History of the Gun and Gunpowder

[poliss]

Think the Chinese invented gunpowder? Think again. Have you ever heard of a 'disappearing' gun? Thought shrapnel was just bits of exploding shells?
The NZ's Artillery History website will put you right.
http://riv.co.nz/rnza/ochist.htm

[EtchedPixels]

Think the Chinese invented gunpowder? Think again. Have you ever heard of a 'disappearing' gun? Thought shrapnel was just bits of exploding shells?
The NZ's Artillery History website will put you right.
http://riv.co.nz/rnza/ochist.htm

There are written records of the receipe in existence today from Chinese works from about 1044. I can't tell if the site is a spoof or just wrong, or partly right or what - no references either on the bit I glanced at which isn't a good sign.

[poliss]

References:  Information on 18th century and early 19th century practice came from Diderot's Encyclopédie (1763) and Rees' Cyclopaedia (1819), passim. J. R. Partington, A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1999) is authoritative on the origins of gunpowder. B. H. St.J. O'Neil, Castles and Cannon (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1960) has information on medieval British castles and cannon, with a few illustrations of early cannon. Louis Napoleon's (Napoleon III) Études sur le Passé et l'Avenir de l'Artillerie (1862, reprinted 1974), William Y. Carman A History of Firearms to 1914 (1955). Robins' ballistic pendulum is described in James Wilson, Mathematical Tracts of the Late Benjamin Robins Esq. FRS (1761). [Robins came from a quaker family of Bath. The quakers did not esteem mathematics or science, but his gifts were recognised by others who fostered his abilities. His first paper, on Newton's fluxions, was published in the Philisophical Transactions in 1727. Robins' work is good evidence of the revolution in Physics ignited by Newton.] Baxter and Johnson's Medieval Latin Word List was also consulted. The literature of the subject is huge, and the bibliography in Partington should be consulted for more information. I only list here the references that I consulted directly for this paper

[EtchedPixels]

The reference that is "authoritative" is btw 1960 not 1999 - that's just a reprint long after his death. And Partington doesn't say that there are no chinese records of gunpowder which is what the article did say.

Although the gunpowder entry seems to have vanished on that site....

[poliss]

Earlier in the article it says "A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder (Cambridge: Heffer, 1960 and Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1999)."
http://mysite.du.edu/~jcalvert/tech/cannon.htm

Not being able to read Traditional Chinese nor having subjected the manuscripts and ink scientifically for authentic dates I cannot say what the Chinese are referring to.

[Blooregard]

Thats a good site, bookmarked for later enjoyment as its a subject I am interested in.

The early evolution of the "Gonne" is something I find particularly interesting. My favourite author in the field is Ian Hogg who also attributes the first undisputed mention of what we know as gunpowder to Richard Bacons anagram. I am certain similar pyrotechnic concoctions existed all over the world but they often had other things thrown in that retarded the effect.