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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tun Kai Poh" data-source="post: 8476626" data-attributes="member: 6761960">The Mongol threat also played a factor in China falling behind Europe in gunpowder weapons research. Europe had a lot of neighbouring rivals close to each other, and various pressure cookers of intense warfare where it was important to innovate gun technology (great for smashing walls). While China had its share of antipersonnel firearm developments (like during the Three Kingdoms period), there was a long stretch of time where the only major threat to the Middle Kingdom was the horse nomads.The book Firearms: A Global History gives a good (if somewhat simplistic) explanation of the problems the Chinese armies faced, trying to haul their cannons around the steppe, chasing after Mongols. The Chinese eventually gave up trying to use guns against them, and their weapons research stagnated for centuries.</blockquote>