Fire-lance

The fire lance (simplified Chinese: 火枪; traditional Chinese: 火槍; pinyin: huǒ qiāng) was a gunpowder weapon that appeared in 10th century China during the Jin-Song Wars. It is considered to be a proto-gun, the predecessor of the hand cannon, and the ancestor of all firearms.

Fire lances were relatively short range weapons and were used to give their user an advantage in close quarters combat.

The first fire lances consisted of a tube, usually bamboo, containing gunpowder and a slow match, strapped to a spear or other polearm weapon. Once ignited, the gunpowder tube would ideally eject a stream of flames in the direction of the spearhead. Co-viative projectiles such as iron pellets or pottery shards were later added to the gunpowder. Upon firing, the gunpowder charge ejected the projectiles along with the flame.

Metal fire lance barrels appeared around the mid 13th century and these began to be used independently of the lance itself. The independent metal barrel was known as an 'eruptor' and became the forerunner of the hand cannon.

The first evidence of fire-lances appeared in China in the year 950 and fire lances were also mentioned in the military text Wujing Zongyao of 1044. However usage of fire lances in warfare was not mentioned until 1132 when Song garrisons used them during the Siege of De'an, in modern day Anlu, Hubei, when fire lance troops led the vanguard in a sortie against the Jin dynasty (1115–1234).

In 1163 fire lances were attached to war carts known as "at-your-desire-carts" used to defend mobile firebomb trebuchets.

In the late 1100s pieces of shrapnel such as porcelain shards and small iron pellets were added to the gunpowder tube. At some point fire lances discarded the spearhead altogether and relied solely on their firepower.

By 1232 the Jin were also using fire lances, but with improved reusable barrels consisting of durable paper material. According to the History of Jin, these fire lances had a range of roughly three meters:

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