First documented firecracker

The origin of gunpowder in China dates back around 2,000 years to when a cook is reputed to have accidentally mixed the required chemicals in a fire. However, the first accurately documented firework, the Chinese firecracker, is attributed to a monk named Li Tian. He lived during the time of the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE) near the city of Liu Yang in Hunan Province, China. He found that adding gunpowder to an enclosed hollow bamboo stems caused a noisy explosion. Following the tradition of using loud noise at auspicious times to ward off evil spirits, Li Tian used a number of crackers bound together to create the now traditional New Year firecrackers to continue to scare spirits away. The Chinese people celebrate this invention every 18 April by offering sacrifices to Li Tian.