That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.

A famous quotation by Neil A. Armstrong, the Apollo 11 commander.

The earliest solid rocket fuel was a form of gunpowder, and the earliest recorded mention of gunpowder comes from China late in the third century before Christ. Bamboo tubes filled with saltpeter, sulphur and charcoal were tossed into ceremonial fires during religious festivals in hopes the noise of the explosion would frighten evil spirits.

But now the Chinese research on rocket/space technology are 30years behind compare to US.

A rocket lift off and in motion have to comply with the Newton's Law of Motion:
1) Objects at rest will stay at rest and objects in motion will stay in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
2) Force is equal to mass times acceleration.
3) For every action there is always an opposite and equal reaction.

Thats mean in order to launch a rocket, an unbalanced force must be exerted for a rocket to lift off from a launch pad or for a craft in space to change speed or direction (First Law). The amount of thrust (force) produced by a rocket engine will be determined by the rate at which the mass of the rocket fuel burns and the speed of the gas escaping the rocket (Second Law). The reaction, or motion, of the rocket is equal to and in the opposite direction of the action, or thrust, from the engine (Third Law).