What was invented during the tang dynasty to make fireworks?

One of the great inventions of Ancient China that still affects all of us to this day is gunpowder. Gunpowder was the first explosive creation that mankind had created and it all began on accident in ancient China. Like all four of the great inventions that the Chinese created, gunpowder is still being used today in the 21st Century. Gunpowder though, may be the one being used to the most effect in these days, with the majority of the world fighting a good amount of the time, swords and arrows are no longer used, guns and creations based off of guns rule the modern battlefield and our planet, but how did gunpowder become discovered? The idea of Gunpowder was first documented in 142 AD. The earliest chemical formulas were noted in the Wujing Zongyao, which was a Chinese collection of military information. He spoke of how there was a mixture of three different powders that would cause explosions. He used vivid language stating that the combination would “fly and dance”, it is unknown if he wanted to actually create, gunpowder, as a matter of fact it was documented that he was attempting to make an elixir of immortality. Nonetheless, this creation led to the first ever mention of the concoction. Second in the Chin dynasty, a scientist by the name of Ge Hong wrote down the actual mixture that created gunpowder, which was sulfur, charcoal, saltpeter, he also was able to figure out the majority of the science behind early gunpowder. The biggest evolution in terms of gunpowder happened in the Tang dynasty around 700 AD. At first, gunpowder was used recreationally, at first emperors would create gunpowder in order for firework displays (the Chinese believed that fireworks would scare away evil spirits,) it was no longer just an experiment, now it was being used to full effect. However, a separate use for gunpowder was discovered around 904AD when Chinese inventors realized that gunpowder could be used to create weapons. These weapons were originally used against one of China’s most famous enemies, the Mongols. Chinese soldiers would attach tubes filled with gunpowder’s to the tops of arrows, which would cause flaming explosions; this would strike fear into the hearts of the warriors and horses by the color of the flames, apparently it looked like magic. The first primitive versions of weapons created by gunpowder explosions were rockets. Chinese would put small stones inside bamboo tubes and then light gunpowder in order to fire it off, similar to its usage in the movie Mulan. By the mid 14th century, the explosive potential of gunpowder was perfected by increasing the amount of nitrate in the chemical formula. These improvements were used by the Chinese to develop the round shot (an explosive projectile that can be fired from a cannon) by packing hollow shells with their perfected gunpowder. Jiao Yu documented these military applications of gunpowder in his book Huolongjing. At first, China attempted to keep this development secret, in the mid eleventh century, the government attempted to make gunpowder hardy to create, by banning the sales of saltpeter to foreigners. But by the 1100AD’s the substances had been shipped from the Silk Road all the way to India, the Middle East, and Europe. Pretty soon after, Europeans and other nations were picking up on how to create gunpowder. The Islamic empire and the Roman Empire began to understand how to use gunpowder, eventually Europeans learned of gunpowder and used it to great effect, being able to conquer Countries that had no experience with the new development.

Sources http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/war/gunpowder.htm http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/focus/inventions.htm http://asianhistory.about.com/od/asianinventions/a/InventGunpowder.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_gunpowder

