Chinese Inventions

By lucy.shea
  • Period: 300 BCE to 1400

    Chinese History

  • 200 BCE

    Steel

    Steel
    The earliest steel was made from cast iron, which was made by malting and molding iron ore. The Chinese found that blowing air into melted cast iron causes a chemical reaction that creates steel.
  • 50

    Porcelain

    Porcelain
    Porcelain is made by combining quarts and feldspar, then baking the mix in a kiln, resulting in hard, white pottery. Porcelain became a very important material in China because it was used to mass-produce dishes, bowls, vases, etc.
  • 150

    Paper

    Paper
    The Chinese began making paper from the hemp and the bark of the mulberry tree, but later, it was probably made from rags. Paper making was very important in China, and for over 500 years, they were the only civilization that knew how to make it.
  • 450

    Paddle Wheel Boat

    Paddle Wheel Boat
    The Chinese developed a design for a boat based on the fact that when you push a paddle through water, you can move a boat forward. The vehicle allowed them to move much faster and maneuver much more easily than any other boat.
  • 750

    Mechanical Clock

    Mechanical Clock
    The mechanical clock was the most consistent and most reliable time-telling device of its time. The Chinese devised a wheel that would complete one full turn every 24 hours. Every 15 minutes, a drum would beat, and every hour, a bell would sound.
  • 800

    Paper Money

    Paper Money
    Paper money was made with wood block printing, and by 1107 printers were using more than one wood block to print each bill. The Chinese were the first to use anything other than coins for currency at that time.
  • 850

    Gunpowder

    Gunpowder
    Chinese alchemists accidentally discovered gunpowder when trying to find the secret to eternal life.
  • 850

    Playing Cards

    Playing Cards
    Printers used woodblock printing to create thick paper, which was made into playing cards. Famous artists drew the designs that were used on the backs of the cards.
  • 950

    Compass

    Compass
    The first Chinese compasses were objects made of lodestone placed on floating wood in a bowl of water. The object would point North because of its magnetic properties. They later found that the same effect could be created with a needle that had been rubbed on the lodestone.