The military situation of the thirteenth century required that the Song and the Mongols construct a great number of defensive works,relying on the mountains or facing the rivers,in the mountainous Sichuan Province and...The military situation of the thirteenth century required that the Song and the Mongols construct a great number of defensive works,relying on the mountains or facing the rivers,in the mountainous Sichuan Province and Chongqing.In recent years,a special kind of explosive firearms,huolei火雷(bombs),was unearthed in the large-scale excavations of the site of Diaoyu Fortress钓鱼城in Hechuan District合川and the Baidicheng白帝城in Fengjie County奉节,both of which were defensive works constructed in this mountainous area during the Southern Song dynasty.In addition,the ruins of kilns and the clay molds that were relevant to the casting of iron huolei have been discovered at the site of Baidicheng,indicating that these huolei might have been produced locally.The Southern Song iron huolei unearthed in Chongqing are the most direct evidence of the evolvement of gunpowder and firearms,and are of great significance to the history of science and technology,in particular the history of military technology.展开更多
The world’s earliest bomb with an iron casing,the iron huopao鐵火砲(cast-iron bomb,also referred to as zhentian lei震天雷,literally“thunder-crash bomb”),is one of the most important inventions of ancient China rela...The world’s earliest bomb with an iron casing,the iron huopao鐵火砲(cast-iron bomb,also referred to as zhentian lei震天雷,literally“thunder-crash bomb”),is one of the most important inventions of ancient China relating to gunpowder and firearms.Until recently,however,academics were not able to conduct substantial research on the topic,as no actual remains of a huopao had yet been found.Since 2013,in the excavation of two sites of Southern Song ancient cities(Diaoyu Fortress and Baidicheng)in Chongqing,archaeologists from the Chongqing Cultural Heritage Research Institute have discovered a number of iron huopao of the Southern Song dynasty.This finding not only provides first-hand material for research on the history of the invention of gunpowder and firearms,which has always been lacking,but also offers new physical evidence for an exploration of the history of war and the military history of the thirteenth century(in particular the Mongol-Song war),and is thus historically significant.展开更多
文摘The military situation of the thirteenth century required that the Song and the Mongols construct a great number of defensive works,relying on the mountains or facing the rivers,in the mountainous Sichuan Province and Chongqing.In recent years,a special kind of explosive firearms,huolei火雷(bombs),was unearthed in the large-scale excavations of the site of Diaoyu Fortress钓鱼城in Hechuan District合川and the Baidicheng白帝城in Fengjie County奉节,both of which were defensive works constructed in this mountainous area during the Southern Song dynasty.In addition,the ruins of kilns and the clay molds that were relevant to the casting of iron huolei have been discovered at the site of Baidicheng,indicating that these huolei might have been produced locally.The Southern Song iron huolei unearthed in Chongqing are the most direct evidence of the evolvement of gunpowder and firearms,and are of great significance to the history of science and technology,in particular the history of military technology.
文摘The world’s earliest bomb with an iron casing,the iron huopao鐵火砲(cast-iron bomb,also referred to as zhentian lei震天雷,literally“thunder-crash bomb”),is one of the most important inventions of ancient China relating to gunpowder and firearms.Until recently,however,academics were not able to conduct substantial research on the topic,as no actual remains of a huopao had yet been found.Since 2013,in the excavation of two sites of Southern Song ancient cities(Diaoyu Fortress and Baidicheng)in Chongqing,archaeologists from the Chongqing Cultural Heritage Research Institute have discovered a number of iron huopao of the Southern Song dynasty.This finding not only provides first-hand material for research on the history of the invention of gunpowder and firearms,which has always been lacking,but also offers new physical evidence for an exploration of the history of war and the military history of the thirteenth century(in particular the Mongol-Song war),and is thus historically significant.
