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.
自来火鸟枪
这是一把西洋自来火鸟枪。射击时通过簧轮、燧石碰撞起火，引燃膛内火药发射子弹。枪管铁质，装有木托，绘西洋花蔓草纹，浮雕盾、刀、斧等图案。枪管后部上方嵌木质军人半身像，人像的帽钉、腰带、扣袢用黄金装饰。枪管上用英文标注有枪的制造者和制作地点等信息。枪上系皮质条签，以满、汉、蒙、藏四种文字分别书写“乾隆五十八年八月英咕喇国王热沃尔日恭进自来火鸟枪一杆”。
1793年，马戛尔尼使团携英王乔治三世致乾隆皇帝的国书和西洋礼物来华，在避暑山庄获得中国乾隆皇帝接见，这是英国政府派出的第一个正式访华使团，而这件自来火鸟枪便是进献给乾隆皇帝的国礼之一。由于文化差异，中英两方对于使者是否跪拜皇帝一事各执己见。最终，马戛尔尼以单膝跪地的方式，觐见了乾隆皇帝。
古代中国火药发明与近代西方枪械制造融合产生的自来火鸟枪，成为东西方科技文化交流的有力见证。
