Gunpowder was an invention of unintended consequences. In an example of supreme irony, the creators of gunpowder wanted an elixir to cure illness and prolong life. Indeed, one of the early names of what would become gunpowder was, in English, "fire medicine."

Historians generally credit Taoist monks in China with the invention. The monks mixed charcoal, saltpeter (potassium nitrate), and sulfur and discovered that the mixture would burn and, further, explode. Rudimentary gunpowder was born.

Despite the pacific intentions of its creators, gunpowder soon emerged as a weapon of destruction. The first known use of gunpowder as a weapon is thought to be in the early 10th Century, during the Tang Dynasty. A chemical formula (with saltpeter being far and away the most prevalent ingredient) for the incendiary combination appeared in the mid-11th Century. (Some early combinations included other ingredients, such as garlic and honey.)

Early military uses included the fire arrow, fired from a bow or crossbow with the shaft of the arrow carrying a bag of gunpowder. Larger versions existed alongside progenitors of rockets and cannons that were handheld. The range on such devices was recorded as several hundred feet. Use of such weapons was not confined to land-based combat: Some accounts record naval battles that featured sailors using fire arrows to turn back attacks. Later warships sported trebuchets hurling thunderclap bombs at enemies.