As one of the outstanding achievements of China's traditional science and technology, gunpowder has been widely spread in Asia, showing the characteristics of all-embracing, infiltrating and spreading China culture imperceptibly.
After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty from 65438 to 0368, it attached great importance to its relations with North Korea. 1392, North Korean general Li Chenggui became king on his own and changed his name to North Korea, which became increasingly close to the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming court awarded the Confucian classics to North Korea for mutual benefit and military strength. The two sides have always maintained friendly relations. One of the important contents is to continue to supply North Korean gunpowder and firearms in large quantities.
China absorbed a lot of technology, so North Korea became one of the most developed countries in ancient Asia after China in gunpowder and firearms.
The coast of North Korea was invaded by Japanese pirates, and the Ming court gave North Korea a lot of military assistance and allocated a lot of gunpowder and firearms. In 1374 alone, the Ming court allocated 250,000 kilograms of saltpeter, 50,000 kilograms of sulfur and various firearms to North Korea at one time as a preparation for fighting against the Japanese pirates.
1380, the North Korean army armed with firearms, with Luo Shi as Admiral of the fleet and Cui Maoyi as the deputy commander, launched a fierce battle with 500 invading Japanese warships, destroying the enemy in one fell swoop and winning a great victory.
Cui Maoyi is the founder of gunpowder and firearms technology in North Korea. He used to be a judge of military equipment, knowing the role of firearms in war, and strongly advocated making firearms himself. He invited Li Yuan, a China firearms expert, to teach North Korea the manufacturing technology of gunpowder, utensils and rockets.
1377, Cui Maoyi set up a fire fighting supervisor, mainly making gunpowder and firearms, making artillery for generals, generals 2 and 3, as well as ware, rockets and tribulus cannons, all of which were imitation of the Ming Dynasty system. And set up a special unit responsible for firearms, imitating the magic machine camp in the Ming army.
China and Japan face each other across the sea. After Ming orthodoxy, the southeast coastal areas suffered greatly from the Japanese pirates. At that time, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties in Japan, wars were frequent. After the reunification of the Northern Dynasties, the failed politicians, warriors and ronin in the Southern Dynasties formed pirates to plunder the coastal areas of Japan, Korea and China.
For a long time, when Japanese pirates invaded the coast of China and North Korea, they all used firearms. After all, Japanese knives are no match for guns. Since then, Japan has tried every means to understand and master gunpowder technology through North Korea, which has aroused the vigilance of the North Korean government and ordered all coastal areas to ban "teaching the Japanese the secrets of gunpowder".
The Ming court also implemented a strict policy of sea ban, and this technical blockade achieved results in a period of time.
With the recovery and development of Sino-Japanese trade, the exchange of materials between the two sides has increased. Sulfur and copper are the main commodities exported by Japan. 1403 unloaded 5000 kilograms of sulfur at a time. There is no doubt that these "Japanese sulfur" have become the raw materials for making gunpowder in China.
Because of the collusion between China pirates and Japanese pirates, Japan has the opportunity to get in touch with gunpowder and firearms technology and further master it. In this regard, pirates have played an important role.
Since the Jiajing period, the Japanese invaders invaded China on a large scale, and hundreds of ships covered the sky. For example, Wang Zhi, the pirate leader in Huizhou, once built a huge ship along the coast of Guangdong, and transported contraband such as nitrate yellow and silk floss to Japan and Southeast Asian countries for trade and accumulated wealth.
According to the iron gun records in Nanpu Anthology written by Japanese Xuanchang, 1543, a ship with more than 100 people landed in Japan, with Wang Zhi, the pirate leader of Huizhou, China, and Portuguese on board, all of whom were equipped with firearms. The Japanese bought firearms and learned the methods of gunpowder and firearms from the people on board. Japanese historians call this "the beginning of Japanese iron guns."
Japan began to develop gunpowder and firearms from 1543. Japanese fireworks were also imported from China at the beginning of17th century, with the same technology and equipment as China.
