Fire arrow facts for kids

An arrow strapped with gunpowder ready to be shot from a bow. From the Huolongjing

Depiction of rocket arrows, from the Huolongjing. The right arrow reads 'fire arrow', the middle is an 'arrow frame in the shape of a dragon' and the left is a 'complete fire arrow'.

Fire arrows were some of the first weapons to use gunpowder. People started using them way back in the 800s! Don't mix them up with older flaming arrows that just had fire on them. True fire arrows used gunpowder. Their name comes from the Chinese word huǒjiàn (火箭), which means 'fire arrow'.

In China, a fire arrow was basically an arrow with a small bag of gunpowder tied to its shaft. This made it explode or burn when it hit something. These arrows were like the ancestors of fire lances, which were the very first firearms. Later, people used gunpowder to make these arrows fly like rockets. Because of this, the term 'fire arrow' became another word for 'rocket' in the Chinese language.

How Fire Arrows Were Designed

Even though fire arrows are often linked to rockets, they first started as something simpler. The original fire arrow was just a pouch of gunpowder tied to an arrow. You would shoot this type of fire arrow with a bow or crossbow. It was meant to set things on fire.

The Wujing Zongyao, an old military book, explains how to make a fire arrow:

Behind the arrow head wrap up some gunpowder with two or three layers of soft paper, and bind it to the arrow shaft in a lump shaped like a pomegranate. Cover it with a piece of hemp cloth tightly tied, and sealed fast with molten pine resin. Light the fuse and then shoot it off from a bow.

– Wujing Zongyao

Gunpowder weapons that caused fires were better than older fire-starting tools. This is because gunpowder has its own oxygen supply. This made the flames harder to put out, similar to Greek fire. But unlike Greek fire, gunpowder is a solid. This made it much easier to store and load.

The rocket-powered fire arrow came later. By the mid-1300s, rocket arrow launchers appeared in the Ming dynasty in China. Later, mobile rocket launchers were used in China and then spread to Korea. These gunpowder-propelled fire arrows could fly very far, sometimes up to 1,000 ft (300 m) (about 300 meters).

History of Fire Arrows

Arabic illustration showing a gunpowder arrow on the left, fireworks in the middle, and a midfa (fire lance or hand cannon) on the right, from Rzevuski MS, c. 1320-1350

Two fire arrows (crossbow bolts). Southern Germany, ca. 15th Century, with preserved incendiary mixture of charcoal, sulphur, saltpeter and textile on the shaft.

The first time fire arrows were reported was in 904. The Southern Wu used them during a battle at Yuzhang.

In 969, two people named Yue Yifang and Feng Jisheng invented gunpowder-powered rocket arrows.

In 975, the state of Wuyue sent soldiers who were good at using fire arrows to the Song dynasty. In the same year, the Song army used fire arrows to destroy the fleet of Southern Tang.

The Wujing Zongyao book, published in 1044, mentions fire arrows. It says that in 994, a Liao army of 100,000 men attacked the city of Zitong. They were pushed back by war machines and fire arrows.

In 1083, records from the Song dynasty show that the court made 350,000 fire arrows. They sent these arrows to two military bases.

On March 1, 1126, the Song general Li Gang used a fire arrow machine. It was called the Thunderbolt thrower during the Jingkang Incident.

By 1127, the Jin army also started using fire arrows. They got them from Song artisans they had captured.

In 1159, the Song navy used fire arrows to sink a Jin fleet.

In 1161, General Yu Yunwen used fire arrows at the Battle of Caishi. This battle was near modern-day Ma'anshan, during a Jin attack by sea.

By 1206, people started talking about "gunpowder arrows" (huoyaojian). This was different from just "fire arrows" (huojian).

In 1245, a military practice took place on the Qiantang River. They likely used rockets during this exercise.

The Mongols also used fire arrows during their battles in Japan. Because of the Mongolian military campaigns, fire arrows later spread to the Middle East. They were mentioned by Al Hasan Al Ramma in the late 1200s.

In 1374, the kingdom of Joseon (Korea) also began making gunpowder. By 1377, they were producing cannons and fire arrows. They used these weapons against wokou pirates. Korean fire arrows were also used against the Japanese during the invasion of Korea in 1592.

In 1380, the Ming army ordered "wasp nest" rocket arrow launchers. In 1400, records show that Li Jinglong used rocket arrow launchers.

In 1451, a type of mobile rocket arrow launcher was invented in Joseon. It was known as the "Munjong Hwacha".

The Japanese version of the fire arrow was called the bo hiya. Japanese pirates (wokou) in the 1500s reportedly used the bo hiya. It looked like a large arrow. A burning part made from waterproof rope was wrapped around the shaft. When lit, the bo hiya was launched from a mortar-like weapon called a hiya taihou. It could also be fired from a wide-bore Tanegashima matchlock arquebus. During one sea battle, it was said that the bo hiya were "falling like rain."

When Were Rockets Invented?

The exact date when gunpowder-powered fire arrows, or rockets, first appeared is debated. The History of Song book says two different people invented them at different times. Feng Jisheng in 969 and Tang Fu in 1000.

However, Joseph Needham argues that rockets could not have existed before the 1100s. This is because the gunpowder recipes in the Wujing Zongyao were not strong enough for rockets. Stephen G. Haw also believes there is little proof that rockets existed before 1200. It's more likely they were not made or used in wars until the late 1200s.

Gallery

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  A fire arrow from the Wubei Zhi

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  Depiction of fire arrows known as "divine engine arrows" (shen ji jian 神機箭) from the Wubei Zhi.

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  Depiction of a stationary fire arrow (rocket arrow) launcher from the Huolongjing.

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  Illustration of a hwacha manual from the Gukjo-oryeui (國朝五禮儀, Five Rites of State)

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  An illustration of fire arrow launchers as depicted in the Wubei Zhi. The launcher is constructed using basketry.

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  A "charging leopard pack" rocket arrow launcher as depicted in the Wubei Zhi.

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  A "nest of bees" (yi wo feng 一窩蜂) rocket arrow launcher as depicted in the Wubei Zhi. So called because of its hexagonal honeycomb shape.

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  A "long serpent" fire arrow launcher as depicted in the Wubei Zhi. It carries 32 medium small poisoned rocket arrows and comes with a sling to carry on the back.

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  The 'convocation of eagles chasing hare arrow' from the Wubei Zhi. A double ended rocket arrow pod that carries 30 small poisoned rocket arrows on each end for a total of 60 rocket arrows. It carries a sling for transport.

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  A hwacha from the Yungwon pilbi

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  A life size reconstruction of a hwacha that launches singijeons - the Korean fire arrow.

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  Korean fire arrows

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  Antique Japanese (samurai) bo hiya or bohiya (fire arrow) and hiya taihou (fire arrow cannon), Kumamoto Castle, Japan.

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  Antique Japanese (samurai) bohiya or bo hiya (fire arrow), showing the fuse, Kumamoto Castle, Japan.

See also

• Arrow poisons