this is considered one of the greatest inventions in ancient China together with papermaking, printing

and compass.

this is gunpowder or also known hou yao in Chinese that means flaming medicine.

it is said that the birth of this was accidental, it was in that time when the ancient Chinese alchemists
tried to invent an elixir of immortality.

the mixture was sulfur saltpeter also known as potassium nitrate and charcoal.

sulfur from the mining of yellowish colored rocks out of the earth or .

Charcoal from the process of slowly burning the wood until it blackened and turn into a carbon without
completely burning it.

potassium nitrate is from the animal manures that they preserved until it decays.

this are crystals formed on top of the manure.

this also naturally occurs at caves and simply just be mined,

it was said that this combination would “fly and dance” violently.

so instead of a life-lengthening elixir the mixture flashes and bangs when it is exposed to fire.

this is the first explosive created by mankind.

since there was a war the gunpowder was a great use for military affairs.

they had many applications for it, some of them are the flying fire arrows, primitive hand grenades,
poison gas shells, flamethrowers, and explosive landmines or what they called zha pao.

they also created the first rockets, that ignites when fuses.

the other use of gunpowder is well known this is the fireworks they use this for celebrations for their
belief that this could drive evil spirits away.