The spread of gunpowder in South Asia was basically along the route conquered by Mongolian troops from13rd century to14th century. Ili Khan of Mongolia borders India by land, and it is at this stage that China gunpowder was introduced into India.
Gunpowder first appeared in India when Genghis Khan first went to the Western Ocean, because the flower thorn submodule killed Mongolian envoys and caravan personnel.
12 18 to 1223, Genghis Khan led a great army to carry out the first western expedition of the Mongolian khanate, used the advanced military technology and equipment of the Han nationality and the Western Liao Dynasty, and used powerful siege weapons such as crossbows, rockets and flying muskets to launch a war to destroy the thorn pattern, crusade against Chincha and Voros and conquer Li Kang.
After the death of the flower thorn submodule, the Mongolian army reached the Indus River. In this war, Indian soldiers and civilians experienced the power of gunpowder for the first time.
During this period, China had close contacts with India. At that time, the commodities imported from India were mainly jewelry, cotton cloth, spices, medicinal materials and leather products, and the commodities exported were mainly metals and metal products, porcelain, textiles, lacquerware, tea, daily necessities and saltpeter. In this way, gunpowder spread to India, and then to South Asian countries such as Pakistan.
Vijaya nagar, a Hindu country in southern India, had close ties with China in the early Ming Dynasty. When Zheng He went to the Western Ocean, he landed here many times and had political and trade exchanges.
When the Persian messenger arrived in Vijayanagar on 1443, he wrote: "We should carefully prepare all kinds of fireworks, firecrackers and various entertainment performances." "All kinds of fireworks are either made by Vijayanagar or imported from foreign countries. In short, it has been used in 1443, and may be used for holiday entertainment earlier. "
16th century later, military rockets appeared in India. /kloc-Indian military rockets in the 0/8th century dealt a great blow to the British and French aggressors. While developing rocket launchers, the Indian Army also developed guns and other firearms.
Southeast Asia refers to Southeast Asia. In China's historical geography book, "Nanyang" means being in the ocean in the south of China. It is also called "South China Sea" in China ancient books.
In the course of launching military operations against Vietnam and Myanmar, the Mongolian army introduced gunpowder and firearms technology into these areas. It was at this stage that gunpowder technology was introduced to Vietnam. Vietnam was then called "Annan".
The founder of Annan Chen Dynasty was originally from Changle, Fujian, China. He moved to Annan to fish and later established the Chen Dynasty. Therefore, Annan nobles have many China surnames, such as Chen, Ding, Li and Li. And Annan intellectuals also know a lot of Chinese characters and become a part of China cultural circle. In the late Chen Dynasty, Annan had learned to make gunpowder and firearms.
When the Ming Dynasty was founded, Annan sent envoys to pay tribute. 1369, Chen was made king of Annan. Later, in the war to conquer Annan, Zhu Neng, Mu Sheng and Zhang Fu, as the generals who conquered the south in the Ming Dynasty, led 800,000 troops, carrying magic arrows with ware to deal with local elephants.
This magic arrow is a metal cylinder, and the device in the cylinder emits gunpowder to excite the arrow or lead bullet, and its structure is similar to that of a musket. This is a firearm developed in the early Ming Dynasty, which was widely used in the battlefield of Annan.
Cambodia in Indo-China Peninsula was called "Funan" and "Zhenla" in ancient times, and it was only called Cambodia in the Ming Dynasty. During the Yuan Dynasty, the maritime traffic between China and Cambodia was very active. Ambassadors, businessmen and tourists keep coming and going, leaving many records, among which "The Record of Zhenla Terrestrial Scenery" is the most important one, including the record of watching fireworks at Angkor Palace, the capital of Zhenla. The custom of setting off fireworks and firecrackers on New Year's Day here is the same as that in China.
According to records, in order to make gunpowder, Cambodia also imported saltpeter and sulfur from China. "There is no gold and silver in the land, and gold and silver come first in the Tang Dynasty. Five-color light silk is next, followed by tin wax in Zhou Zhen, lacquer plate in Wenzhou, celadon in Quanzhou, and mercury, silver beads, paper, sulfur and mirabilite ... "
This shows that China's saltpeter and sulfur were exported abroad as important export substances in the13rd century.
