发熕考——16世纪传华的欧式前装火炮及其演变

The Introduction and Development of European Cannon( Fagong) in the 16-17th Century China

欧式前装火炮传入中国可以追溯到16世纪中期。嘉靖年间,东南沿海地区出现了名为发熕的铸铜/生铁前装炮,这个特异的名称可能源于欧洲的轻型野战炮falco(葡语)。明朝水师将发熕用作舰首主炮长达半个世纪。与其原型相比,发熕在形制和操作方面已有许多改变。明末欧式前装大炮再次传入,老式发熕遭到淘汰,新式发熕则具有典型的欧洲风格。入清后,发熕逐渐成为一类轻型火炮的专名。文章以舰载发熕为线索,考察了16世纪海战兵器的演变。

Since the 1550s, a new type of muzzle-loading, bronze or cast-iron cannon called fagong （发烦） appeared in the siege warfare and sea battles in the southeast coast of China. The namefagong was probably derived fromfalcao（ i. e. falcon） in Portuguese, which indicated a kind of light field artillery in Europe. In fact, as the main centerline bow gun of Ming battleship more than half a century, fagong had changed from its European origin in many aspects. In the mid-17th centu- ry, old-fashioned fagong was replaced by new one with typical western style during Ming-Qing war. As a result, the name only indicated a certain type of light cannon in the Qing dynasty. Through the history offagong, significant changes of naval weapons in the 16th century are also revealed.