What Year Were Fireworks Invented?

Many different celebrations all around the world use fireworks to commemorate events, but few people know when fireworks were invented. The mystery of the invention and discovery of fireworks remains because few written records have survived from that time, approximately 2000 years ago. There are many stories that circulate about the discovery but none of them can be verified or authenticated.

Historians seem to agree on two indisputable facts:

• First, the Chinese invented gunpowder.
• Second, this invention lead to modern day fireworks.

No one knows for sure when fireworks invented. Historians and researchers can only speculate about the exact origins of fireworks. Only legends exist to help answer the question.

Legend of the Mystery Chef

According to one legend, about 2000 years ago, a Chinese chef accidentally knocked some saltpeter into a fire or somehow mixed the saltpeter with charcoal and sulfur, which resulted in a interesting colored flame.

The legend goes on to mention how the chef then wanted to see what would happen if he tried burning the mixture in a closed bamboo shoot. This resulted in an explosion along with the colored flame.

While saltpeter, charcoal and sulfur are not often found in kitchens today, they would have been quite common ingredients in a kitchen 2000 years ago.

This legend has few direct facts to support it and may be the least credible of the legends.

Chinese Alchemists

A similar legend has the above mixture being attributed to some Chinese alchemists trying to discover the elixir of life.

Alchemy was a pseudoscience with the aim of changing any base metal into gold. An alchemist would mix together different ingredients to try to find the formula that would achieve this goal. Another goal of an alchemist was to find a mixture that would grant eternal youth, or an elixir of life.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties around 600 - 900 A.D., alchemists would have been actively pursuing these concoctions. The chef in the first legend may have been the alchemist in this legend, mixing the saltpeter, charcoal and sulfur in an attempt to change metals to gold or find the key to eternal life. Many people believed in alchemy.

As far as legends go, this one may be more credible given the timing and circumstances. However, no real facts exist to support this legend either.

Legend of Li Tian

A third legend is that of Li Tian who may have invented firecrackers about a 1000 years ago. This legend states that Li Tian, a Chinese monk who lived during the Song dynasty (960-1279), filled bamboo shoots with gunpowder and threw them into a fire. The purpose of this action was to scare away evil spirits. A celebration of Li Tian’s accomplishment is held annually.

This may be a good indication that this legend has merit; however, he may not have been the first to use bamboo shoots in this way.

Bamboo firecrackers may actually have been used in China as early as 200 B.C. They might have been tossed on a fire as fuel. Gunpowder had not been developed yet, but the combination of heat from the fire, and the air and sap mixture trapped inside the bamboo may have been enough to make them explode. The effect would not have been as brilliant as that achieved by the gunpowder.

If this second part is accurate, then Li Tian may have merely updated an already known firecracker. Again, there are no records to confirm this.

A Modern Mystery

Until Marco Polo introduced Europeans to fireworks in the 13th century, it is impossible to accurately trace the development of fireworks down through the ages.

Historians do know that Marco Polo brought the fireworks to Europe in 1292. From there, the history of fireworks is easier to trace.