Invention of Gunpowder, Research Paper Example

The two decades between1600-1625 was characterized by four great inventions in China which were used to celebrate the culture of China as a result of the historical significance as well as an epitome of advancement in science and technology in ancient China. These great inventions included the compass, the gunpowder, papermaking and printing. The four great inventions were associated with a significant impact on civilization development on an international context. Although there are other inventions that have been documented by scholars to have influenced Chinese civilization and considered as more sophisticated, the four mentioned civilization are remarkably important as they play a critical role in highlighting the interaction of the West and the East in terms of technology. This research project posits to critically look in to the invention of gunpowder.

Weaponry has always been a major factor in every nation’s pursuits of technological advancement. The world has always been on an arms race among nations seeking to either ensure their citizens are well protected or to expand their territories. The growth of warfare therefore can be traced back to the early weapon technologies like the invention of gunpowder. This makes it imperative to have a clear understanding of this technology and how it affected ancient civilization in China.

The gunpowder is one of the rear substances whose effect marked a profound impact in the human history. Furthermore, the discovery of gunpowder was done through a mistake. The ancient Chinese chemists had already spent substantial time in a quest of discovery of a life elixir with capabilities to make its user to be immortal. Several instances of the trial were associated with failures and a crucial ingredient in this failed elixirs involved the saltpeter, which is also termed as potassium nitrate. At the 850 A.D epoch of Tang Dynasty, an inventive chemist whose name is unknown composed a mixture 15 parts of charcoal, 10 parts of sulfur and 75 parts of potassium nitrate which lacked any perceptible life-lengthening characteristics. This mixture had the capabilities of explosion on exposure to open flame. A text of that epoch indicated that, the result of this mixture was flames and smoke that burnt the faces as well as the hands of the alchemists including the house in which the procedure was being carried out. According to the documented literature in majority of the history books, this invention was used by the Chinese to discover more on fireworks, although the authenticity of the story is unverifiable.

These discoveries that led to the invention of gunpowder are associated with the ninth century Tang dynasty much earlier than the time of documentation of the earliest written formula which is thought to coincide with the era of the Song Dynasty around 11^th century. Consequently, the exact time of gunpowder invention is unclear because historical documentation came much later than the projected time of gun discovery. The generally acceptable academic consent indicates that the formulation of gunpowder appeared around 9the century. During the time of documentation of Song Dynasty treaties that took place around 1044 AD, the formulas of gunpowder that were documented by the Chinese indicated that 27 – 50 percent was nitrate.

The military of the Song Dynasty made use of the devices of gunpowder in 940 A.D to fight the Mongols who were their most detested enemy. The weapons in this regard entailed the flying fire, also called the fei huo in China, whose meaning is flaming medicine and arrows that were equipped with framing tubes with gunpowder that was affixed to a shaft. The arrows of flying fires composed of tiny rockets that had self propelling capabilities to reach the ranks of the enemy and caused significant terror to people and their horses. This was generally perceived as awesome magic to the warriors who were forced to endure the power associated with gunpowder. The Song Dynasty military also made use of the gunpowder in the land mines, hand grenades, poisonous gas shells as well as flame throwers. The initial pieces of artillery involved tubes of rocket that were constructed with the use of open ended bamboo which later underwent some upgrade to cast metal. According to Robin Yates who was a professor at the University of McGill, the first canon illustration in the world was associated with the Song Dynasty of China through some artwork of paintings that was produced 1127 A.D. this was an important portrayal of one and a half century prior to the production of pieces of artillery by the Europeans although guns that make use of gunpowder is considered to be one of the oldest technologies that has its application to date. The technology behind the gun involves igniting the gunpowder by means of a lit fuse that leads to an explosion thus shooting a ball away at very high speed.

Between the middle and later part of 11^th century, concerns were rising in Song government with regard to the high proliferation of gunpowder technology to other regions outside China. The demand of potassium nitrate was skyrocketing at a tremendous rate leading to its ban in 1076. The ideas of miraculous actions associated with this substance had permeated to the Middle East, Europe as well as India. One European writer documented the gunpowder in writing in 1267 and the primary recipes of the mixture of explosion were put in to writing in Western countries in 1280 thus releasing the secret of the Chinese in as far as the gunpowder technology was concerned.

Over a period of many centuries, the Chinese people have engaged in many inventions that have profoundly affected the culture of human beings. The inventions of magnetic compass, the silk and paper have proliferated in many regions across the globe with their associated impacts. However, none has matched the effects associated with gunpowder positively or negatively.

Items like paper, the magnetic compass, and silk have diffused around the world. None of those inventions, however, have had quite the impact that gunpowder has, for good and for bad.

Gunpowder was discovered in the 9th century by Chinese alchemists searching for an elixir of immortality.[18] By the time the Song Dynasty treatise, Wujing Zongyao (????), was written by Zeng Gongliang and Yang Weide in AD 1044, the various Chinese formulas for gunpowder held levels of nitrate in the range of 27% to 50%.[19] By the end of the 12th century, Chinese formulas of gunpowder had a level of nitrate capable of bursting through cast iron metal containers, in the form of the earliest hollow, gunpowder-filled grenade bombs.[20]

In AD 1280, the bomb store of the large gunpowder arsenal at Weiyang accidentally caught fire, which produced such a massive explosion that a team of Chinese inspectors at the site a week later deduced that some 100 guards had been killed instantly, with wooden beams and pillars blown sky high and landing at a distance of over 10 li (~2 mi. or ~3.2 km) away from the explosion.[21]

By the time of Jiao Yu and his Huolongjing (a book written by Jiao Yu that describes military applications of gunpowder in great detail) in the mid 14th century, the explosive potential of gunpowder was perfected, as the level of nitrate in gunpowder formulas had risen to a range of 12% to 91%,[19] with at least 6 different formulas in use that are considered to have maximum explosive potential for gunpowder.[19] By that time, the Chinese had discovered how to create explosive round shot by packing their hollow shells with this nitrate-enhanced gunpowder

In Chinese, gunpowder is called huo yao, meaning flaming medicine. Unlike paper and printing, the birth of gunpowder was quite accidental. It was first invented inadvertently by alchemists while attempting to make an elixir of immorality. It was a mixture of sulphur, saltpeter, and charcoal. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, gunpowder was being used in military affairs. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, frequent wars spurred the development of cannons, and fire-arrows shot from bamboo tubes.

In the 12th and 13th centuries, gunpowder spread to the Arab countries, then Greece, other European countries, and finally all over the world.