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Four Great Inventions of Ancient China China held the world's leading position in many fields in the study of nature, from the 1st century before Christ to the 15th century, with the four great inventions having the greatest global significance. Papermaking, printing, gunpowder and the compass - the four great inventions of ancient China-are significant contributions of the Chinese nation to world civilization. Four Great Inventions of Ancient China - Paper China was the first nation to invent paper. Before its invention, words were written on various natural materials by ancient peoples-on grass stalks by the Egyptians, on earthen plates by the Mesopotamians, on tree leaves by the Indians, on sheepskin by the Europeans and strangest of all, even inscribed on bamboo or wooden strips, tortoise shells or shoulder blades of an ox by the early Chinese. Later, inspired by the process of silk reeling, the people in ancient China succeeded in first making a kind of paper called "bo" out of silk. But its production was very expensive due to the scarcity of materials. In the early days of the 2nd century, a court official named Cai Lun produced a new kind of paper from bark, rags, wheat stalks and other materials. It was relatively cheap, light, thin, durable and more suitable for brush writing. At the beginning of the 3rd century, the paper making process first spread to Korea and then to Japan. It reached the Arab world in the Tang Dynasty, and Europe in the 12th century. In the16th century, it went to America by way of Europe and then gradually spread all over the world. Before paper was invented, Qin Shihuang, the first emperor in Chinese history, had to go over 120 kilos of official documents written on bamboo or wooden strips. A paper map in Western Han Dynasty, unearthed in Tianshui, Gansu Province, in 1986 Four Great Inventions of Ancient China - Printing Printed in Tang DynastyA Buddhist sutra is the first book in the world with a verifiable date of printing. Before the invention of printing, dissemination of knowledge depended either on word of mouth or handwritten copies of manuscripts. Both took time and were liable to error. Beginning 2000 years ago in the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.--- 25 A.D.), stone-tablet rubbing was in vogue for spreading Confucian classics or Buddhist sutras. This led in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) to the practice of engraving writing or pictures on a wooden board, smearing it with ink and then printing on pieces of paper page-by-page. This became known as block printing. The first book with a verifiable date of printing appeared in China in the year 868, or nearly 600 years before that happened in Europe. In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), this technology was gradually introduced to Korea, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines. Yet block printing had its drawbacks. All the boards became useless after the printing was done and a single mistake in carving could ruin a whole block. In 1041-1048 of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), a man named Bi Sheng carved individual characters on identical pieces of fine clay which he hardened by a slow baking process, resulting in pieces of movable type. When the printing was finished, the pieces of type were put away for future use. This technology then spread to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Europe. Later, German Johann Gutenberg invented movable type made of metal in 1440-1448. Four Great Inventions of Ancient China - Gunpowder Credit for the invention of gunpowder also goes to ancient China. Ancient necromancers discovered in their practice of alchemy, that an explosion could be induced if certain kinds of ores and fuel were mixed in the right proportions and heated, thus leading to the invention of gunpowder. In the Collection of the Most Important Military Techniques, edited in 1044 by Zeng Gongliang, three formulas for making gunpowder were recorded; an explosive mixture of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal. Dr. Needham identified these as the earliest formulas of such a kind. The method of powder-making was introduced to the Arab world in the 12th century and to Europe in the 14th. Gunpowder was originally used for making fireworks and its later adaptation revolutionized warfare across the world. Ancient necromaniers put minerals and plants together, hoping to make some medecine to keep alive forever Flying firearrows(Tang Dynasty) GrenadesSong Dynasty Bronze canonsYuan Dynasty Four Great Inventions of Ancient China - the Compass  Sinan (Warring States Period)the earliest guide tool in the world The compass, an indispensable navigational tool, was another significant gift from ancient China. While mining ores and melting copper and iron, people chanced upon a natural magnetite that attracted iron and pointed fixedly north. After constant improvement the round compass came into being. Dr. Needham cites one of the first books to describe the magnetic compass, Dream Pool Essays (1086) by Shen Kuo in the Song Dynasty, about 100 years earlier than its first record in Europe by Alexander Neekam in 1190. The compass was introduced to the Arab world and Europe during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). Before its invention, navigators had to depend on the positions of the sun, the moon and the polestar for their bearings. The spread of the compass to Europe opened the oceans of the world to travel and led to the discovery of the New World. Thus, it was no wonder that Francis Bacon, the English philosopher, pointed out in his work The New Instruments, that the invention of printing, gunpowder and the compass reshaped the world. In his words, they outstripped any empire, any religious belief and any heavenly body in exerting an impact on all humanity.      Three earliest compasses:

An etching of royal fireworks over Whitehall in 1749, the occasion for which George Frideric Handel composed his Music for the Royal Fireworks.

Image Credit: Public Domain

Fireworks have been used to light up the night sky as part of celebrations and festivities for virtually as long as they have existed. Dating back to Tang dynasty China (618-907 AD), it took nearly a millennia for scientists and chemists to transform these early iterations into the fireworks which awe us today.

From the early use of fireworks as military smoke signals to the glorious public displays of the modern era, human fascination with explosions has never waned.

Here is a short history of fireworks.

