Matchlock musket in China

Matchlock musket was used in China as both military and civilian weapon from the middle of 16th century. Although hopelessly outdated by that time, they were still part of the armament of the Qing imperial army till the end of the 19th century.

A Qing musketeer armed with a simple matchlock, photographed in 1874. The same lock as on the 16th-century Ottoman matchlock muskets is clearly visible.

History

Ming dynasty hand cannon, made in 1505.

Ming Dynasty: Bird guns

Main article: Bird gun

Ming musketeers training volley fire (illustration from a Ming military manual, 1639).

The first matchlock muskets from the Ottoman Empire were introduced to the northwestern China via Turfan during the fighting in Hami Prefecture (eastern Xinjiang) in 1513–1524. However, they were not widely adopted in China at the time. In the rest of the country muskets were introduced before the end of the 1540s by Japanese pirates, who only recently copied them from the Portuguese in 1543. Around this time (1529), the production of larger cannons based on the Portuguese model also began in China.^[1]: 206

By the last stage of the Ming dynasty, bird guns were used extensively, but were not the main infantry weapon. A military report from the early 1620s, during the war with the Jurchens, asked for the mobilization of 130,000 new soldiers and production of 7,000 hand cannons (three-eyed guns) and bird guns.^[2]: 46 During 1618-1622 Ming Ministry of Works reported the production of 6,425 muskets, 98,547 polearms and swords, 26,214 great “horse decapitator” swords and 42,800 bows.^[2]: 49

Qing Dynasty: Ottoman-style matchlock

Main article: Ottoman matchlock musket

Unlike the Ming dynasty, which massively used firearms, albeit of outdated types, the Qing army relied mostly on the bow and arrow until the 19th century, although it was an early adopter of modern European-style artillery. When infantry finally began to be armed with firearms after 1820, the Chinese army adopted far simpler and cheaper Turkish-style matchlocks instead of flintlocks (which had been the standard weapon in Europe since at least 1700). A British report from 1793 survives, according to which Chinese officers considered matchlocks to be superior to flintlocks - although the flintlocks were quicker to reload, they were considered less reliable and more prone to misfire. In any case, matchlock muskets were much cheaper to manufacture and maintain. Even so, the majority of the Chinese army remained armed with edged weapons. According to British reports from 1841, a small proportion of Chinese soldiers had matchlocks, while the majority had nothing but swords, bows and arrows. Muskets of this type remained as military weapon in China until the end of the 19th century.^[1]: 234

Gallery

• Matchlock muskets of a similar type from the Ottoman Empire and China
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  Ottoman matchlock, circa 1600. The serpentine protruding from the cavity of the stock behind the flash pan is clearly visible, as is the lower part of the serpentine under the stock. There is no lock plate.
• 
  Ming matchlock muskets (17th century).
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  Qing matchlock musket from Vietnam (ilustration from 1767).
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  Tibetan matchlock musket, about 1850.
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  Lock of the Tibetan musket.