing all around. Zhu Yuanzhang finally drove the Mongols north in 1367, establishing a new capital at Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
soon after (while Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
remained the secondary capital).
After the successful rebellion and establishment of Zhu as China's new Hongwu Emperor, Jiao was put in charge of manufacturing firearms for the government. Jiao was eventually appointed as the head officer in charge of the enormous Shen Zhi Ying Armory
Armory (military)
An armory or armoury is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
, where multitudes of manufactured guns and artillery were deposited for storage and safekeeping. Proper maintenance and safety measures for gunpowder arsenal
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
s were taken very seriously by the Chinese during Jiao's time. This was because previous disasters occurred during the Song Dynasty
Song Dynasty
The Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
, with Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Zhao Nanchong's personal arsenal catching fire and exploding in 1260 AD, alongside the monumental disaster of the enormous Weiyang
Weiyang
Weiyang District is a district of Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China.-External links:*...
arsenal accidentally catching fire in 1280 AD and killing more than 100 people. With Zhu Yuanzhang in power over the government, he established various manufactories in the capital at Nanjing for the manufacture of gunpowder and fire-weapons, stored in various arsenals throughout the country. The Hongwu Emperor even established a new Gunpowder Department in the central administration of the capital. Indeed, Jiao Yu placed a lot of emphasis on the importance of these 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."
Along with the scholar, general, and court advisor Liu Ji (1311–1375), Jiao Yu was the main editor of the 14th century military treatise known as the Huolongjing
Huolongjing
The Huolongjing is a 14th century military treatise that was compiled and edited by Jiao Yu and Liu Ji of the early Ming Dynasty in China...
(Fire Drake Manual), which would include quotations from both editors. The Nanyang
Nanyang, Henan
Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, People's Republic of China. The city with the largest administrative area in Henan, Nanyang borders Xinyang to the southeast, Zhumadian to the east, Pingdingshan to the northeast, Luoyang to the north, Sanmenxia to the...
publication of the book, known as the Huolongjing Quanzhi (Fire Drake Manual in One Complete Volume) featured a preface written by Jiao Yu much later in 1412 AD. Both publications falsely attributed the earliest passages of the book to the ancient Chinese Prime Minister Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang
Zhuge Liang was a chancellor of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. He is often recognised as the greatest and most accomplished strategist of his era....
(181-234 AD) of the Shu Kingdom, even though gunpowder warfare
Gunpowder warfare
Early modern warfare is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive, including artillery and handguns such as the arquebus and later the musket, and for this reason the era is also summarized as the age of gunpowder...
did not exist in China until the advent of the gunpowder-fuse
Fuse (explosives)
In an explosive, pyrotechnic device or military munition, a fuse is the part of the device that initiates function. In common usage, the word fuse is used indiscriminately...
-ignited flamethrower
Flamethrower
A flamethrower is a mechanical device designed to project a long controllable stream of fire.Some flamethrowers project a stream of ignited flammable liquid; some project a long gas flame. Most military flamethrowers use liquids, but commercial flamethrowers tend to use high-pressure propane and...
(Pen Huo Qi
Pen Huo Qi
The Pen Huo Qi（Chinese: 噴火器; Pinyin: pen huo qi, "spray fire device"） is a double-piston pump naphtha flamethrower used in 919 AD in China, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. The flamethrower was carefully documented and illustrated in the Chinese military manual known as the Wujing...
) in the 10th century. In any case, the oldest passages found in the Huolongjing were made no earlier than circa 1270 AD.
Although Jiao Yu's biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
does not appear in the official Ming historical text of the Ming Shi
History of Ming
The History of Ming is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the Twenty-Four Histories of China. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of Ming Dynasty from 1368 to 1644, which was written by a number of officials commissioned by the court of Qing Dynasty, with the lead...
(1739), Yu was mentioned in Zhao Shizhen's book Shenqipu (1598 AD), He Rubin's book Binglu (1606 AD), and Jiao Xu's book Zekelu (1643 AD). His text of the Huolongjing was also reprinted in the 19th century, during the late Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
.
The Huolongjing
Huolongjing
The Huolongjing is a 14th century military treatise that was compiled and edited by Jiao Yu and Liu Ji of the early Ming Dynasty in China...
