Chinese Discoveries and Inventions

By Tanajah Cook
  • Period: 3000 BCE to Dec 31, 1400

    Chinese History

  • 200 BCE

    Steel

    Steel
    They made steel first, a very useful metal, before 200 B.C.E. It's made of iron, but it is less brittle than iron and easier to bend into different shapes.CHINESE DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS
  • 1 CE

    Porcelain

    Porcelain
    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.
  • 150

    Paper

    Paper
    They invented the art of papermaking by the second century C.E. Chinese paper was probably made from hemp also the bark of the mulberry tree. INDUSTRY
  • 250

    Improving Travel by Sea

    Improving Travel by Sea
    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. EXPLORATION AND TRAVEL
  • Feb 17, 750

    Mechanical Clock

    Mechanical Clock
    Developed the first mechanical clock in about the 8th century. The new clock was more accurate than earlier timekeeping devices, such as sundials and hourglasses. EVERYDAY OBJECTS
  • Feb 13, 850

    GUNPOWDER

    GUNPOWDER
    Discovered accidentally by alchemists who were working with a substance called saltpeter. They were looking for something that would allow them to live forever. MILITARY TECH
  • Feb 17, 850

    Game Cards

    Game Cards
    Game cards were invented in China in about the 9th century. Printers used woodblock printing to make the cards from thick paper. EVERYDAY OBJECTS
  • Feb 15, 900

    Flame Thrower

    Flame Thrower
    First weapon to use gunpowder. Mixed with oil and sprayed flames on the enemy. MILITARY TECH