Sign-In
Cart
Gunpowder: The History and Legacy of the Explosive that Modernized Warfare
Paperback
Chinese HistoryGeneral European History
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN13: 9798744227890
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: May 7 2021
Pages: 102
Weight: 0.57
Height: 0.21 Width: 8.50 Depth: 11.00
Language: English
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: May 7 2021
Pages: 102
Weight: 0.57
Height: 0.21 Width: 8.50 Depth: 11.00
Language: English
*Includes pictures
*Includes a bibliography for further reading
What gunpowder did for war, the printing press has done for the mind. - Wendell Phillips
The crucial importance of education in China, a prized virtue instilled in the population among all classes by beloved teacher and philosopher Confucius in the 6th century BCE, generated an unprecedented and long-lived golden age of literature and art. It also gave rise to a cornucopia of transformative innovations and groundbreaking technology, particularly following the dawn of the Common Era.
*Includes a bibliography for further reading
What gunpowder did for war, the printing press has done for the mind. - Wendell Phillips
The crucial importance of education in China, a prized virtue instilled in the population among all classes by beloved teacher and philosopher Confucius in the 6th century BCE, generated an unprecedented and long-lived golden age of literature and art. It also gave rise to a cornucopia of transformative innovations and groundbreaking technology, particularly following the dawn of the Common Era.
In addition to the wheelbarrow, the seismograph, the waterwheel, deep drilling, suspension bridges, and ship rudders, among countless other life-changing contraptions, the Chinese developed what were later dubbed the Four Great Inventions of China. One of those was none other than gunpowder, which was developed no later than the 9th century and was being used for military purposes by the 11th century. Its use slowly spread through South Asia and the Middle East before making it to Europe in the late 13th century.
For a time it was a mere curiosity, but its destructive power and military potential would be realized quickly. The first record of a cannon in Europe comes from a manuscript written in 1326, which has an illustration showing an armored man with what looks like a slow match lighting a vase-shaped object. This crude cannon was called a pot de fer in French and vasi in Italian.
While medieval engineers developed new types of cannons and explosives capable of destroying walls and castles, others were making the first handguns possible. European sources first mentioned the widespread use of handgonnes, as they were often called, in the late 14th century, precisely the time when gunpowder became cheaper. These were short metal barrels stuck on the end of wooden hafts that could be tucked under the arm, the powder being lit through a touchhole with the free hand. While they were not terribly accurate and had a shorter range and slower rate of fire than longbows or crossbows, they had the advantage of being better able to punch through armor than longbows and crossbows, and they were simple to make and use. By the late 15th century, handgonners had become a major part of the leading armies, and weapons that relied on gunpowder would remain a staple of warfare throughout the 19th century, paying deadly homage to one of history's most important inventions.
Gunpowder: The History and Legacy of the Explosive that Modernized Warfare examines the origins of the chemical explosive, and its long, winding history across the world. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about gunpowder like never before.
For a time it was a mere curiosity, but its destructive power and military potential would be realized quickly. The first record of a cannon in Europe comes from a manuscript written in 1326, which has an illustration showing an armored man with what looks like a slow match lighting a vase-shaped object. This crude cannon was called a pot de fer in French and vasi in Italian.
While medieval engineers developed new types of cannons and explosives capable of destroying walls and castles, others were making the first handguns possible. European sources first mentioned the widespread use of handgonnes, as they were often called, in the late 14th century, precisely the time when gunpowder became cheaper. These were short metal barrels stuck on the end of wooden hafts that could be tucked under the arm, the powder being lit through a touchhole with the free hand. While they were not terribly accurate and had a shorter range and slower rate of fire than longbows or crossbows, they had the advantage of being better able to punch through armor than longbows and crossbows, and they were simple to make and use. By the late 15th century, handgonners had become a major part of the leading armies, and weapons that relied on gunpowder would remain a staple of warfare throughout the 19th century, paying deadly homage to one of history's most important inventions.
Gunpowder: The History and Legacy of the Explosive that Modernized Warfare examines the origins of the chemical explosive, and its long, winding history across the world. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about gunpowder like never before.
Also in
Chinese History
Hostage on the Yangtze: Britain, China, and the Amethyst Crisis of 1949
Murfett, Malcolm H.
Hardcover
$9.99
China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power
Kristof, Nicholas D.
Wudunn, Sheryl
Paperback
From $8.99
The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology, and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth
Niarchos, Nicolas
Hardcover
$28.80
The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet
Liu, Yi-Ling
Hardcover
$27.00
The Next China Is Still China: An Insider's Playbook for Winning in the New Era
Ngai, Joe
Leung, Nick
Hardcover
$30.40
When America First Met China: An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail
Dolin, Eric Jay
Paperback
$31.99
The Shortest History of China: From the Ancient Dynasties to a Modern Superpower - A Retelling for Our Times
Jaivin, Linda
Paperback
$16.10
The Last Kings of Shanghai: The Rival Jewish Dynasties That Helped Create Modern China
Kaufman, Jonathan
Paperback
$17.10
The Party's Interests Come First: The Life of XI Zhongxun, Father of XI Jinping
Torigian, Joseph
Hardcover
$72.50
A Brief History of China: Dynasty, Revolution and Transformation: From the Middle Kingdom to the People's Republic
Clements, Jonathan
Paperback
$16.14
Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters: Four Dialogues on China's Past, Present, and Future
Bell, Daniel a.
