Editing Land mine (section)

====East Asia====
[[File:火龍經 明朝 焦玉二 13.jpg|thumb|Chinese illustration of a land mine with eight explosive charges, from the ''[[Huolongjing]]'', 14th century]]
[[File:武備志 茅元儀 明朝 火器五 34.jpg|thumb|A "self-tripped trespass land mine" from the ''[[Wubei Zhi]]'', 1621]]

[[Gunpowder]], an explosive mixture of [[sulfur]], charcoal and [[potassium nitrate]] was invented in China by the 10th century and was used in warfare soon after. An "enormous bomb", credited to Lou Qianxia, was used in 1277 by the Chinese at the Battle of Zhongdu.<ref name=needham192>{{harvnb|Needham|1987|pp=192–193}}</ref>

A 14th-century military treatise, the ''[[Huolongjing]]'' (''Fire Dragon Manual''), describes hollow [[cast iron]] [[Shell (projectile)|cannonball shells]] filled with gunpowder.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 264">{{harvnb|Needham|1987|p=264}}</ref> The wad of the mine was made of hard wood, carrying three different [[fuse (explosives)|fuses]] in case of defective connection to the touch hole. These fuses were long and lit by hand, so they required carefully timed calculations of enemy movements.<ref name=needham192/>

The ''Huolongjing'' also describes land mines that were set off by enemy movement. A {{convert|9|ft|m|0|adj=on}} length of bamboo was waterproofed by wrapping it in cowhide and covering it with oil. It was filled with compressed gunpowder and lead or iron pellets, sealed with wax and concealed in a trench.<ref name=needham192/> The triggering mechanism was not fully described until the early 17th century. When the enemy stepped onto hidden boards, they dislodged a pin, causing a weight to fall. A cord attached to the weight was wrapped around a drum attached to two steel wheels; when the weight fell, the wheels struck sparks against [[flint]], igniting a set of fuses leading to multiple mines. A similar mechanism was used in the first [[wheellock]] [[musket]] in Europe as sketched by [[Leonardo da Vinci]] around 1500 AD.<ref name="needham199">{{harvnb|Needham|1987|p=199}}</ref>

Another victim-operated device was the "underground sky-soaring thunder", which lured bounty hunters with [[halberd]]s, [[pike (weapon)|pike]]s, and [[lance]]s planted in the ground. If they pulled on one of these weapons, the butt end disturbed a bowl underneath and a slow-burning incandescent material in the bowl ignited the fuses.<ref name="needham203">{{harvnb|Needham|1987|pp=203–204}}</ref>{{refn|According to the ''Wubei Huolongjing'' (17th century), the material could burn continuously for 20 to 30 days without going out. Its formula included {{convert|1|lb|abbr=on}} of white sandal wood powder, {{convert|3|oz|abbr=on}} of iron rust ([[ferric oxide]]), {{convert|5|oz|abbr=on}} of "white" charcoal powder (from [[quicklime]]), {{convert|2|oz|abbr=on}} of willow charcoal powder, {{convert|6|oz|abbr=on}} of dried, ground, and powdered red dates, and {{convert|3|oz|abbr=on}} of bran.<ref name="needham203"/>}}