The invention of gunpowder dates back to antiquity, although some researchers question this. Allegedly before the conquests of Genghis Khan and Batu, the occupation of Britain and the Crusades, in early medieval China, somewhere in the mountains of Tibet, Taoist monks were looking for the secrets of youth and discovered an explosive called gunpowder. But since this substance consists of saltpeter, sulfur and coal, doubts arise - what do these chemical elements, far from biology, have to do with youth?

Try to "taste" a pinch of sulfur or saltpeter - even the inquisitors cannot imagine a more painful death! Perhaps the monks pressed by the emperors created the explosive? Then everything falls into place - people continue to die as if nothing had happened, because the elixir of immortality was never invented, and Tibetan monasteries remain inaccessible. And not at all because the ancient gods keep them, but because the monks knew how to protect them well. After all, not for fun, instead of being in prayer nirvana, they were trained in martial arts.

Religious rituals in China using "fireworks"

The rumble of thunder, the crackle of trees breaking during a storm, the rumble of stones rolling down during a rockfall - the rampant of the elements always frightened a person, instilling in him horror of the power of nature. In order to appease the gods, with whom people associated natural phenomena, they offered them sacrifices, arranged ritual festivals.

Imitating the sounds and phenomena of nature and in order to attract the attention of the malevolent gods, during the performance of the priests of the cults, they created a similar entourage. Bonfires were lit into which they threw chopped green bamboo stalks saturated with juice. Boiling, the vapors of juice tore the stick with a loud crack. Until now, there are beliefs in China that these sounds are able to drive away evil spirits from the house.

The invention of fireworks

True or not, the whole world is convinced that fireworks, like gunpowder, were invented in China. Of course! Where else, if not in a mysterious country, fenced off from the outside world by a wall several thousand kilometers long ?! But let it remain on the conscience of the Chinese, after all, every nation dreams of being considered exceptional. It is unlikely that the monks were looking for entertainment, because not for this they climbed the inaccessible mountain peaks and built their fortress-monasteries.
Most likely, when they discovered gunpowder, they figured out that it could make excellent shells. Why pour molten resin on the heads of enemies storming the fortress, if you can blow them up with gunpowder? And for filling the charges, bamboo branches will do, but fireworks are a side product to combat firecrackers. If we remember that most of the scientific discoveries that were further used in the national economy and for entertainment came to us from the military-industrial complex, this assumption seems quite logical.