29 Gunpowder in Medieval China

Introduction

Gunpowder based weaponry is ubiquitous in modern warfare. Be it in bullets, mortar shells, or torpedoes, gunpowder has been used to launch projectiles into enemy territory for hundreds of years. Bows, catapults, and all other early projectile weapons could also be launched from afar, but none of them were as effective. Gunpowder could launch things farther and faster while also keeping the projectile on fire. Early gunpowder didn’t explode, but would burn and wouldn’t be put out when shot on an arrow. Over the course of hundreds of years though, the formula was researched, understood, and changed to be more potent. This more reactive gunpowder led to the creation of early firearms and cannons. As these technologies were being developed, the Chinese used them to fend off the Mongols, who in turn used them to attack Northern Asia, West Europe, and the Middle East. Because of the Mongols’ conquest, the knowledge of gunpowder weapons spread like wildfire and became the staple of war we all know today.

Connection to STS

Before the invention of gunpowder and its application in war, the Mongols and their calvary were a terrifying threat for the Chinese. Using only infantry, bowmen, and catapults, it was difficult to fend off hundreds of men on horseback. Gunpowder slowly changed this dynamic though. After the discovery of gunpowder, bows and catapults were made better by their ability to carry fire, but that wasn’t enough. The need for a different weapon prompted the invention of the first firearms. Using one of these early guns, a single foot soldier could kill men and horses with ease. When you scaled up the size of the barrel, gunpowder, and projectile, you could take down walls with only a few cannonballs. These early guns and cannons greatly strengthened the Chinese military and gave them dominance over the Mongols. After a Chinese general defected and supplied the Mongols with guns, cannons, and other gunpowder weapons, the Mongols were able to capture dozens of towns and cities without any substantial losses (Haw, 2013). The result of these victories was not enduring Mongol supremacy, but instead the spread of gunpowder technology to everyone they conquered. Ultimately, gunpowder weapons were so much more destructive than other weapons at the time that they easily defeated and terrified any enemies.

Invention and early weapons

Gunpowder is essentially a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and niter. Depending on the mixture you use, and most importantly the concentration of niter, the resulting gunpowder could burn softly for an extended period or flare and burn up instantly. Additionally, if the gunpowder is contained when ignited, it will explode. Not all of this was discovered at

once though. Early Chinese alchemists, seeking immortality, frequently used niter and sulfur in their experiments because they were viewed as complementary feminine and masculine ingredients. Due to this, it is probable that exploding niter-containing mixtures had been created as early as the fourth century. The earliest recorded evidence though is by Hongjing Tao from the fifth century when he confirmed that his sample was “genuine niter” by burning it and seeing if the smoke created was purple. From this, we can conclude that they knew how to create and isolate niter and were experimenting with it (Zheng, 2021). The earliest forms of gunpowder they created were far too reactive to be stored or realistically used. They used a “temperature lowering” method common at the time to reduce the reactivity and create a much more usable product. There were a handful of different temperature lowering methods, but they all involved a few similar steps. They would grind the sulfur and niter together, put the powder into a pot. They would then place burning, carbon dense material (normally seeds or charcoal) into the pot. After that burned away, they would extinguish the fire. The product would be “temperature lowered sulfur” which was much more stable and would burn instead of explode. While they were testing these methods, they unintentionally discovered the explosive properties of gunpowder and, while it didn’t provide them with immortality, it did prove very useful in warfare.

Evolution of firearms

Initially, the less reactive gunpowder was used to light arrows and catapult flaming projectiles. For some gunpowder, arsenic was added so that the fumes that came from the arrows and debris would be toxic to those who inhaled them. Gunpowder wasn’t only applied to existing weapons though. The first weapon based around gunpowder was the fire-lance, a tube  filled with gunpowder and debris. When ignited, the fire-lance would spout fire and projectiles at high speed. The gunpowder could be laced with arsenic or more toxic chemicals that would burn and kill anyone within the 150 foot range of the more advanced fire-lances. Despite being effective as it was, this weapon served as the basis for early guns, cannons, flamethrowers, and rockets. Rockets were the same as fire-lances, but reversed. The gunpowder in the barrel was ignited and without something holding it, it would fly forward and when the fire reached the head, the rest of the gunpowder would explode. Guns and cannons focused on the projectile aspect of the fire-lance, trading the debris for a single projectile with the gunpowder packed tightly behind it. Finally the Flamethrowers abandoned the projectiles and used less explosive and longer burning gunpowder to spit fire out of the barrel. While the Chinese first invented and innovated gunpowder weapons, their main threat was the Mongols who never used gunpowder weapons against the Chinese. This led to a long period without any significant innovation in Chinese weaponry. Once firearms made it to Europe though, the constant conflict and universal adoption of firearms in battle led to Europeans creating more advanced weapons. Around the year 1500, these improved firearms made it to China and led to China ceasing the independent production of firearms in China (Haw, 2013).  China began to purchase weapons from the Europeans.

Conclusion

The discovery of gunpowder sparked a revolution in the way that war was fought. The early firearms allowed the Chinese to fend off the Mongols’ calvary and the later guns and cannons tore down castles and dominated the battlefield. Today’s weapons are far more powerful, and some have abandoned gunpowder for stronger explosives or means of propulsion, but almost every modern weapon descended from a rocket, cannon, or gun.

AI Use Disclosure

I used scite.ai to help me find information about Gunpowder in Medieval China that fits the goals of this textbook chapter. It gave me sources from more culturally diverse sources. I then used the other sources I had gathered to apply other elements to the chapter.

scite.ai.  (2023). scite.ai (beta version) [Large Language Model].  https://scite.ai/assistant

References

Clements, Johnathan. (2019). A Brief History of China : Dynasty, Revolution and Transformation: From the Middle Kingdom to the People’s Republic. Tuttle Publishing.

Haw, S. (2013). The Mongol Empire – the first ‘gunpowder empire’? Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 23(3), 441-469. doi:10.1017/S1356186313000369

Noordam, B. (2023) Chinese Volley Fire and Metanarratives of World History. Project Muse, 34(3), 330-368.

TED-Ed. (2013, November 4). The deadly irony of gunpowder – Eric Rosado

. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqHVRgCkCDE

Zheng, C. (2021). Gunpowder and Firearms in Ancient China. In: Jiang, X. (eds) A New Phase of Systematic Development of Scientific Theories in China. History of Science and Technology in China. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-7844-1_11

Images

“Black Powder in a Glass Jar (Moscow, Russia)” by Lord Mountbatten is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0