Chinese Inventions

By anna.nagurney
  • 2700 BCE

    Tea

    Tea
    Tea was mainly drunken for healing purposes. Over a few thousand years, it became an everyday drink. A major industry was cultivated through this widespread popularity.
  • 816 BCE

    Segmental Arch Bridge

    Segmental Arch Bridge
    A Chinese engineer designed a bridge with arches of a smaller portion of a circle than a semi circle. The semi circle arches had been formerly used in the Roman-made bridges but now the new bridges were stronger and more economical.
  • 3 BCE

    Compass

    Compass
    The Chinese figured out that a magnetic stone, lodestone, was influenced by Earth's natural magnetic poles. They had put the stone(later adapted to a needle of the stone) on wood, in a bowl of water, and this combination forced both points in the north and south direction.
  • 2 BCE

    Paper

    Paper
    The Chinese kept the paper-making secret from the rest of the world for over 500 years. The rag-like paper than spread throughout Asia and to Europe.
  • 1 BCE

    Porcelain

    Porcelain
    Porcelain is created when clay and sand are combined and shaped and heated in an oven.
  • 1 BCE

    Disease Prevention

    Disease Prevention
    A Chinese monk believed steamed the clothes would take germs away from sick people. This method is effective and can help rid disease on items.
  • 8

    Mechanical Clock

    Mechanical Clock
    People started to use new mechanical clocks because they were more reliable than sundials and hourglasses. These clocks made a full rotation every twenty four hours
  • 8

    Paper Money

    Paper Money
    Only coins were circulated until paper money was designing and printed using woodblock printing.
  • 850

    Gun Powder

    Gun Powder
    Chinese alchemists, looking for the secret to eternal life, accidentally discovered gun powder.