Huoxilüe 火戲略

Huoxilüe 火戲略 "Fire games" is a book on the production of firecrackers written during the high Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Zhao Xuemin 趙學敏 (c. 1717-1805), courtesy name Yiji 依吉, style Shuxuan 恕軒, from Qiantang 錢塘, Zhejiang. He is also known for his commentary Bencao gangmu shiyi 本草綱目拾遺 on materia medica and the medical book Chuanya 串雅. The Huoxilüe, finished in 1753, is based on the information Zhao got from firecracker producers (yanhuo zuofang 煙火作坊).

Gunpowder production was well-known in the Song period 宋 (960-1279), and from the Southern Song period 南宋 (1127-1279) on, fireworks became a form of entertainment in the imperial palace and beyond. In the Ming period 明 (1368-1644), fireworks imitated martial encounters like the battle of Xiangyang 襄陽.

The Huoxilü is the only written document describing the production of gunpowder and firecrackers. It is divided into 28 brief chapters explaining components, production and treatment of gunpowder. For the production of firecrackers craftsmen used fuses, paper wrappings, and tubes. In addition to that, firecrackers needed specific compositions of ingredients to achieve special effects.

A manuscript of the text is owned by the Tianjin Renmin Tushuguan 天津人民圖書館. The text is also included in the series Zhaodai congshu 昭代叢書.