Hardcover
$41.93
Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War
Platt, Stephen R.
Paperback
$18.00
From Frontier Policy to Foreign Policy: The Question of India and the Transformation of Geopolitics in Qing China
Mosca, Matthew
Paperback
$50.75
Beyond the Pass: Economy, Ethnicity, and Empire in Qing Central Asia, 1759-1864
Millward, James A.
Paperback
$50.75
Mao's Great Famine: The History of China's Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-62
Dikötter, Frank
Paperback
$19.00
China Whisperers: The Voices That Have Shaped America's Views of Its Chief Geopolitical Rival
Kaplan, Robert D.
Hardcover
$30.40
The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream
Wood, Michael
Paperback
$24.70
Kingdom of Characters (Pulitzer Prize Finalist): The Language Revolution That Made China Modern
Tsu, Jing
Paperback
$17.10
Collected Writings of Chairman Mao: Volume 3 - On Policy, Practice and Contradiction
Tse-Tung, Mao
Zedong, Mao
Paperback
$18.95
The Man Awakened from Dreams: One Man's Life in a North China Village, 1857-1942
Harrison, Henrietta
Paperback
$24.00
21 Claves Para Entender China En El Siglo XXI / 21 Keys to Understanding China in the 21st Century
Díaz Marro, Adrián
Paperback
$21.80
The Struggle for Taiwan: A History of America, China, and the Island Caught Between
Khan, Sulmaan Wasif
Hardcover
$30.40
Red Star Over the Pacific, Third Edition: China's Rise and the Challenge to U.S. Maritime Strategy
Yoshihara, Toshi
Holmes, James R.
Paperback
$37.95
Why Taiwan Matters: A Short History of a Small Island That Will Dictate Our Future
Brown, Kerry
Hardcover
$28.50
Breaking the Chains: Gender, Context, and the Politics of Writing in Modern China
Limin, Dong
Paperback
$56.00
Foundations of Chinese Civilization: The Yellow Emperor to the Han Dynasty (2697 BCE - 220 CE)
Liu, Jing
Paperback
$14.20
The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu: The Secrets of Kung Fu for Self-Defense, Health, and Enlightenment
Kit, Wong Kiew
Paperback
$18.95
Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution
Zia, Helen
Paperback
$22.80
激流者: 陆海空抗战老兵口述历史合集
赖恩典
Paperback
$83.74
A Dragon's Head and a Serpent's Tail: Ming China and the First Great East Asian War, 1592-1598 Volume 20
Swope, Kenneth M.
Paperback
$37.43
This World in a Teacup: Credit, Taste, and Power in the U.S.-China Tea Trade, 1784-1911
Du, Dan
Hardcover
$98.00
The Fox Spirit, the Stone Maiden, and Other Transgender Histories from Late Imperial China
Sommer, Matthew H.
Paperback
$52.50
Storming the Heavens - Peasants and Revolution in China, 1925-1949 - Viewed through a Marxist Lens
Clegg, Jenny
Paperback
$46.55
The Art of War for Language Learners: A Bilingual Chinese-English Modern Edition of China's Greatest Classic: Sun Tzu's The Art of War (孙ड
Ling, Ling
Tzu, Sun
Robson, Huw
Paperback
$26.24
我所认识的顾准（吴敬琏作序）
徐方
Paperback
$28.79
China's Military Modernization: Assessing China's Weapons and Strategic Reach in the Early 21st Century
Boufesis, Alexandros
Paperback
$28.45
A Geek in China: Discovering the Land of Bullet Trains, Alibaba and Dim Sum
Christensen, Matthew B.
Paperback
$7.59
The Scythian Empire: Central Eurasia and the Birth of the Classical Age from Persia to China
Beckwith, Christopher I.
Paperback
$31.19
The Transpacific Chinese Diaspora: Migration Networks from China to Canada and Beyond, 1788-1898
Chen, Zhongping
Hardcover
$101.50
The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom
Winchester, Simon
Paperback
From $9.99
Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power
French, Howard W.
Paperback
$20.00
The Milk Tea Alliance: Inside Asia's Struggle Against Autocracy and Beijing
Wasserstrom, Jeffrey
Paperback
$17.10
心路: 平凡不平淡的人生
林慕荆
Paperback
$32.49
顶残: 中国市场和产权的构造及逻辑
吴思
Paperback
$24.99