There is not doubt that the Chinese invented gunpowder. The ways in which they used it and how their use of gunpowder differed from the West has been debated. The first known recipe for saltpetre, teh principal ingredient of gunpowder, can be found in a Chinese military manual written by Wu Ching Tsung Yao from 1044 (Burke, 1978). This military manual also gave directions for making a bomb using gunpowder so most historians believe that bombs or grenades were used by Chinese troops from before the 11th century. And, although the Chinese did use gunpowder in fireworks for religious purposes, they also used gunpowder in cannons, rockets, and guns. Rocket arrows were used in 1126 to defend the city of Kaifeng which was the capital of the Sung empire.
Gunpowder was a huge invention by China and with it created bombs, fireworks and the invention later of guns. With out this there would be no guns or any type of explosions. War would still be with swords and bow and arrows. Thanks to the Chinese even more things have been invented because of the development of gunpowder.
What is most striking is how advanced the Chinese were. While the west toiled in the dark ages, the Chinese were developing some of the most important inventions of all times. And the West always believes that they are the best, the most advanced . . . this seems perhaps untrue.
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