Individual Assignment Section1

The Early History of Fireworks

            China is generally regarded as the birthplace of fireworks (ThinkQuest, 2012). The first people who made the first explosive materials belong to the Sung dynasty in the 10^th century (Temple, 2007). But much of the credit goes to the Chinese monk named Li Tian, who made the first firecrackers using bamboo shoots filled with gunpowder. Gunpowder was serendipitously discovered earlier when a cook in ancient china mixed sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal and discovered that the mixture was flammable. And if the mixture is enclosed in a small area, like inside a bamboo shoot, the mixture can explode. The people during that time were using these bamboo shoots to produce explosions during the New Year’s celebration to scare away the evil spirits (Helmenstine, 2012). The people believed that the loud sound of the explosion can drive the bad spirits away. It easily became popular among the people because of the entertainment that fireworks give them during celebrations. Eventually, it has become a tradition for the Chinese to use fireworks to welcome the New Year.