Lu Xun said, "Foreign countries use compass needles for navigation, but China uses them for feng shui; foreign countries use opium to treat illnesses, but China uses it for food." Understand.

Mr.’s intention is probably to satirize the Chinese people at the end of feudal society who had advanced inventions but failed to use them to promote social progress and people’s livelihood and well-being. During the promotion of the popular animated film "McDull", Xie Liwen, the "father of McDull", also said something similar, "I think the Chinese have been a simple nation for thousands of years...the four great inventions, Gunpowder is used as fireworks, and the compass is invented to see Feng Shui. From a complicated perspective, this is stupid and pointless." At this time, Xie Liwen's attitude was obviously full of appreciation.

As for why the Chinese invented gunpowder? This stems from the illusory fantasy of emperors and nobles that has lasted for thousands of years-immortality. If we stretch the time to about 320 AD, we can see that in order to seek "the method of divine guidance", after Ge Hong completed the inner and outer chapters of "Baopuzi" in 317, he went to the mountains to concentrate on alchemy in 319. During the process, he accidentally discovered the strange effect of mixing three substances, nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal. This is the origin of gunpowder. In the following hundreds of years, gunpowder has been on the track of medicinal use, aiming at the most simple desire of mankind - to cure diseases and maintain health, and to live forever.

Later, gunpowder became a tool for entertainment - fireworks, which were used for court entertainment. In the Tang Dynasty, more complex fireworks had appeared. The acrobatic performances of the military circuses of the Song Dynasty and the pyrotechnics and acrobatics of the puppet shows all used newly emerging gunpowder products such as "firecrackers" and "fire spitting" to create a mysterious atmosphere. People in the Song Dynasty also used gunpowder to perform illusions, such as ejecting smoke and smoke to evade people, transform objects, etc., to achieve magical and confusing effects.

Of course, the Chinese also discovered the military function of gunpowder. By the end of the Tang Dynasty, gunpowder had been used in the military. Before the invention of gunpowder, fire attack was a common offensive method used by military strategists. At that time, a weapon called a rocket was used in the fire attack. It was tied to arrowheads with flammable substances such as grease, rosin, and sulfur. The substance is ignited and shot with a bow to burn down the enemy's positions. After the invention of gunpowder, gunpowder was used in the military to replace general flammable substances, and the effect was much better. By the Song Dynasty, due to constant wars, the demand for firearms was increasing. During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty, an arms supervisor was set up to oversee the country's arms manufacturing. The Ordnance Supervision employs more than 40,000 workers. It is divided into ten workshops, one each for the production of gunpowder and gunpowder weapons, and occupies a very important position. These have promoted the development of gunpowder and gunpowder weapons. In the Song Dynasty, the military use of gunpowder in China was quite mature, and China's science and technology was therefore far ahead of the world.

In the 13th century, gunpowder was introduced to Arab countries via India by traders. The Greeks learned about gunpowder by translating Arab books. Gunpowder weapons were introduced to Arab countries through Genghis Khan’s Western Expeditions. In 1260 AD, the army of Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty was defeated in the battle with Syria. The Arabs seized rockets, poison jars, artillery, thunder and other gunpowder weapons, thereby mastering the manufacture and use of gunpowder weapons. After that, gunpowder spread to Greece, Europe and even all over the world. By the 16th century, the Chinese had begun to accept the firearms manufacturing technology that had returned from Europe, but instead of achieving technological transcendence, the Chinese had become stagnant or even declining. On the contrary, while gunpowder and firearms changed the European battlefield, they also changed the course of the entire world. Armed with increasingly sophisticated firearms, they began to invade and conquer the entire world. The closed door of the Qing Dynasty was blasted with a big hole by foreign guns and artillery. Everyone is familiar with the subsequent modern history, so I won’t go into details.

Now that we are in an era of singing and dancing, the Chinese are starting to play with gunpowder again. The most famous one is the contemporary artist Cai Guoqiang. He has been using gunpowder invented in China to create works since the mid-1980s. Later, he lived overseas for a long time and became famous in the international visual art circle for his gunpowder explosion performances. The 29 jaw-dropping footprints in the night sky at last year's Olympic opening ceremony were his masterpiece.