Chinese Discoveries & Inventions

TEA

2700 BCE

The Chinese have been drinking tea basically since 2700 B.C, and was mostly used for medicinal purposes. In the 8th century tea was getting extremely even more popular.Tea houses were built up throughout the whole country. The major industry of tea cultivating now often involves an entire community. INDUSTRY

ROCKET TECHNOLOGY

960 BCE

Rocket technology was discovered in China during the song dynasty. Saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur were used to power the rockets. They were originally used for fireworks, then were later used as weapons. The rockets that are used to explore space today are based on principles discovered by the Chinese. MILITARY TECHNOLOGY.

GUN POWDER

850 BCE

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 TECHNOLOGY.

PAPER MONEY

750 BCE

Paper money was invented in either the last 8th century or early 9th century. Before then the only currency was coins. It was printed with wood blocks. By 1107 songwriters were using multiple woodblocks to print each bill. As many already know, paper money is today our most common currency. EVERYDAY OBJECTS.

MECHANICAL CLOCK

750 BCE

The Chinese invented the first mechanical clock in the 8th century. It was way more accurate than any other ways of getting time like hours glasses. They devised a wheel that made it turn every 24 hours so it showed an accurate time.It turned with the use of dripping water. Every quarter hours, drums will beat, every hour, bells will chime. EVERYDAY OBJECTS.

PRINTING

650 BCE

In the 7th century the Chinese invented woodblock printing. It first drew symbols on the paper then glued it to a block of wood.When the glue was fully dry, the printer carved out the wood around the characters, leaving the symbols raised. Then, movable type was created. You would carve out symbols in clay and bake them. If you were to print, they would place their selected character and place it on a steel frame so the symbols would transfer onto the page. INDUSTRY.

IMPROVING TRAVEL BY SEA

250 BCE

The Chinese developed the first compass in the 3rd century. The first Chinese compass was made out of a magnetic lodestone. It worked as the lodestone was magnetic to the earths poles to is pulled in the direction of the pole of the earth you were heading towards.EXPLORATION AND TRAVEL.

GAME CARDS

150 BCE

Game cards were invented in China in the 9th century. They used wood block printing to make the cards from thick paper. Famous artists would draw designs on the back of some cards in China. Europeans produced them in the late 1300's. EVERYDAY OBJECTS.

PORCELIN

100 BCE

Hundreds of people in China Chinese porcelin was a prized item for trade since Europeans didn't know how to make porcelin until the 18th century. It is made by combinding clay with the minerals of quartz and feldspar. They bake it in a kiln or a pottery over at high temperatures. It comes out white, hard, and and waterproof though light can pass through it. INDUSTRY.