The Shared Origins of Farming and Herding Cultures
For thousands of years, farming and nomadic lifestyles have stood as opposing forces in human history, representing fundamentally different modes of production yet sharing common roots in early agro-pastoral civilizations. This theory finds substantial support in archaeological discoveries across what is now Inner Mongolia – traditionally considered nomadic territory.
Excavations have unearthed stone agricultural tools, crop remains, livestock bones, and climate evidence from prehistoric eras (before written records). These artifacts reveal that Inner Mongolia, now unsuitable for large-scale cultivation, once enjoyed a warm and humid climate favorable for both animal husbandry and farming. The transformation from this combined agro-pastoral system to distinct farming and nomadic cultures is now widely attributed by historians to climate change.
It’s crucial to distinguish between nomadic pastoralism and settled animal husbandry. Nomadic pastoralism involves moving livestock across vast grasslands to ensure adequate grazing as local resources become depleted, while settled animal husbandry occurs in areas with relatively abundant water, grass, and grain resources where animals remain in fixed locations.
The Great Divergence: Climate Change and Cultural Transformation
Around 2000-1000 BCE, China experienced significant climatic cooling and drying, with reduced annual temperatures and precipitation. These changes made agriculture increasingly difficult to sustain populations, prompting communities to shift toward nomadic pastoralism which made fewer demands on temperature and rainfall conditions. With technological limitations and environmental constraints preventing permanent settlements, farming civilizations declined while mobile nomadic cultures emerged – “following water and grass” to survive.
However, nomadic peoples didn’t abandon agriculture entirely. Historical records and archaeological sites reveal they continued some farming activities alongside their primary pastoral lifestyle.
The Emergence of Distinct Civilizations
During China’s Shang and Zhou dynasties, records mention frequent conflicts between central plains kingdoms and various “barbarian” tribes (Yi, Di, Man, Rong), though whether these were truly nomadic remains uncertain. At the Upper Xiajiadian culture site in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia – believed to be Donghu remains – archaeologists discovered the “Scythian triad”: weapons, horse gear, and animal-style artifacts. This confirms that by the Spring and Autumn period at least, a typical nomadic civilization had formed in Inner Mongolia, existing alongside Chinese civilization.
The nomadic economy’s structural simplicity set the stage for millennia of conflict between agrarian and nomadic peoples. When warfare began, the traditional chariot forces of Chinese states proved disastrously ineffective against nomadic cavalry. Chariots required specific terrain and couldn’t match cavalry mobility, leaving Chinese forces perpetually disadvantaged until chariots disappeared entirely from military use by Emperor Wu of Han’s reign (141-87 BCE).
The Ming Dynasty Revival: Gunpowder Changes the Game
By the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the deadly struggle between nomadic and agrarian peoples entered a new phase. With gunpowder and metalworking technologies maturing, metal-barreled firearms emerged. This development brought ancient chariots – long relegated to secondary roles after poor performance against cavalry – back to battlefields in new forms with specialized formations called “chariot camps.”
The Wheel’s Journey: Origins and Evolution
Current archaeological evidence suggests animal-drawn vehicles originated in Mesopotamia (the Tigris-Euphrates region), where early vehicles used horses, oxen, and donkeys interchangeably. The earliest known “chariot” symbol appears in Uruk culture artifacts from 3500 BCE, with the first chariot images dating to 3000-2800 BCE Halaf culture painted on a ceramic bowl showing a two-wheeled design. Physical remains of four-wheeled chariots have been found in Kish royal tombs (Euphrates), ancient Elamite Susa (southwest Iran), and Ur royal tombs (near Persian Gulf), all dating to 2600-2500 BCE.
China’s vehicle use appears much later. In 2004, archaeologists discovered the earliest Chinese wheel ruts at the Erlitou site (1900-1600 BCE), with two parallel tracks about 1 meter apart stretching over 5 meters. Evidence increases moving eastward, with two-wheeled chariots found in 1900 BCE Armenian tombs near Lake Sevan and chariot remains from the “Siba culture” in Xinjiang, Gansu, and Qinghai. Some scholars believe chariots spread from Mesopotamia to China, while others argue for independent Chinese invention due to gaps in the transmission record. Current evidence suggests external influences on Chinese chariot development.
