Since the Jiajing period, the Ming Dynasty had bought firearms from the Portuguese in Macao and imitated them. Even in the Chongzhen period, this was still the case. At the beginning, Sun Yuanhua was training a new army of firearms and hired many Portuguese as instructors to teach Ming Dynasty soldiers how to make and use firearms.
Therefore, in this era, the manufacturing of firearms was similar between the East and the West. However, there was one thing: the most advanced technology in the West had not been passed on to the Ming Dynasty.
When Emperor Chongzhen inspected the gunpowder bureau, he found that everything there was of a crude kind.
Not only was it all done manually, but the weighing and proportioning of the various raw materials were also sloppy. Upon inquiry, it was discovered that people of that era believed that gunpowder could not be stored for a long time and would be affected by moisture. Therefore, when the gunpowder was about to go to war, saltpeter had to be added again. Experienced craftsmen thought that it was enough.
Moreover, the gunpowder of this era was all in powdered form. If it was transported over long distances, the gunpowder raw materials would be stratified and would need to be remixed.
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