Tang Fu (唐福) was a Chinese inventor, military engineer, and naval captain who lived during the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

. Although he did not invent the

fire arrow Fire arrows were one of the earliest forms of weaponized gunpowder, being used from the 9th century onward. Not to be confused with earlier incendiary arrow projectiles, the fire arrow was a gunpowder weapon which receives its name from the tra ...

, an early form of gunpowder rocket, he is credited as having invented "a rocket of a new style having a head of iron." According to

William Alexander Parsons Martin William Alexander Parsons Martin (April 10, 1827 – December 18, 1916), also known as Dīng WěiliángLydia H. Liu, ''The Clash of Empires: The invention of China in modern world making'', Harvard University Press, 2004, pp. 113–139 (), was an ...

, this invention represents a "transition from signal rockets to

firearms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

, properly so called." This happened in 1000 AD, while Tang Fu served as a naval captain. His name is mentioned in the Chinese texts, the '' History of Song'' or ''Songshi'' and the ''Ko Chieh Ching Yuan'' or ''The Mirror of Research''. In the ''History of Song'', he is said to have "presented his fire arrows, fire balls and grenades."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tang, Fu Year of birth missing Year of death missing Ancient Chinese military engineers Chinese inventors Chinese Navy officers Song dynasty people 10th-century inventors