(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:
- Various gunpowder compositions
- Descriptions of the Chinese hollow cast ironCast ironCast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
grenadeGrenadeA grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
bomb - Descriptions of the Chinese fire arrowFire ArrowFire arrows are an early form of gun powder rocket which were attached to a stick. The Chinese are credited with the first use of fire arrows in a military application, they may have developed fire arrows from their use of fireworks.- Design :...
. - Descriptions of explosive land mines.
- Descriptions of explosive naval mines.
- Descriptions of fire lanceFire lanceThe fire lance or fire spear is one of the first gunpowder weapons in the world.- Description :The earliest fire lances were spear-like weapons combining a bamboo tube containing gunpowder and projectiles tied to a Chinese spear. Upon firing, the charge ejected a small projectile or poison dart...
s and proto-gunGunA gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
s. - Descriptions of bombardBombardBombard may refer to:*The act of carrying out a bombardment*Bombard , a type of late medieval siege weapon.*Bombard , a contemporary double reed instrument used to play traditional Breton music....
s and cannonCannonA cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s. - Descriptions of hollowHollow-A noun:*A non-closed body which is not solid or filled. i.e. contains empty space or air.**Hollow Earth theory, the idea that the planet Earth has a hollow interior and possibly an inhabitable inner surface....
, gunpowder-packed exploding cannonballsRound shotRound shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron... - Descriptions of handgunHandgunA handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
s with possible serpentines used as components in matchlockMatchlockThe matchlock was the first mechanism, or "lock" invented to facilitate the firing of a hand-held firearm. This design removed the need to lower by hand a lit match into the weapon's flash pan and made it possible to have both hands free to keep a firm grip on the weapon at the moment of firing,...
s. - Description of rocket launcherRocket launcherA rocket launcher is any device that launches a rocket-propelled projectile, although the term is often used in reference to mechanisms that are portable and capable of being operated by an individual....
s and two stage rocketRocketA rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
s. - Descriptions of wingWingA wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...
ed rockets with finFinA fin is a surface used for stability and/or to produce lift and thrust or to steer while traveling in water, air, or other fluid media, . The first use of the word was for the limbs of fish, but has been extended to include other animal limbs and man-made devices...
s attached for better aerodynamic stability
- For more, see the article on the HuolongjingHuolongjingThe Huolongjing is a 14th century military treatise that was compiled and edited by Jiao Yu and Liu Ji of the early Ming Dynasty in China...
.
See also
- Technology of the Song DynastyTechnology of the Song DynastyThe Song Dynasty provided some of the most significant technological advances in Chinese history, many of which came from talented statesmen drafted by the government through imperial examinations....
- History of firearmsHistory of firearmsGunpowder was invented in the 9th century and firearms in the 12th century in China. These inventions were later transmitted to the Middle East and to Europe.-Firearms in China:...
- Gunpowder warfareGunpowder warfareEarly modern warfare is associated with the start of the widespread use of gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive, including artillery and handguns such as the arquebus and later the musket, and for this reason the era is also summarized as the age of gunpowder...
- HwachaHwachaHwacha or Hwach'a is the world's first multiple rocket launcher developed and used in Joseon Korea. It had the ability to fire up to 100 steel-tipped rockets, or 200 Singijeon flaming arrow projectiles from a range of 500 yards in multiple salvos...
- SingijeonSingijeonSingijeon or Shinkichon is a multi-launch rocket invented by Korean general Choe Mu-seon in 1377, during the Goryeo Dynasty under King U...
s - Blackpowder
- Battle of TangdaoBattle of TangdaoThe naval Battle of Tangdao took place in 1161 between the Jurchen Jin and the Southern Song Dynasty of China on the East China Sea. It was an attempt by the Jin to invade and conquer the Southern Song Dynasty, yet resulted in failure and defeat for the Jurchens. The Jin Dynasty navy was set on...
- Battle of CaishiBattle of CaishiThe naval Battle of Caishi took place in 1161 and was the result of an attempt by forces of the Jurchen Jin to cross the Yangtze River, thus beginning an invasion of Southern Song China...
- Battle of Lake PoyangBattle of Lake PoyangThe naval battle of Lake Poyang took place 30 August – 4 October AD 1363 and was one of the final battles fought in the fall of China's Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty...
- Liu Ji