The War Chariot in Chinese History
Chinese war chariots specifically refer to horse-drawn combat vehicles. Domesticated horses, according to current research, weren’t native to China. The earliest evidence comes from Ukraine’s Dereivka site near Kiev (Dnieper River forest-steppe). Domesticated horses later spread to Anatolia, Iran, Syria, and Egypt, likely reaching China only by the mid-late Shang dynasty (c. 1200 BCE), when horse bones begin appearing frequently in archaeological records. Jade horses from Queen Fu Hao’s tomb (consort of King Wu Ding) provide further evidence.
King Wu Ding’s reign marked the Shang’s military peak, featuring history’s first recorded ambush against the Ba forces. Oracle bones describe Fu Hao and general Zhi Ga setting an ambush while Wu Ding launched diversionary attacks, trapping the Ba army. Wu Ding also defeated western and northern groups like the Tufang, Guifang, and Qiangfang. If these groups used chariots, Wu Ding likely acquired them through these campaigns, introducing chariots to China. However, differences between Chinese and Western chariot designs challenge this transmission theory.
Distinctive Chinese Chariot Design
Chinese chariots (particularly pre-Qin era) featured larger wheels than Western counterparts – typically over 1 meter in diameter (often 1.4m) compared to Western wheels at 0.8-0.9m. The harnessing systems differed completely. Western chariots used a “neck yoke” method where straps attached directly to horses’ necks, constricting their windpipes and limiting performance. Chinese chariots employed a “yoke-and-trace” system distributing force to the shoulders, allowing full power utilization. In a hypothetical race with identical horses, Chinese chariots would undoubtedly win.
Chariot Warfare Tactics
Given their connection to Shang military expansion, chariots naturally entered warfare. Many excavated Shang chariots carried ge dagger-axes, knives, and bows, suggesting their combat style. Chariots held 2-3 soldiers in compartments with low (50cm) side rails and open backs for easy mounting/dismounting. Battles likely involved archery at range followed by close-quarters ge combat or dismounted fighting. The Warring States military treatise Six Tao preserves traces of these tactics, requiring charioteers to “run fast enough to chase galloping horses.”
By the Spring and Autumn period, chariots became primary assault forces, exploiting enemy weaknesses in “eight victory positions.” A well-timed chariot charge could win battles despite numerical disadvantage, as Six Tao states: “Understand the ten harms and eight victories; though surrounded by thousands of chariots and riders, charge forward and win every battle.” Chariots’ power made them basic military units, with “a state of a thousand chariots” denoting major powers. Each chariot’s supporting infantry (dozens per vehicle) formed the backbone of their effectiveness.
The Cavalry Revolution and Chariot Decline
As nomadic peoples became more active and their cavalry pushed southward, chariots’ dominance waned. While faster than infantry, chariots couldn’t match cavalry speed. Their bulky size made them perfect targets for nomadic horsemen. As Napoleon later observed: “Space I can recover, lost time never,” explaining cavalry’s advantage. Chariots faded completely after horse equipment improved and northern nomads became the primary threat.
Early Western Han dynasty still included chariots in military formations, but prolonged wars with the Xiongnu nomadic empire revealed their inadequacy against mobile “dispersing-and-reforming” cavalry tactics. By Emperor Wu’s reign, assault chariots disappeared from Han arsenals, marking the end of traditional war chariots.
Gunpowder Weapons: A New Era
The term “firearm” generally refers to metal-barreled projectile weapons like guns and cannons. Their development begins with gunpowder itself. During the Eastern Jin dynasty (317-420), Daoist scholar Ge Hong accidentally created a “white ice” substance while researching immortality elixirs, claiming it could confer longevity, cure diseases, remove blemishes, restore youth, and even summon celestial maidens. This was actually arsenic sulfide (As2S2); adding sufficient saltpeter created gunpowder. Ancient alchemists chose durable materials like saltpeter and sulfur for elixirs, believing such “imperishable” substances could impart immortality. Ge recorded this formula in his Baopuzi text.
Later alchemists continued experimenting, failing to create immortality elixirs but accidentally discovering gunpowder’s explosive potential. By the mid-Tang dynasty, texts like Zhenyuan Miaodao Yaojue warned that mixing sulfur, realgar, saltpeter, and honey could cause violent explosions. Military strategists quickly recognized its potential. In 904 CE, warlord Yang Xingmi used “flying fire” (likely gunpowder arrows) to burn city gates during the siege of Yuzhang, though some troops suffered friendly fire. This account from the Jiuguo Zhi (preserved in the Yongle Encyclopedia) is the earliest record of gunpowder weapons.
