Gunpowder was discovered by the Chinese sometime in the 8th century A.D. The first written record of the manufacturing of gunpowder is found in the Wujiang Zongyao, a military guide written by eminent scholars of China. It is said that the discovery of gunpowder was made accidently by Chinese alchemists. The discovery of gunpowder led to a major change in the battlefield and bombs and other fire arms started appearing during the battles in Asia. Gunpowder was also used for making fireworks which were used by the Chinese to ward off the evil spirits, especially at the Chinese New Year.