@deshipu I see someone who haven't heard about the old Chinese rocketry program :). I don't have the book I read about it handy (it was a book about technology in ancient and imperial China), but quickly skimming the Wikipedia now:

- Gunpowder was first documented in imperial, not ancient, China, around 9th century AD.
- Back then it was already used to create incendiary arrows, flamethrowers, and proto-shotguns on a pole; by the turn of the century, rockets were deployed in combat.