The history of firearms dates back to the 10th century in China, where bamboo tubes containing gunpowder and pellet projectiles were mounted on spears to make portable fire lances. This was later used effectively as a shock weapon in the Siege of De’an in 1132. In the 13th century, fire lance barrels were replaced with metal tubes and transformed into metal-barreled hand cannons. The technology gradually spread throughout the 14th century and evolved into flintlocks, blunderbusses, and other variants. The 19th and 20th centuries saw an acceleration in this evolution, with the introduction of belt-fed weapons, metal cartridges, and the automatic firearm.