The invention of the gun traces back to China, where the first firearms emerged following the invention of gunpowder in the 9th century. The earliest known firearm was the fire lance, developed between the 10th and 12th centuries. It consisted of a bamboo or metal tube filled with gunpowder that could shoot projectiles, and it is considered a "proto-gun" because it used gunpowder to propel projectiles, though the projectiles did not fully occlude the barrel

. No single individual is credited with inventing the first gun, as it was a gradual development stemming from Chinese alchemists' accidental creation of gunpowder around 850 CE. These early devices evolved from fire-spurting lances to more cannon-like weapons during the Song dynasty (960–1279)

. Later significant advancements in gun technology include:

• The invention of the first practical breech-loading firearm with a cartridge by Casimir Lefaucheux in 1835

• The mass production of multi-shot revolving firearms by Samuel Colt in the 19th century

• The creation of the Gatling gun, a hand-cranked machine gun, by Richard J. Gatling in 1862

In summary, the gun as a concept originated in China with the invention of gunpowder and early gunpowder weapons like the fire lance, but its development into modern firearms was a cumulative process involving many inventors and innovations over centuries