I have read some things that don't seem true about the Chinese opposing English and other western forces during the 19th century and early 20th. What seems to be true is that China was very aware of the deficiencies of their native manufacturing of weapon and purchased not only guns from Krupp but also had German military advisors and sent their own officers for training in Germany.
One baffling thing I read but can't find via searching on things like "Chinese aimed guns above ships" is that indeed, for some reason like they felt the "spirit" of the ship was above it, did not aim at the ship itself or its sails.
If there is evidence of this, perhaps it was simply not knowing how to use guns or even attempted to have the shrapnel most effectively spread against sailors on deck. Or even these were humane warning shots that were misinterpreted by the Europeans.
Is there any evidence of this tactic and an explanation for it?
EDIT: I meant to say, they aimed to hit above the ship, not that they pointed the gun at a point above the ship to take into account gravity. Anyone who has fired a rifle understands this as well as the effects of wind and it is clearly not what I am asking about.
I know also that the Spanish deliberately aimed at sails to quickly disable the ship and also so that the ships, worth a lot of money, could be captured, not merely sunk but this is also not what the Chinese were doing.
