As the Chinese perfected gunpowder mixtures, they added bombs, as in this image, where we see a classical fire-ox, motivated to run by the burning reeds, with a bomb on its back. The bomb was timed to explode when the poor beast reached the enemy.[1]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] The Thundering Fire-bomb Ox – From Jiao Yu 焦玉 (attributed), Wu bei huo long jing 武備火龍經, 4 juans (Xianfeng ding yi year [1857]), juan 2 (copy held in Nanyang Technological University Library, Singapore).