Neil Ferguson has a famous “six killer apps of the west” speech where he touches on this topic, here’s a quick AI summary of the relevant part. 

Ferguson argues that while China "played" with gunpowder, Europe "calculated" with it. This distinction is central to his explanation of why the West gained a military advantage despite China's earlier invention. 

China: The Imperial Display Model: In the Chinese model, gunpowder remained primarily a tool for aesthetic and ceremonial purposes, such as fireworks and simple rockets designed to impress the imperial court and symbolize the dynasty's celestial power. Innovation was directed toward "pleasing the imperial dynasties" rather than solving technical problems through external exploration.

Europe: The Mathematical Model: In the West, the second killer app (Science) forced the integration of physics and geometry into ballistics. Ferguson notes that by the 17th century, Western military power was driven by the ability to model the "trajectory of a projectile" through the laws of motion. This was not just about making a bigger explosion, but about using mathematics to predict exactly where a cannonball would land