-
2700 BCE
tea
For several
thousand years, tea—made by letting tea leaves steep in boiling water—was drunk mostly as medicine. -
850 BCE
Gunpowder
The Chinese accidentally discovered gunpowder when they were looking for the secret to eternal life -
Period: 300 BCE to 1400
Chinese History
-
200 BCE
steel
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. -
50
porcelain
nicknamed china porcelain it sturdy but, looks delicate -
150
paper
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. -
206
compass
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. -
650
printing
the Chinese invented a technique called woodblock
printing. The printer first drew characters (symbols) on
paper. -
850
paper money
Game cards were invented in China in about the 9th century. Printers used
woodblock printing to make the cards from thick paper. -
1300
rocket technology
Rocket technology was developed in China during the Song dynasty. Rockets were powered by
a black powder made of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur.
