Chinese Inventions

Tea

2737 BCE

For several thousand years, tea—made by letting tea leaves steep in boiling water—was drunk mostly as medicine. However, by
the 8th century C.E., tea had become a hugely popular everyday beverage throughout China. Tea houses had sprung
up throughout the country. A famous writer, Lu Yu, wrote a book, Cha Jing (Tea Classic), describing how to
cultivate, prepare, and drink tea. The drink’s popularity made tea-plant cultivation a major industry, often involving
an entire community.

Medicine/Diseases

1000 BCE

Sometime around the 10th century, the Chinese discovered how to inoculate people against smallpox, a dreaded
infectious disease. Inoculation is a way of stimulating a
person’s immune system to fight a particular disease. To
inoculate people against smallpox, Chinese physicians took a
small part from an infected person and made it into a
powder. Though the treatment itself caused people to become ill.
So the Chinese took the infectious material from people who had already been inoculated.

Medicine/Diseases part 2

1000 BCE

Chinese knowledge about smallpox inoculation eventually led
to the development of drugs called vaccines. We now have
vaccines for many diseases, including smallpox and the flu.

The Mechanical Clock

618 BCE

The Chinese developed the first mechanical clock in the 8th century. The new clock was more accurate than earlier timekeeping devices, such as sundials and hourglasses.

Compass

300 BCE

The Chinese developed the first
compass as early as the 3rd century B.C.E. The first
Chinese compasses were pieces of a magnetic mineral
called lodestone. Earth itself is like a giant magnet with
north and south poles. Because lodestone is magnetic, it is
influenced by Earth’s magnetic poles. If you put a piece of
lodestone on wood and float it in a bowl of water, the
lodestone will turn until it points in a north-south direction.

Chinese History

Period: 300 BCE to 1400

Steel

200 BCE

The Chinese were the first to learn how to make cast iron by melting and molding iron ore. Later, they learn that blowing air into molten, or melted cast iron causes a chemical reaction that creates steel. Steel was a great deal since it is stronger than iron.

Paper

200 BCE

The Chinese invented the art of papermaking by the 2nd century C.E. The earliest Chinese paper was probably made from hemp and then the bark of the mulberry tree. Later, the Chinese used rags. Papermaking became an important industry in China. For more than 500 years, the Chinese were the only people in the world who knew the secret of making paper. Considering how important it is for recording and transmitting information, few inventions touch our daily lives more than paper.

Porcelain

100

Another Chinese invention is a type of fine pottery called porcelain. Some historians think that the Chinese produced the first porcelain as early as the 1st century C.E. Porcelain is made by combining clay with the minerals quartz and feldspar. The mixture is baked in a kiln, or pottery oven, at very high temperatures. The resulting pottery is white, hard, and waterproof. However, light can pass through it, so that despite its sturdiness it looks quite delicate and beautiful.

Paddle Wheel Boats

500

In the 5th century, the Chinese adapted this idea by arranging a series of paddles in a wheel. People walked on a treadmill to turn the paddlewheel, which in turn moved through the water, moving the boat forward. The people-powered paddlewheel boats allowed the Chinese to travel much faster on rivers and lakes. These boats
were also much easier to maneuver than other types of watercraft. People still use this type of boat for recreational
activities.

Printing

700

The invention of paper made another key
development possible: printing. In about the 7th century,
the Chinese invented a technique called woodblock
printing. The printer first drew characters (symbols) on
paper. He then glued the paper to a wooden block. When
the glue was dry, the printer carved out the wood around
the characters, leaving the characters raised on the wood.

Paper Money

800

Paper money was invented by the Chinese in the late 8th or early 9th century. Before that time, coins were the only form of currency. Like game cards, paper money was printed with wood blocks. By 1107, Song printers were using multiple wood blocks to print each bill. A single bill would have many colors. Paper money is the most common form of currency in the world today.

Gunpowder

850

Gunpowder was accidentally invented by Chinese alchemists who was trying to find a way to immortality.

Game Cards

900

Game cards were invented in China in about the 9th century. Printers used woodblock printing to make the cards from thick paper. Famous artists drew the designs that appeared on the backs of the cards. Europeans were introduced to card games by the late 1300s. Today, card games are played throughout
the world.

Flamethrower

1000

By the 10th century, the Chinese had made the first weapon that used gunpowder: the flamethrower. Early
flamethrowers contained gunpowder mixed with oil. The Chinese used them to spray enemies with a stream of fire.

Rocket Technology

1232

Rockets were powered by a black powder made of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur. They were only used as fireworks but later they used them as weapons. They even used two-stage rockets, the first stage propelled the rocket through the air, and the second stage dropped arrows on the enemy.

Artillery Shells, Grenades, and Large Bombs

1300

In the 13th Century, the Chinese created many other weapons using gunpowder. Artillery shells, for example, exploded after being hurled at enemies by a war machine called a catapult. The sound of the exploding shells confused the enemy and terrified their horses. Small bombs, or grenades, were lit and thrown by hand.
The Chinese used large bombs that were as explosive as modern bombs. Around the same time, they developed weapons much like today’s rifles and cannons.