ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Wujing Zongyao

Wujing Zongyao is a very old book from China, kind of like a big instruction manual. It was written more than 900 years ago, so it's really really old. The book talks about lots of different things related to war, like how to make weapons, how to build forts, and even how to train soldiers.

It's kind of like a big recipe book, just with war stuff instead of food. Imagine you wanted to make a cake - you would need a recipe to know what ingredients to use and how to mix them together. Wujing Zongyao is like a recipe book, but for making things you need for war.

One of the things that Wujing Zongyao talks about is gunpowder. Gunpowder is what makes guns shoot bullets really fast. The book says that you can make gunpowder by mixing together sulfur, charcoal, and saltpetre (which is also called potassium nitrate). It even tells you exactly how much of each ingredient to use for the best results!

Another thing that the book talks about is how to make some different kinds of weapons, like swords and bows and arrows. It also talks about how to make boats and how to set up an army in rows so they can fight together.

Overall, Wujing Zongyao is a really old instruction manual that talks about lots of different things related to war. It's kind of like a recipe book, but for making things you need for battles.