Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this video, I interview Peter Lorge, Professor of Chinese Military History at Vanderbilt University. We discuss the history of gunpowder technology in China! When was it created? What impact did it have? When and how did the west surpass eastern gunpowder technology? and will China resume the dominance it held historically? These are some of the questions explored in my interview with Peter Lorge.
Timestamps:
1:02 What is a Military Revolution? How is it connected to and Early Modern State?
4:51 Which came first in Europe? The guns or the Early Modern State?
7:57 How many guns in use during the Song? How much gunpowder was produced?
13:23 Why did the Song dynasty fail if they had guns?
16:00 What is a tax state? How is it required for widespread adoption of gunpowder technology?
19:55 Why does gun development and production stagnate from the late Song Dynasty into the Ming Dynasty?
26:06 Did the initial use of gunpowder bring a radical change to Chinese warfare as it did in Europe?
32:30 Just having guns is not enough to ensure military success.
34:08 Who invented volley fire? Is this a useful question?
38:53 When could firearms effectively counter nomadic troops in the field? Why do obsolete tactics remain in use?
46:25 Why did Qi Jiguang revise his military manual?
54:13 Use of firearms for the Manchu conquest of the Ming and why is it important to study military history?
1:00:26 Why did the west outpace the east? Dr. Lorge’s thoughts on Tonio Andrade’s book “The Gunpowder Age”?
1:09:23 Does technology always advance?
1:16:23 When did China catch back up to the west with military technology?
1:21:08 Will China’s growth be hampered by their political system?
In this video, I interview Peter Lorge, Professor of Chinese Military History at Vanderbilt University. We discuss the history of gunpowder technology in China! When was it created? What impact did it have? When and how did the west surpass eastern gunpowder technology? and will China resume the dominance it held historically? These are some of the questions explored in my interview with Peter Lorge.
Timestamps:
1:02 What is a Military Revolution? How is it connected to and Early Modern State?
4:51 Which came first in Europe? The guns or the Early Modern State?
7:57 How many guns in use during the Song? How much gunpowder was produced?
13:23 Why did the Song dynasty fail if they had guns?
16:00 What is a tax state? How is it required for widespread adoption of gunpowder technology?
19:55 Why does gun development and production stagnate from the late Song Dynasty into the Ming Dynasty?
26:06 Did the initial use of gunpowder bring a radical change to Chinese warfare as it did in Europe?
32:30 Just having guns is not enough to ensure military success.
34:08 Who invented volley fire? Is this a useful question?
38:53 When could firearms effectively counter nomadic troops in the field? Why do obsolete tactics remain in use?
46:25 Why did Qi Jiguang revise his military manual?
54:13 Use of firearms for the Manchu conquest of the Ming and why is it important to study military history?
1:00:26 Why did the west outpace the east? Dr. Lorge’s thoughts on Tonio Andrade’s book “The Gunpowder Age”?
1:09:23 Does technology always advance?
1:16:23 When did China catch back up to the west with military technology?
1:21:08 Will China’s growth be hampered by their political system?
