Jiao Miao was a famous firearms theorist in the late Ming Dynasty, and his book "Fire Attack Essentials" had an important impact on the manufacture of firearms in the late Ming and Qing dynasties.

Jiao Miao, a native of Ningguo (now Guichi, Anhui). The date of birth and death and deeds are unknown. He was mainly active in the turmoil at the end of the Ming Dynasty, witnessing the corruption of the government, the lax armament, and the disasters of war and chaos suffered by the people, so he "studied the general's strategy, visited strange people, taught the Western teacher, and more submerged in his own situation, the pros and cons of the situation, and the change of the situation" ("Fire Attack Essentials: Self-Order"), and repeatedly studied the advanced artillery manufacturing technology of the West for the purpose of saving the time. He was a German missionary Johann Adam Schall Von Bell (1591-1666), who came to China in early 1622 to study Chinese in Beijing and later to Xi'an. In 1630, he returned to Beijing to participate in the revision of the calendar, compiled the "Chongzhen Almanac", and was later hired to preside over the manufacture of Western artillery) on the basis of oral teaching of cannon-making technology, on the basis of "the gist of the famous book, the secret transmission of teachers and friends, and the painstaking occasional acquisition, to simplify the complex, delete the floating and collect the real, and explain the mystery to note", and compiled it into "The Essentials of Fire Attack".

"Fire Attack Essentials" was written in the sixteenth year of Chongzhen (1643 AD), the original book is divided into two volumes, with a volume of "Fire Attack Secrets", and the Beijing Library now has a copy of the original publication. During the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, Ding Gongchen, a military technician, corrected the omissions in the book. Soon after, when the military technologist Pan Shicheng edited the "Haishan Xianguan Series", he included two books in it, collectively known as "Fire Attack and Strategy", also known as "Zekelu", which was divided into three volumes, the upper, middle and lower, with a total of about 40,000 words and 27 drawings. In addition, there are also Qing Wang Yusi publications, "Series of Books Integrated Preliminary Edition" and so on. The book mainly introduces the manufacturing and use methods of gunpowder, Western artillery and various firearms, involving metal smelting, machinery manufacturing, and mathematics, physics and chemistry knowledge, reflecting the introduction of Western advanced firearms technology into China, which made China's firearms technology begin to shift from the old kiln (keke) of the theory of yin and yang and the five elements to a new track combining qualitative and quantitative analysis, which is a sign that ancient Chinese firearms have entered a new stage of development.

"Fire Attack Essentials" reflects the idea of Jiao Ao making and using tools. First of all, Jiao Miao believed that although firearms are sharp weapons for destroying the enemy, they must be manufactured properly and used in a proper way in order to truly play a role; "if they cannot be manufactured and cannot defeat the enemy, then one hundred weapons cannot be used" ("Weighing the Enemy's Situation and Weighing the Weapon"). For this reason, he demanded that the tools and tools should be superior to the enemy, or the big should defeat the small, or the long should defeat the short, or the many should defeat the few, or the fine should defeat the coarse, or the good use should win the poor use. Second, Jiao Miao believed that it was not enough for the army to have advanced artillery, but it was also necessary to have virtuous generals, have a strategy for winning in mind, manage the army in a proper way, command the law well, and apply both grace and power to his subordinates, with clear rewards and punishments, so that the soldiers could be bold and skillful, so that they could use artillery to defeat the enemy. Third, Jiao Miao believed that the use of firearms must be at a good time and at a distance between the enemy and the enemy, and if the enemy fires at a distance from the range of the artillery, the consequences of air firing or even when the enemy approaches and the shells are exhausted. Therefore, he demanded that artillery should not be fired lightly and should be fired within an effective firing range, that is, artillery that can fire at a distance of 300 or 400 paces should be released when the enemy is approaching to 50 or 60 paces, and firearms capable of firing 100 paces should be released when the enemy is approaching 20 or 30 paces, so that the enemy can be fully killed. Fourth, Jiao Miao believed that although firearms were powerful, they should not be relied upon, but should be used in conjunction with various weapons, so that "long and short weapons can save each other from afar and defend each other", and "both striking and defending the law can be used" ("Preparation for Rescue and Defense"), so that the enemy can be defeated. It can be seen from this that the exposition of the "Essentials of Fire Attack" on the use of firearms is a step forward from the "Records of Soldiers".