Chinese Discoveries & Inventions

  • Period: 3000 BCE to 1400 BCE

    chinese history

  • tea
    2700 BCE

    tea

    Tea farmers grow small tea trees or
    shrubs on high ground—usually above 4,000 feet. When the trees are ready for harvest, only new-growth leaves are
    picked—by hand. Then the tree is cut back so it will grow new leaves for the next harvest, and the cycle repeats
    several times a year. Workers then dry the fresh leaves by
    leaving them out in sunlight for different numbers of days,
    depending on the variety of tea. The final drying process takes
    place in a dry wok or in a small oven.
  • rockets
    1300 BCE

    rockets

    By 1300, rockets had spread through much of Asia and into Europe. The rockets that we use to explore space today
    are based on principles discovered by the Chinese.
  • crossbow
    900 BCE

    crossbow

    it is like a bow but easier to use because it uses a trigger.
  • gunpowder
    850 BCE

    gunpowder

    gunpowder is a combination of chemicals.
  • the great stone bridge
    618 BCE

    the great stone bridge

    it is a stone bridge 123 feet long.
  • printing
    600 BCE

    printing

    The invention of paper made another key
    development possible: printing. In about the 7th century,
    the Chinese invented a technique called woodblock
  • paddlewheel boat
    400 BCE

    paddlewheel boat

    they arranged 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.
  • chinese compass
    200 BCE

    chinese compass

    it looks like a spoon on a plate.
  • paper
    100 BCE

    paper

    The Chinese invented the art of papermaking by the second 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.