What are the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China?

Ashley G -- Sat 22, 2012, 7:41 am

refer to the title

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# 1 Re: What are the Four Great Inventions of Ancient China?

Hens -- Sat 22, 2012, 2:13 pm

The Four Great Inventions of Ancient China are papermaking, printing, gunpowder and the compass. These inventions contributed significantly to the development of society and are seen as a symbol of the brilliance of the Chinese people.

Papermaking
During the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 -220 CD), a eunuch, Cai Lun created a sheet of paper using mulberry and other bast fibre along with fishnets, old rags, bamboo, wooden strips, and hemp waste. These raw materials could be easily found at a much lower cost so large quantities of paper could be produced. At the beginning of the 3rd century, the papermaking technology was first spread to Korea and then to Japan. It reached the Arab world in the Tang Dynasty, and Europe in the 12th century. In the16th century, it went to America by way of Europe and then gradually spread all over the world.

Printing
With the inventions of paper and ink, stamper gradually became popular during the Jin Dynasty (265-420), which was the early form of Carved Type Printing. Block Printing first appeared in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The text was first written on a piece of thin paper, then glued face down onto a wooden plate. The characters were carved out to make a wood-block printing plate, which was used to print the text. Wood-block printing took a long time as a new block had to be carved for every page in a book.  

It took a lot of time and energy as well as materials to prepare for printing a book, but it worked more effectively afterwards. This technology was gradually introduced to Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Yet, Block Printing had its drawbacks -- all the boards became useless after the printing was done and a single mistake in carving could ruin the whole block. The frontispiece of the world's oldest surviving book, the Diamond Sutra printed in the year 868, was discovered at Dunhuang Cave, along the Silk Road. The book, in the form of a roll, is the earliest woodcut illustration in a printed book. Movable Type Printing
 Block Printing was a costly and time-consuming process, for each carved block could only be used for a specific page of a particular book, besides, a single mistake in carving could ruin the whole block. However movable type changed all of that.

In the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD), a man named Bi Sheng (990-1051) carved individual characters on identical pieces of fine clay. Each piece of movable type had on it one Chinese character which was carved in relief on a small block of moistened clay. After the block had been hardened by fire, the type became hard and durable and could be used wherever required. The pieces of movable type could be glued to an iron plate and easily detached from the plate. Each piece of character could be assembled to print a page and then broken up and redistributed as needed. When the printing was finished, the pieces were put away for future use. By the year 1000, paged books in the modern style had replaced scrolls. Two color printing (black and red) was seen as early as 1340. This technology then spread to Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Europe. Later, German Johann Gutenberg invented movable type made of metal in the 1440s. Movable Type Printing developed very fast. Based on clay type, type made of wood, lead, tin and copper gradually appeared.

Gunpowder
In Chinese, gunpowder is called huo yao, meaning flaming medicine. Unlike papermaking and printing, the birth of gunpowder was quite accidental. It was discovered in the 9th century while the alchemists were searching for an elixir of immortality. Then people found out that a mixture of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal could produce a massive explosion. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, gunpowder was being used in military affairs. Later in the 12th and 13th centuries, gunpowder was spread to the rest of the world.

Compass
In the Epoch of Warring States (aka Warring States Period 403 - 221 BC), Chinese people invented a device called a Si Nan, which was the earliest south-north direction-pointing device. Si Nan was the forerunner of the compass.

By the time of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) and the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, Chinese scholars had devised a way to magnetize iron needles, by rubbing them with magnetite, and then suspending them in water. The compass was thus created. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 - 1279) and continuing Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368), the dry compass was widely used in China. It was a wooden frame crafted in the shape of a turtle hung upside down by a board, with the lodestone sealed in by wax, and if rotated, the needle at the tail would always point in the northern cardinal direction.

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