Fowling Piece

This gun is a European fowling piece. When firing, the wheellock and the flint collide to ignite the gunpowder in the firing chamber to shoot the bullet. The fowling piece features an iron gun barrel equipped with a wooden support painted with arabesque patterns and embossed with shields, knives, axes and other motifs.

A wooden bust of a soldier is embedded above the rear of the barrel, with cap nails, belt, and buckle loop decorated with gold. The barrel is marked with information in English such as the gun's maker and production location.

The gun is tied with a leather label, carrying words in Manchu, Han, Mongolian and Tibetan scripts, translated as "a fowling piece presented by King George III of England as a gift to his majesty in the eighth month of the 58th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign".

In 1793, a mission led by Earl George Macartney visited China, with a letter and gifts from King George III to Emperor Qianlong.

As the first official diplomatic delegation sent by the British government to China, they were received by Emperor Qianlong at Chengde Mountain Resort. This fowling piece was one of the state gifts presented to Emperor Qianlong. Due to cultural clashes, the two sides had disagreements on whether the British envoys should kneel to the Chinese emperor. In the end, Macartney knelt on one knee when being granted an audience with Emperor Qianlong.

A combination of gunpowder invented in ancient China and modern firearm manufacturing technology of the West, the fowling piece speaks volumes for East-West exchanges in science, technology and culture.

自來火鳥槍

這是一把西洋自來火鳥槍。射擊時(shí)通過簧輪、燧石碰撞起火，引燃膛內(nèi)火藥發(fā)射子彈。槍管鐵質(zhì)，裝有木托，繪西洋花蔓草紋，浮雕盾、刀、斧等圖案。槍管后部上方嵌木質(zhì)軍人半身像，人像的帽釘、腰帶、扣袢用黃金裝飾。槍管上用英文標(biāo)注有槍的制造者和制作地點(diǎn)等信息。槍上系皮質(zhì)條簽，以滿、漢、蒙、藏四種文字分別書寫“乾隆五十八年八月英咕喇國王熱沃爾日恭進(jìn)自來火鳥槍一桿”。

1793年，馬戛爾尼使團(tuán)攜英王喬治三世致乾隆皇帝的國書和西洋禮物來華，在避暑山莊獲得中國乾隆皇帝接見，這是英國政府派出的第一個(gè)正式訪華使團(tuán)，而這件自來火鳥槍便是進(jìn)獻(xiàn)給乾隆皇帝的國禮之一。由于文化差異，中英兩方對(duì)于使者是否跪拜皇帝一事各執(zhí)己見。最終，馬戛爾尼以單膝跪地的方式，覲見了乾隆皇帝。

古代中國火藥發(fā)明與近代西方槍械制造融合產(chǎn)生的自來火鳥槍，成為東西方科技文化交流的有力見證。