Chinese Inventions

By sarah.simbulan
  • 2700 BCE

    Tea

    Tea
    Tea is made by letting tea leaves steep in boiling water, but it was mostly used as medicine. However around the 8th century CE, it became an everyday beverage throughout China. Tea leaves were grown on trees and were harvested by tea farmers.
  • 650 BCE

    Printing

    Printing
    The Chinese drew characters on paper and glued it to a wood block. Then used that block to print those same symbols onto paper.
  • Period: 300 BCE to 1400

    Chinese History

  • 201 BCE

    Compass

    Compass
    The first Chinese compass was made with pieces of lodestone. They eventually replaced lodestone with a steel needle.
  • 200 BCE

    Steel

    Steel
    The Chinese discovered steel when making iron. The first steel was made from blowing air from molten cast iron causing a chemical reaction. Steel is stronger than iron and easier to bend.
  • 50

    Porcelain

    Porcelain
    Porcelain was used for pottery and was a combination of clay, quartz, and feldspar. This was used to make beautiful art.
  • 300

    Paper

    Paper
    Earliest paper made from hemp and bark from a mullberry tree. Later they used rags, and it became apart of daily life.
  • 850

    Gunpowder

    Gunpowder
    Chinese alchemist accidentally discovered when looking for the secret to eternal life.
  • 900

    Paper Money

    Paper Money
    Paper money was invented in the late 8th or early 9th century. Before the Chinese used coins as their currency, but then used paper money as most of the world does today.
  • 1200

    Rocket Technology

    Rocket Technology
    Rockets were powered by gunpowder which was one of their earlier inventions. China first used them as fireworks, but the later used them as weapons.