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Pages

武備志(五十三)

Wubei Zhi (Vol. 53)

武備志(五十三)

Chinese

1621

93 pages

Natural Philosophy Chinese Classics Chinese History Statecraft East Asia

First Complete Translation

Only partial translations or excerpts exist. This is the first complete English translation.

No complete English translation of Mao Yuanyi's 240-volume military treatise 'Wubei Zhi' (1621) was found in any of the searched catalogs. While the work is a seminal text in Chinese military history and significant portions—particularly Juan 53 on firearms and the 'Mao Kun' coastal maps—have been translated and analyzed within scholarly contexts (such as Joseph Needham's 'Science and Civilisation in China'), there is no record of a standalone or complete English translation of the work or this specific volume.

Verified Mar 8, 2026 via local catalogs, local catalogs, open library, google books · methodology

Chinese History & Statecraft Natural Philosophy & Science Chinese Classics

About This Book

militaryhistory

Step into the high-stakes world of 17th-century ballistic engineering with Mao Yuanyi’s definitive manual on Ming Dynasty warfare. Discover how the 'Cycle Cannon' and 'Mother-and-Son' cluster bombs redefined the battlefield, bridging the gap between ancient alchemy and modern military science.

Index

162 terms

See All →

Major Themes

武備志50pWubei Zhi33p火器21p軍資乘17pMing Dynasty firearms17pMing Dynasty military16pballistics14p

"Great General" powder (*jiangjun paoyao*)p. 86, p. 87

ancient artilleryp. 3, p. 87

Arquebusp. 56, p. 68

artilleryp. 3, p. 5, p. 11, p. 78

artillery carriagep. 50, p. 51, p. 52, p. 53

Bamboo Basketp. 30, p. 31

bamboo cannonp. 18, p. 19, p. 21, p. 57

bamboo firearmsp. 89, p. 90

Bird-beak Gunp. 56, p. 58, p. 59

bird-gunp. 43, p. 62, p. 63, p. 67, p. 68

breech plugp. 58, p. 65, p. 75

breech-loaderp. 43, p. 56, p. 57, p. 78

breech-loadingp. 84, p. 85

ceramic grenadep. 29, p. 30

chemical warfarep. 3, p. 12, p. 31, p. 32, p. 33, p. 35, p. 41, p. 45+2 more

cluster munitionsp. 9, p. 38, p. 39

crutch (*guai*)p. 84, p. 85

Crutch Gunp. 83, p. 84

Cudrania woodp. 82, p. 83

Da Chongp. 27, p. 28

Dragon Head (龍頭)p. 61, p. 62

fire-hole (huǒyǎn): the small aperture where the fuse is inserted to ignite the internal chargep. 90, p. 91

firearm componentsp. 62, p. 73, p. 93

firearm constructionp. 6, p. 20

firearmsp. 57, p. 81

firearms maintenancep. 58, p. 61

firearms technologyp. 72, p. 77, p. 85

Flying Swallowp. 9, p. 10

Folangjip. 22, p. 43

fragmentationp. 12, p. 35

front sightp. 6, p. 65

fuse (*yaoxian*)p. 84, p. 85

fuse (*yaoxin*)p. 86, p. 87

gunpowderp. 14, p. 20, p. 25, p. 26, p. 27, p. 39

gunpowder formulasp. 12, p. 13, p. 92, p. 93

gunpowder loadingp. 53, p. 54

gunpowder measurementsp. 6, p. 84

gunpowder ratiosp. 55, p. 64

gunpowder recipep. 29, p. 71

gunpowder technologyp. 18, p. 34, p. 38, p. 91

Showing 40 of 155 entries.

Illustrations21

Two figures in traditional Chinese attire operating a long, pole-mounted firearm or artillery piece.

woodcut

Woodcut illustration of a Chinese 'wheel cannon' (Chelunpao), showing its transport on a horse and its operation by a soldier.

woodcut

Woodcut illustration of a wheeled cannon or artillery piece from a Chinese military manual.

woodcut

Woodcut diagram of a spherical explosive device with flames.

diagram

Technical diagram of a Lu Mi Bird Gun (matchlock musket) with Chinese labels.

diagram

Woodcut diagram of a wheeled siege cannon with Chinese labels.

diagram

Full-length illustration of a matchlock musket, identified as a 'bird-beak gun'.

woodcut

Woodcut illustration of a wheeled cannon, identified by the text as a 'Shenji Chepao'.

woodcut

Pages

Pages

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