Chinese Inventions

Steel

200 BCE

The Chinese first made steel, a very useful metal, before 200 B.C.E. Steel is made from iron, but it is less brittle than iron and easier to bend into different shapes.

Porcelain

1 CE

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. Porcelain is made by combining clay with the minerals quartz and feldspar. The mixture is baked in a kiln, or pottery oven, at very high temperatures. The resulting pottery is
white, hard, and waterproof. However, light can pass through it, so that despite its turdiness it looks quite delicate and beautiful.

The Magnetic Compass

3

thanks to the magnetic compass, you can find your way. Your compass is a magnetized needle that aligns itself with Earth’s
magnetic poles so that one end points north and the other
south. By the Song dynasty, the Chinese were using this
type of compass to help them navigate on long voyages.
People still use the same kind of device today.

Wheel Barrel

3

The people-powered paddlewheel boats allowed the Chinese to travel much faster on rivers and lakes. These boats
were also much easier to maneuver than other types of watercraft. People still use this type of boat for recreational
activities.

The Making of Paper

6

The making of paper happened in the 7th century.

The Printing Block

7

the Chinese invented a technique called woodblock
printing. The printer first drew characters (symbols) on
paper. He then glued the paper to a wooden block. When
the glue was dry, the printer carved out the wood around
the characters, leaving the characters raised on the wood.

Books

8

By the 8th century, there was an entire woodblock
printing industry in China. Printers turned out religious
and other works on scrolls. In the 10th century, the
Chinese started printing modern-style books with pages.

Medicine (Tea)

8

We know from written accounts that the Chinese have been drinking tea since at least 2700 B.C. For several thousand years, tea—made by letting tea leaves steep in boiling water—was drunk mostly as medicine. However, by the 8th century C.E., tea had become a hugely popular everyday beverage throughout China. Tea houses had sprung up throughout the country. A famous writer, Lu Yu, wrote a book, Cha Jing (Tea Classic), describing how to cultivate, prepare, and drink tea.

The Making of Gunpowder

700

The invention of gunpowder happened in 700 AD

Rockets

1300

Rocket technology was developed in China during the Song dynasty. Rockets were powered by a black powder made of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur. At first, rockets were used only in fireworks. Later, the Chinese used them as weapons. They even developed a two-stage rocket for their armies. The first stage propelled the
rocket through the air. The second stage dropped arrows down on the enemy.