Arab alchemists, synthesizing Greek and Chinese knowledge, invented aqua regia. Europe lost alchemical knowledge after Rome’s fall, relearning it from Arabs in the 8th century. European fascination with alchemy peaked in the 16th century when Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II established laboratories hoping to transmute base metals into gold. Western alchemists also sought immortality elixirs. Ironically, though alchemy originated in the Hellenistic world and developed in Arab and Chinese civilizations, only latecomer Europeans transformed it into modern chemistry.
By the Song dynasty (960-1279), gunpowder weapons became standard in East Asian arsenals. The Song dynasty actively developed firearms from its founding. In 970, military official Feng Jisheng presented rocket designs to Emperor Taizu, receiving imperial commendation. Subsequent records show frequent rewards for firearm innovations. However, technological diffusion since the Tang meant regional powers could manufacture crossbows – traditional Chinese advantages – preventing Song dominance through gunpowder alone. By Emperor Daozong’s reign (1055-1100), the Liao dynasty also mastered gunpowder weapons.
Most early gunpowder weapons weren’t explosive devices but rather incendiary weapons producing flames and smoke – extensions of traditional fire attacks. Recipes included combustible additives and toxins like wormwood, oils, tung oil, asphalt, aconite, and arsenic to enhance lethality.
Modern analysis shows three typical gunpowder formulas recorded in the Song military compendium Wujing Zongyao couldn’t function as firearm propellants since they required open-air combustion. But technological advances gradually improved gunpowder’s performance in confined spaces. Southern Song official Chen Gui, defending De’an against rebels, used 8-meter poles to block siege towers while deploying catapults, fire attacks, and his invention – the “fire lance.” Scholars believe this was a spear with a bamboo tube containing “cannon powder” that shot flames when ignited, requiring two operators (one holding, one firing). This marks the earliest known tubular firearm, showing Song engineers had developed gunpowder that burned efficiently in tubes to project flames.
The Wubei Zhi (1621) records over a dozen similar weapons derived from this principle, generally considered the first true firearms. Next came the famous “fire lance” (突火枪). The Song Shi describes it as: “Using a large bamboo tube containing pellets (子窠), when fired, the flame exhausts before pellets shoot out with cannon-like noise audible over 150 paces.” Early reconstructions imagined trumpet-shaped bamboo tubes with handles, but natural bamboo doesn’t form such shapes, and bamboo’s heat sensitivity would make this design dangerously unstable. The “large” (钜) bamboo likely meant short but thick tubes, possibly wrapped in rope, wire, or leather to prevent bursting. Whether “pellets” were bullets requires further study, but the fire lance demonstrates gunpowder could generate sufficient propulsion in tubes. The Wubei Zhi’s “Invincible Bamboo General” may represent this weapon.
Gunpowder Technology Spreads Through Warfare
Contained combustion implies explosive potential. During Song-Jin wars, bamboo/wooden firearms appeared while Song forces repeatedly used explosive gunpowder weapons against Jin troops with devastating effect. During the Jingkang era (1126-1127), Song defenders fired “thunderclap bombs” at Jin forces besieging Bianliang (Kaifeng). In 1161, Jin emperor Wanyan Liang (famous for his poem about unifying China) sent a naval force south to attack Lin’an (Hangzhou). Yue Fei’s former subordinate Li Bao intercepted them near Tang Island with 120 ships and Fujianese archers. Song “fire arrows” burned hundreds of Jin vessels, killing commander Wanyan Zhengjia. The Jin Shi records Song use of “fire cannons” (incendiary bombs), possibly launched from ship-mounted catapults. In 1207, Jin forces attacking Xiangyang faced “thunderclap bombs” from defender Zhao Chun, suffering heavy losses. The Jin subsequently acquired and improved these weapons. With northern metal resources, they developed iron-cased “heaven-shaking thunder” bombs.
In 1221, Jin forces used “iron fire bombs” against Qizhou. Witness accounts describe gourd-shaped iron casings (5cm thick) producing thunderous explosions that “shattered half the victims’ heads.” Jin took Qizhou within a month, later improving these into more powerful “heaven-shaking thunder.” In 1232 at Kaifeng, these bombs destroyed Mongol siege engines (“ox-hide shelters”), forcing retreat. They significantly delayed Jin’s collapse.
