dynasty. In the early 12th century AD, Kang Yuzhi recorded his memories of military commanders testing out fierce oil fire on a small lakelet. They would spray it about on the opposite bank that represented the enemy camp. The flames would ignite into a sheet of flame, destroying the wooden fortifications, and even killing the water plants, fishes and turtles. In 1126 AD, the Song dynasty used flamethrowers in an attempt to prevent the Jurchen Jin dynasty army from crossing the Yellow River. Illustrations and descriptions of mobile flamethrowers on four-wheel push carts were documented in the Wujing Zongyao, written in 1044 AD (its illustration redrawn in 1601 as well). References Bibliography . Chinese inventions Flamethrowers Medieval weapons Military history of the Song dynasty Weapons of China