Gunpowder was invented in China during the late Tang dynasty, around the 9th century CE, by Chinese alchemists experimenting with substances in search of an elixir of immortality.

Quick Scoop: When Was Gunpowder Invented?

  • Origin: China, late Tang dynasty (roughly 800s CE).
  • Inventors: Daoist/Chinese alchemists working with sulfur, saltpeter, and other materials as “fire medicine.”
  • First clear formula: Written down in the military text Wujing Zongyao in 1044 during the Song dynasty, showing practical recipes and weapons using gunpowder.

So if you’re looking for a simple date: historians usually say gunpowder was invented in 9th‑century China , with its first known formula recorded in the 11th century.

TL;DR: Gunpowder was invented by Chinese alchemists in the 9th century CE, with the earliest written formula appearing in 1044 in the Song dynasty.

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