The Jin also improved fire lances into portable “flying fire lances” by 1233. Using multi-layered paper tubes and improved powder, these shot flames over 3 meters without tube damage, indicating advanced gunpowder that burned completely without residue – a major technological leap. Their use in a night raid against Mongols marks the earliest field deployment of personal firearms.
Jin weapons inflicted heavy Mongol casualties while spreading technology. The Mongols, adopting enemies’ strengths (“relying on northern horses and Chinese techniques”), quickly copied these weapons. After unifying Mongolia in 1206, Genghis Khan attacked Western Xia (1204) and Jin (1211), encountering gunpowder weapons both times. Incorporating Jin artisans after conquering the Jin, the Mongols “fully equipped all crafts” for their second westward campaign (1236-1242) that reached the Danube, using firearms extensively to terrify Europe. But Europe’s technological backwardness prevented reverse-engineering captured weapons, which they dismissed as “evil magic,” so gunpowder didn’t spread westward then.
During the third Mongol campaign (1253-1260) under Hulagu, Arabs acquired gunpowder technology, creating the “midfa” – a wooden cannon implying Mongol use of metal-barreled firearms. By the late 13th century, the Islamic world mastered rockets, fire bombs, grenades, and guns, successfully localizing them. This relied on Chinese saltpeter purification techniques transmitted in the 13th century – Arabs called saltpeter “Chinese snow” reflecting its origin. Europe wouldn’t record gunpowder weapons for another century.
Europe’s exposure to gunpowder began in the early 8th century when Umayyad forces invaded Spain, destroying the Visigothic kingdom. The Christian “Reconquista” (literally “reconquest” though more accurately “re-conquest”) began immediately but took until 1492 to complete. As both sides prioritized territorial gains over ideological conflict, the prolonged struggle saw shifting alliances and internal divisions. After the 1212 Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa shattered Almohad power (dividing into six kingdoms), Christian forces gradually prevailed. Like the Jin using gunpowder against Mongols, Islamic forces turned to firearms to resist Christian advances, inadvertently transferring the technology to Europe.
Thereafter, Europeans recognized gunpowder’s military potential rather than magical properties. Europe’s distinct geography and society led to different firearm development paths from China, though comparative studies reveal striking similarities – as the saying goes, “there’s nothing new under the sun.”
Metal-Barreled Firearms Emerge
After synthesizing global military technologies – counterweight trebuchets (“Muslim catapults”), iron bombs, metal firearms, and Song naval designs – the Mongols established their vast empire whose influence lasted until the 19th century. The Southern Song fell in 1279 after prolonged resistance, making the Yuan dynasty China’s national regime. Yuan engineers continued developing firearms, leaving two main archaeological types: the “Zhiheng gun” (1351) – a hand cannon with three sections (barrel, powder chamber, and socket for a wooden stock), and the “Zhishun cannon” (1332) – a small cannon resembling later “cup-mouth” designs.
The Yuan-Ming transition saw continued firearm development. Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang (r. 1368-1398) prioritized firearms to counter diverse threats, achieving one of Chinese history’s peaks in gunpowder technology. Early Ming hand cannons derived from Yuan designs featured reinforced barrels, standardized proportions (barrels two-thirds total length), and eventually rainproof flash pan covers (Yongle era, 1403-1424). The Yongle period also saw scaled-up “great hand cannons” like the 20kg specimen unearthed in Gansu (73mm bore, 1409). Other innovations included tripod-mounted guns for accuracy and hooked guns for defensive fire around corners.
Ming forces also adapted firing techniques. After the 1406-1407 campaign against Vietnam’s Ho dynasty, Ming troops reportedly adopted arrow-firing guns (“divine guns”) though arrow-launching firearms existed since Hongwu times (1368-1398). More likely, they learned to use wooden wads (木马子) behind projectiles for better gas seal. To address slow reloading, Ming units developed three-man and five-man firing teams (loader, passer, firer, plus assistants for match-holding), but these couldn’t match Mongol cavalry charges. The “divine machine cannon” – a short-barreled volley gun – increased fire density but remained slow-loading. Mongols learned to time charges between volleys or use human shields and oxhide barriers.
Countermeasures included firecrackers to simulate gunfire, luring cavalry into killing zones before unleashing real volleys followed by infantry/cavalry attacks. During the 1450s, Ming forces combined firearms with melee weapons – adding spearheads to gunstocks for bayonet-like use or attaching forks to create makeshift pikes. This “cold-hot combination” foreshadowed European bayonets but wasn’t continued by the Qing, while Europeans developed bayonets