The introduction of gunpowder and firearms into Southeast Asia was mainly spread by China's ancient overseas immigrants in different ways.
Thailand was called "Siam" in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and it was the only place for China to conduct maritime trade with India and Arabia. Due to the large number of overseas Chinese in Thailand, it is a custom to set off fireworks and firecrackers on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The palace in Bangkok also sets off firecrackers on New Year's Eve every year to ward off evil spirits and welcome the new year.
During the Sukhothai dynasty, Thailand set off fireworks in front of the palace every May, which shows that Thailand has mastered gunpowder technology since the13rd century, and these technologies undoubtedly came from China.
In northern Thailand, near Laos, in addition to setting off fireworks in the New Year, the Torch Festival at the turn of the spring and autumn will also light rockets, and people will sing and dance for a bumper rice harvest.
Yunnan ethnic minorities bordering Laos also have the same customs, which shows the land route of gunpowder technology from southwest China to Thailand.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were many pirates among overseas Chinese, so it was necessary to arm caravans to trade in underdeveloped areas and areas with extremely harsh natural environment. The overseas activities of some pirate groups objectively contain the content of spreading advanced gunpowder and firearms overseas.
Lin Daogan, the leader of Chaozhou pirates, engaged in maritime smuggling in Fujian and Guangdong during Jiajing period, and then went to Taiwan Province Province, Vietnam and other places for trade, covering almost the whole Southeast Asia. Later, he was attacked by the Ming army, unable to gain a foothold in the mainland, and moved to Taiwan Province Province and Southeast Asia.
Lin Daogan finally settled in Thailand, built a dry port and continued to expand overseas trade. Today, there are many legends about forest roads in Thailand, the focus of which is to help the local government master the casting technology of artillery.
During the Thailand 1593 Cambodia War, both sides used rockets. Myanmar borders Yunnan, and gunpowder technology was introduced from China. Firearms were used in the war against British invaders in the19th century.
The Philippines is the closest country to China among the Nanyang Islands, facing Taiwan Province Province of China across bashi channel in the north, only 60 nautical miles apart. Sailing boats travel between Fujian and Luzon, which can be reached in three days during the monsoon season. Therefore, it has become a convenient area for overseas Chinese to move or move, and naturally it has become a priority for China's maritime armed forces.
1574, Patricia Lam Fung, the pirate leader of Chaozhou, was defeated by Hu Shouren, the general of Fujian, and retreated to Penghu, Taiwan. Although Patricia Lam Fung's action finally failed, Patricia Lam Fung's army carried a large number of gunpowder firearms, which played a certain role in the spread of gunpowder firearms.
The exchanges between China and Indonesia have a long history. The "Qianpo" in the history of the Song Dynasty was Java in Indonesia. Before and after the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty, many adherents of the Song Dynasty came to Indonesia across the ocean, introduced advanced production and science and technology, and made contributions to Indonesia's social development.
Since the Southern Song Dynasty, overseas Chinese who have settled in Indonesia have brought the custom of setting off fireworks and firecrackers in China in the New Year, and the fireworks in Sumatra, Indonesia have been in a prosperous stage since 1443.
/kloc-In the 7th century, French traveler Tavernier wrote Travel Notes of India, in which he talked about setting off fireworks in Java, and recorded: "There were five or six captains sitting around the house, watching some fireworks brought by China, including grenades, fuses and other things that could run on the water. China people have surpassed all ethnic groups in the world in this respect. "
At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, because the authorities in Java, Indonesia sentenced Meng Qi, the envoy of the Yuan Dynasty, to whale face punishment, Kublai Khan sent thousands of ships and 20,000 men to conquer Java Island on 1292 and occupied Java Island for one year. Therefore, in the13rd century, China's gunpowder and firearms technology has been introduced to the local area.
In the early Ming Dynasty, Zheng He made seven voyages to the Western Ocean, each time passing through Indonesia, and landed for economic and political activities, which further promoted the spread of China's science, technology and culture, including gunpowder.