What ninth-century Chinese invention was at first employed primarily for fireworks rather than in the capacity that would change the world centuries later?

\nShow Hint\n

Its main ingredient is saltpeter.

And by the way, did you know—also a tidbit from Ross’s article—that the Chinese used their newfangled invention of paper only for packing and padding in the early days? It was not used for the dissemination of knowledge until some time later.

Still, the Chinese used paper for writing before any other society did, and they were pioneers in another of its uses too: TP. The first recorded use of toilet paper comes from the scholar Yan Zhitui in 589 C.E.: “Paper on which there are quotations or commentaries from the Five Classics or the names of sages, I dare not use for toilet purposes.” Implicit here is that less heady stuff was fair game.

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The Chinese also pioneered the use of paper for toilet purposes, with the first recorded mention in 589 C.E.","bullets",[280,281,282],"Gunpowder was invented in ninth-century China and initially used for fireworks.","Early Chinese paper was used for packing and padding before its use for writing.","The first recorded use of toilet paper by the Chinese dates back to 589 C.E.","persons",[285,286],"Ross","Yan Zhitui","places",[289],"China","words",128,"sentiment","subject","tech","meta",{"_297":298,"_299":300,"_328":309},"type","bee:get-index-of-articles","schedule",{"_27":301,"_51":-5,"_302":303,"_80":-5,"_304":305,"_306":307,"_308":309,"_310":86,"_83":84,"_293":39,"_311":-5,"_312":84,"_261":262,"_313":314,"_53":314,"_315":316,"_317":86,"_318":319,"_55":314,"_320":84,"_82":117,"_321":322,"_323":-5,"_324":325,"_326":-5,"_327":-5},"e3d35f69-ea7f-42b4-bf9b-7b5139cb0abc","npub","npub13dhektgqh58xmgs8rga7elndr37jfy2x7qyrwt0ex0f9g0wakaqsy5ukzz","jobId","9dd4de33-f6eb-4b92-86c0-31538896d35c","order",1,"rssUrl","https://www.theatlantic.com/world/","system","userRef","autosign","syncedAt","2025-12-15T19:29:27.600Z","frequency","daily","isOwnBlog","nextRunAt","2026-03-28T19:37:30.602Z","autopublish","sourceVariant","rss","systemVariant","scheduleVariant","scraping-bee-classic-proxy","retryArticlesIds","ownershipConfirmedAt","dataSourceUrl","eventId","443b5b29263cbc4799f43737e93518f9533d61c710e3d5750376d0fd5531c1ff","nostrRootEvent","event",{"_27":330,"_334":335,"_134":307,"_80":336,"_347":346,"_254":348,"_349":350},"sig","9218e42c7a3a2ec2e4e6aa95601f90b62c3a9d11dfdfc722a1cc8c8a0066bcb4c84e48264eb1832b3b01fdfa46d8922567e7c21993142820f3ed17e8deae5b19",[337,338,339,343,345],[293,239],[44,247],[340,341,39,342],"a","30023:8b6f9b2d00bd0e6da2071a3becfe6d1c7d249146f008372df933d2543dddb741:8487d7b4-d247-4cc2-98d2-1ae675eba32c","mention",[344,39],"client",[137,346,39],"8b6f9b2d00bd0e6da2071a3becfe6d1c7d249146f008372df933d2543dddb741","pubkey","Today's Atlantic Trivia: Chinese Science\nTest your knowledge—and read our stories for a little extra help.\n\n\nnostr:naddr1qvzqqqr4gupzpzm0nvksp0gwdk3qwx3manlx68rayjg5duqgxukljv7j2s7amd6pqqjrsdpcxajrwc3594jrydph956xxcej95unsepj95ckzefkxu6k2cnpxvexxglquay ","created_at",1774726883,"authorNPub","markdown","What ninth-century Chinese invention was at first employed primarily for fireworks rather than in the capacity that would change the world centuries later?\n\nShow Hint\n\nIts main ingredient is saltpeter.\n\nAnd by the way, did you know—also a tidbit from Ross’s article—that the Chinese used their newfangled invention of paper only for packing and padding in the early days? It was not used for the dissemination of knowledge until some time later.\n\nStill, the Chinese used paper for writing before any other society did, and they were pioneers in another of its uses too: TP. The first recorded use of toilet paper comes from the scholar Yan Zhitui in 589 C.E.: “Paper on which there are quotations or commentaries from the Five Classics or the names of sages, I dare not use for toilet purposes.” Implicit here is that less heady stuff was fair game.","freeMarkdown","kind1EventId","kind30023EventId","55a8498970a5879e1145306981a376a10b9ce0a3cfa34e8eb1f99f21b81f0e28","kind30023",{"_27":357,"_334":360,"_134":361,"_80":362,"_347":346,"_254":376,"_349":377},"3fd78e1f8bd78c5aabedfc42fb6da5b24cb4b0d55db1dc11f13f1aff16ad708437c7e63899b947807eed6966fbc7b48dd42031b9624d9deb5cc2e6dae22dac83",30023,[363,366,367,370,371,373,374,375],[364,365],"r","https://news.layer3.press/articles/8487d7b4-d247-4cc2-98d2-1ae675eba32c",[40,239],[368,369],"published_at","1774634663",[44,247],[372,234],"d",[276,240],[344,39],[137,346,39],"Today's Atlantic Trivia: Chinese Science\nThe ninth-century Chinese invention of gunpowder, whose main ingredient is saltpeter, was initially used primarily for fireworks. Similarly, early Chinese paper was used only for packing and padding before its later adoption for disseminating knowledge. The Chinese also pioneered the use of paper for toilet purposes, with the first recorded mention in 589 C.E.\n - Gunpowder was invented in ninth-century China and initially used for fireworks.\n - Early Chinese paper was used for packing and padding before its use for writing.\n - The first recorded use of toilet paper by the Chinese dates back to 589 C.E.\n",1774634663,"publishedToNostr","htmlContentKind30023","

What ninth-century Chinese invention was at first employed primarily for fireworks rather than in the capacity that would change the world centuries later?

Show Hint

Its main ingredient is saltpeter.

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