 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Sin'gijŏn" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Sin'gijŏn | |
 | |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 신기전 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Singijeon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sin'gijŏn |
Sin'gijŏn (Korean: 신기전;Hanja: 神機箭;RR: singijeon;lit. Divine machine arrows) was a type of Koreanfire arrow rocket, used during the era of theJoseon Dynasty (1392–1897). Multiplesin'gijŏn could be launched byhwacha (multiple rocket launcher).[1]
During the late 14th century, in order to gain ascendancy at sea against Japanese pirates (wokou orwaegu), fire arrows calledhwajŏn (화전) were used, which would become the predecessor of thesin'gijŏn.[2][3] The Koreans had tried to acquire rockets and gunpowder and their production methods from China. The Chinese, however, regarded the technology ofgunpowder as a state secret and restricted access to it and trade in its nitrous raw materials (which could only be found in China). The Koreans therefore sought to acquire the manufacturing secrets of gunpowder for themselves and, in 1374 (–1376),Ch'oe Musŏn was able to bribe a Chinese merchant to obtain the secret formula for manufacturinggunpowder, as well as limited technical knowledge about Chinese firearm andcannon technology. He also successfully extractedpotassium nitrate from thesoil[4] and rocks from Japanese trade routes, and developed Korea's first gunpowder.
Details of thesin'gijŏn were not known until very recently. Korean historians had found theschematics added as an appendix in the bookGukjo Orye Seorye (국조오례서례;國朝五禮序例) but did not realize what they were until the academic Chae Yeon-suk identified them as the lost schematics of thesin'gijŏn.[citation needed] The schematics detail the lengths of wooden materials, using units down to 0.3 mm (0.012 in). The schematics are one of the best representations of the acute scientific understanding of the Joseon Dynasty.
Thesin'gijŏn saw most of its early use in the northern borders of Joseon, in the campaign to expand its northern borders by driving out the "Orangkae" ("Barbarians", especially referring theJurchen people). Later, its uses expanded to coastal defence against Japanese pirates and was much used throughout the conflicts during theJoseon Dynasty. During theImjin War, GeneralKwŏn Yul attributed his successful defense of the fortressHaengjusanseong against numerically superior Japanese forces to thesingijeon.[5]
_Dynasty.jpg)
Sin'gijŏn were divided among three major types: large, medium, and small. The 52 cm (20 in) longrocket was launched individually on a handheld gun, and the launch was initiated by a fuse in the tube. Even after launch, the fuse would remain in the tube, consuming theblack powder until it hit the "warhead" and caused detonation.[6] The fuse length was determined by the amount of gunpowder in the paper tube, and was adjusted depending on the distance that the missile had to cover so that it would explode on the target. Its range was around 1–2 km (0.62–1.24 mi).[7] The mediumsin'gijŏn was of the same construction and function as the largesin'gijŏn, but, due to its smaller size of 13 cm (5.1 in),[6] its range was limited to 150 m (490 ft).[8] However, its explosive warhead was still powerful enough to make a 30 cm (12 in) deep crater in a patch of sand.[5] The smallsin'gijŏn was simply an arrow with a gunpowder pouch attached to it, and had no explosive capabilities. It was launched in multiples of 100 by ahwacha, and had a range of 100 m (330 ft). All gunpowder weapons including thesin'gijŏn used black powder.