Who was the first person to invent the flintlock gun in China?

The flintlock gun was invented by Mahan, a Frenchman who was born in the family of 1547 gun craftsman, locksmith and watchmaker, and was improved on the basis of the rotary musket. This improvement greatly simplifies the firing process, improves the firing speed and accuracy, and is convenient to use, low in cost and convenient for mass production.

The first person from China to develop a flintlock gun.

Bi Maokang was the first person to develop a flintlock gun in China. In the Ming dynasty, the flintlock gun was called the self-generator. About the origin of its name, it is taken from Bi Maokang's "Weapons Map" in Ming Dynasty. However, this artifact has many defects, so it has not attracted the attention of the rulers.

Ming dynasty flintlock gun

This kind of flint gun is usually fired by flint hitting hard iron parts to generate sparks to ignite drugs. Compared with the matchlock gun, it saves the ignition time of matchlock and can be ready to start at any time, thus improving the firing rate of the gun. Secondly, the flintlock gun does not need a continuous burning match rope, which is convenient for soldiers who shoot at night to hide.

The story of flintlock in Qing dynasty

After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, Western missions greeted the emperor by celebrating his birthday. In the list of tributes, a large number of flintlock guns appeared. 1793, the British Magdalene Mission visited Emperor Qianlong in the name of celebrating his 80th birthday. In this tribute list, in addition to bells and exquisite models of western warships, there are a large number of advanced British firearms, including British flintlock guns. However, the blind and arrogant rulers of the Qing Dynasty turned their noses up at the advanced flintlock guns in the west, instead of using them for coastal defense, they became hunting playthings.

During the Opium War, although the Qing navy was not equipped with advanced flintlock guns, they still used clumsy and backward matchlock guns, broadsword spears and other weapons. The British navy invading China was basically equipped with advanced flintlock guns, mainly equipped with Burke-style front-loaded sliding chamber flintlock guns and Brunswick-style front-loaded sliding chamber firing guns. These two kinds of flintlock guns have the advantages of fast firing speed, long range, 2-4 rounds per minute and high precision, which the Qing navy's matchlock guns do not have. The backwardness of firearms and equipment is an important reason why the Qing navy lost in one naval battle after another. The failure of the Opium War plunged China into the abyss of semi-colonial and semi-feudal society.