Chinese Inventions

By evan.davish
  • 2700 BCE

    Tea

    Tea
    The drink’s popularity made tea-plant cultivation a major industry, often involving an entire community.
  • 1250 BCE

    Bombs

    Bombs
    The Chinese used large bombs that were as explosive as modern bombs.
  • 950 BCE

    Flamethrower

    Flamethrower
    The Chinese had made the first weapon that used gunpowder. Early flamethrowers contained gunpowder mixed with oil. The Chinese used them to spray enemies with a stream of fire.
  • 850 BCE

    Gunpowder

    Gunpowder
    The Chinese who first made gunpowder were alchemists. Alchemists experimented with mixtures of natural ingredients, trying
    to find a substance that might allow people to live forever.
  • 850 BCE

    Playing Cards

    Playing Cards
    Printers used woodblock printing to make the cards from thick paper and famous artists drew the designs that appeared on the backs of the cards.
  • 750 BCE

    Paper Money

    Paper Money
    Before that time, coins were the only form of currency, it was printed with wood blocks.
  • 750 BCE

    Mechanical Clocks

    Mechanical Clocks
    Dripping water made the wheel turn. Every quarter hour, drums would beat; and every hour, a bell would chime.
  • 650 BCE

    Printing

    Printing
    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.
  • 250 BCE

    Compass

    Compass
    The first Chinese compasses were pieces of a magnetic mineral called lodestone because Earth itself is like a giant magnet with north and south poles.
  • 150 BCE

    Paper

    Paper
    The earliest Chinese paper was probably made from hemp and then the bark of the mulberry tree. Later, the Chinese used rags.