Gunpowder was a weapon that was created during the 8th century, in the time period of the late Tang Dynasty by Chinese alchemists with the intention of creating an elixir of immortality. The Emperor Wu Di backed the alchemists and financed the research on the secrets of eternal life. The few alchemists combined different substances, such as sulphur and saltpeter. One of the alchemists, Wei Boyang wrote a book by the name of the Book of Kinship, this book contained detailed descriptions of the experiments .
Their final outcome was a combination of saltpeter, sulphur and charcoal, and they created an explosive called huoyao (gunpowder). Gunpowder did not end up encouraging eternal life, however, it was used to treat