The invention of gunpowder

The history of fireworks is intrinsically linked to the invention of gunpowder. Gunpowder was invented in the first millennium AD in China. Various iterations crop up from the 2nd century AD, but by the time of the Tang dynasty, a relatively standard formula involving sulphur and saltpetre was in place.

Fireworks, a side product of gunpowder, became associated with festivities during the Song dynasty (960-1279). Pyrotechnicians became well-respected and sought after as masters of their craft: they were able to use complex and often dangerous techniques to mount extremely impressive displays for the emperor and his court.

And during the Song dynasty, ordinary Chinese citizens also gained access to basic forms of fireworks, which could be purchased readily at markets. Firecrackers were also used as popular forms of entertainment.

An illustration of a fireworks display from the 1628-1643 edition of the Ming dynasty book Jin Ping Mei.

Sharing knowledge

Gunpowder was an invention that remained exclusive to China for centuries. It’s known that Arabs acquired knowledge of gunpowder and its potential uses by 1240. Through trade and warfare, Europeans also discovered the deadly uses of gunpowder, although many struggled to replicate the chemical formula for several years afterwards.

The first Syrian to write about Chinese fireworks and rockets described them as ‘Chinese flowers’ due to the way they unfurled and exploded in the air.

Marco Polo, the famous Italian explorer, was also interested by the firecrackers and fireworks he saw on his travels. He brought some back to Italy in 1292, and for the next 200 or so years, scientists and craftsmen in Italy in particular began to study and develop their own fireworks.

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Experimenting with colour

It had long been known that adding certain substances or chemicals to fire could cause colour changes. Originally, chemicals and pigments were added to gunpowder to create different shades of smoke for use as military signals: arsenical sulphide for yellow, copper acetate (verdigris) for green, lead carbonate for lilac-white and mercurous chloride (calomel) for white.

Europeans struggled somewhat with colouring fireworks, though, and Chinese displays continued to impress European travellers, ambassadors and merchants on their visits to China. It was only almost a millennia after their first development, around 1830, that Italian chemists finally cracked complex colour combinations and additions using the process of oxidation, which emits bright colours.

Exclusively for royalty

For a long time, fireworks displays were the reserve of royalty and the super-elite, both in Europe and China: expensive, complex and difficult, they required huge amounts of money and expert knowledge. Elizabeth I was so enamoured of fireworks she even created the role of ‘firemaster’ in her court.

There are records showing major fireworks displays at Versailles, at coronations of various European royals and as part of large-scale religious festivities or celebrations of military victory.

European courts used fireworks in a number of different ways: some were included as part of elaborate set pieces of plays, others were designed to be astrological in nature, whilst others were used to illuminate royal palaces and gardens. It was only in the 19th century that fireworks became cheaper, safer and easier to use.

To America

Legend has it that Captain John Smith, one of the earliest Englishmen to settle in America, set off the first fireworks display on American soil in Jamestown, Virginia in 1608. Fireworks were set off to celebrate American independence, marking the start of what has become a long tradition of elaborate fireworks displays on the Fourth of July every year.

Many found their first experience of fireworks terrifying: early fireworks were a lot less controlled and more chaotic than ones today. The combination of noise, fire, explosions and smoke caused some to think the apocalypse had arrived, and that the heavens were falling to earth.

‘Fireworks Like Flowers in Bloom at Ryōgoku Bridge in the Eastern Capital’ by Utagawa Toyoharu

Mass production and regulation

It was in the 1830s that the first recognisably modern fireworks were produced. As fascination grew with Chinese and East Asian culture from the late 18th century and into the 19th, so too did the popularity of fireworks. They became cheaper to produce, making them affordable for ordinary people too, to the point where fireworks were available in ordinary shops across the world.

Fireworks continue to be used to mark key events, including the famous Fourth of July celebrations, the turn of the New Year, and in England, Bonfire Night, commemorating Guy Fawkes’ thwarted attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament with gunpowder.

Regulations surrounding the use of fireworks only really came into force in the early 20th century, after numerous incidents where people hurt themselves or others, as well as causing noise pollution. Today, the sale and use of fireworks is regulated to a certain degree, although thousands of people continue to injure themselves setting them off every year.

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