WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Gunpowder is the first explosive to have been developed. Popularly listed as one of the “Four Great Inventions” of China, it was invented during the late Tang dynasty (9th century) while the earliest recorded chemical formula for gunpowder dates to the Song dynasty (11th century).

Detailed explanation-2: -Gunpowder was invented by Chinese Taoist alchemists about 1000 A.D. when they tried to find a potion to gain human immortality by mixing elemental sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter.

Detailed explanation-3: -“Gunpowder, ‘’ as it came to be known, is a mixture of saltpeter (potassium nitrate), sulfur, and charcoal. Together, these materials will burn rapidly and explode as a propellant. Chinese monks discovered the technology in the 9th century CE, during their quest for a life-extending elixir.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Shang dynasty emerged in the 17th century B.C.E. as the first true Chinese dynasty. Its boundaries are shown in gray. To guard against flooding by the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the ancient Shang developed complex forms of irrigation and flood control.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Chinese first used gunpowder in warfare in 904, as incendiary projectiles called “flying fires.” Its use was soon expanded to explosive grenades hurled from catapults.

Detailed explanation-6: -Evidence of the first bronze hand-held gun dates to the early Yuan dynasty, but metal barrels were used as early as the Tang dynasty for fire lances that propelled gunpowder bombs intended to burn targets.