Science in Poetry | From firecrackers to guns and cannons, how did gunpowder change the evolution of human history?

New Year's Day

(Song Dynasty) Wang Anshi

The year ends with the sound of firecrackers.

The spring breeze brings warmth to the Tu Su.

The sun shines brightly in every house.

Always replace the old talisman with a new one.

In ancient China, a unique lunar calendar was used to record the change of spring, summer, autumn and winter and the passage of time according to the changes in the phases of the moon. The first day of the first lunar month, also known as the Spring Festival, is regarded as the beginning of the year.

On this day, people burn bamboos to drive away ghosts and evil spirits with the crackling sound of bamboos. However, there are few bamboos in the north, so people set off firecrackers and fireworks instead, and still call firecrackers "crackers".

In 1068, Emperor Shenzong of Song summoned Wang Anshi to the court to take charge of the overall situation. During the Spring Festival of the following year, Wang Anshi, who began to advocate reform, was full of expectations for the new atmosphere of the thriving country, so he wrote this poem.

The sound of firecrackers bid farewell to the old and ushered in the new. In the warm spring breeze of the new year, everyone drank Tusu wine with joy. The rising sun shone on thousands of households, and everyone was busy replacing the peach charms on the door.

This poem involves three things: firecrackers, Tusu wine, and peach charms. This article focuses on the main ingredient in firecrackers and fireworks - black powder, which is known as one of the four great inventions of ancient my country.

The invention and development of black powder

In ancient times, the overall level of material production in society was extremely low. Even the emperors and generals had to rely on plundering the wealth of the lower classes to live a life of wealth and splendor. Due to the inability to resist natural disasters and man-made disasters, the ancients developed various religions and placed their hopes on the power of gods to help them survive years of disaster and famine. Most religions believe in reincarnation.

For the rich and powerful, it was unbearable to be demoted to the lower social class and become a slave or a poor civilian. Therefore, they hoped to be immortal and maintain wealth and splendor forever. Therefore, alchemy was popular, and they were eager to take elixirs to achieve their wishes.

Amid the waves of alchemy craze, an unexpected consequence was that primitive chemistry began to take shape.

Alchemy detonation map

In the Sui Dynasty, the Chinese people invented gunpowder made of saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal. Alchemy commonly uses not only metals but also minerals. Sulfur and saltpeter often appear on the list of materials of alchemists. Because sulfur can change the appearance of other minerals, saltpeter is very suitable for preparing metal solutions.

In the Tang Dynasty, people discovered the prototype of black powder. However, these early black powders were not used in military affairs, but were used for performing arts performances such as spitting fire and smoke.

In the Song Dynasty, the technology of black powder was further improved and began to be initially applied in the military. Gunpowder weapons such as rockets, fireballs, and fire caltrops were developed and promoted, and different gunpowders were prepared according to different military needs. However, due to the defects in the formula of black powder, large-scale military use was still limited, so black powder was still mainly used to make fireworks and firecrackers. "The year is over with the sound of firecrackers" may be the most common scene of encounter between people in the Song Dynasty and black powder.

In the early Yuan Dynasty, bronze fire guns appeared. They had the prototype of cannons and were quite powerful. The bronze fire gun made in the third year of Zhishun in the Yuan Dynasty (1332) and treasured by the Museum of Chinese History is the oldest bronze gun discovered in the world.

Bronze fire gun unearthed from Mingde Gate site in Shangdu, Yuan Dynasty

After the Ming Dynasty, weapons that were the prototypes of modern weapons such as grenades, land mines, and sea mines appeared. Rockets that used gunpowder as propulsion to transport gunpowder to the enemy for explosion also appeared.

Developing in Europe

In contrast, in Europe, due to the constant wars between European countries during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties in China, there was a high demand for weapons research and development, and the black powder introduced from China was constantly improved. As early as 1825, after many experiments, the British chemist Chevreli proposed the best chemical reaction equation for black powder, that is, the best ratio of saltpeter, sulfur and carbon was 74.84%, 11.84% and 11.32%. In addition, Britain took the lead in entering the mechanized and industrialized production stage in the purification, crushing, mixing, pressing and drying processes.

Therefore, it was expected that the Qing government was at a disadvantage in the subsequent First Opium War.

Replaced by yellow gunpowder

However, in the 18th century, the mission of black powder was officially declared over and it withdrew from the stage of history because modern gunpowder (yellow gunpowder) with better performance was born. The discovery of modern gunpowder is the product of the development of chemical technology. They have more stable performance and greater power. Nobel is one of the inventors and improvers of this modern gunpowder. Gunpowder has gradually changed from pyrotechnics to smokeless gunpowder, and gun technology has ushered in rapid development.