Chinese Culture >> Chinese Society Traditions >> China Inventions
Ten Celebrated Inventions of China
In the last two centuries, new cultural discoveries have nearly
rewritten history. It’s been an exciting time, full of adventure and surprises.
Around every corner there are new responses to questions we had already imagined
answered. And of these breakthroughs, none shines as brightly as the impact of
ancient Chinese inventions on modern life. As we explore ten of the greatest
inventions and innovations of Ancient China, you may be surprised at their
influence on recent technology.
1. Paper. Paper, as we know it, was invented in China around the year 105. After
seeing earlier attempts made from silk, bamboo sticks and animal skins, Cai Lun
came up with his own idea. After mixing mulberry bark, rags, wheat stalks and
other stuff, a pulp formed. This pulp was pressed into sheets and dried,
becoming a crude form of paper. Paper was such an important invention that the
process of making it was a jealously guarded secret. The secret was safe until
the seventh century when the art spread to India.
2. The Printing Press. Before Johann Gutenberg “invented” the printing press in
the 1440’s, China created a type of printing press between 206 B.C. and A.D. 45.
It was made using stone tablets to create a “rubbing” of famous Buddhist and
Confucian texts. Next came block printing in the Sui Dynasty. In block printing,
images and words were engraved on wooden boards, smeared with ink and pressed
onto sheets of paper. Later, moveable type printing presses were introduced.
According to the authors of Ancient Inventions, “By A.D. 1000, paged books in
the modern style had replaced scrolls – a good 450 years ahead of Gutenberg.”
3. The First Book. Due to the early advent of the printing press, China also
claims the first book. In 868, almost six hundred years before the Gutenberg
Bible, the earliest known book was printed. By the end of the Tang dynasty,
China had bookstores in almost every city.
4. Paper Money. While today you’d rather carry a lot of cash instead of coin,
that hasn’t always been the case. The idea of paper currency was first attempted
under Emperor Han Wu-Ti (140-87 B.C.) after war had drained the treasury. He
issued treasury notes, worth and in exchange for 400,000 copper coins. Instead
of paper, the Emperor used the skin of the white stag. But the creature was so
rare that the idea soon lost appeal. In the early 800’s, the idea revived to
deter highway robbers. In 812, the government was again printing money. By the
year 1023, money had an expiration date and was already plagued by inflation and
counterfeiting. Nearly six hundred years later paper money headed west, first
printed in Sweden in 1601.
5. The Abacus. Well before Texas Instruments, the first calculator was in the
works. The abacus dates from around the year 200 B.C. It is a very advanced tool
with a simple design. Wood is crafted into a rectangular frame with rods running
from base to top. About 2/3’s from the base, a divider crosses the frame, known
as the counting bar. On each of the rods are beads. All of the beads above the
counting bar equal five. Those below equal one. The rows of rods are read from
right to left. The furthest bar to the right holds the one’s place, the next
holds the ten’s place, then the hundred’s, and so on. While its design may sound
complex, there are some Chinese today so skilled that they can solve difficult
math problems faster than someone using a calculator!
6. The Decimal System. In the West, the decimal system appeared quite recently.
Its first believed instance was in a Spanish manuscript dated around 976. But,
the first true example goes back much further. In China, an inscription dated
from the 13th century B.C., “547 days” was written as “five hundred plus four
decades plus seven of days.” The Chinese likely created the decimal system
because their language depended on characters (like pictures) instead of an
alphabet. Each number had its own unique character. Without the decimal system,
the Chinese would have had a terrible time memorizing all of these new
characters. By using units of ones, tens, hundreds, etc., the Chinese saved time
and trouble.
7. The Mechanical Clock. In the year 732, a Buddhist monk and mathematician
invented the first mechanical clock. He named it “Water-Driven Spherical
Bird’s-Eye-View Map of the Heavens.” Like earlier clocks, water gave it power,
but machinery cased the movement. But, after a few years, corrosion and freezing
temperatures took their toll. It wasn’t until 1090, when astronomer Su Sung
designed his mechanical marvel “Cosmic Engine”, that a more dependable timepiece
was made. Created for Emperor Ying Zong, this clock had a tower over 30 feet
tall. It housed machinery that, among other things, caused wooden puppets to pop
from one of five doors at regular intervals throughout the day. (Much like the
modern idea of a Cuckoo clock.) The entire machine was powered by a giant
waterwheel. This clock ran until 1126, when it was dismantled by the conquering
Tartars and moved to Peking for another several years. The first clock reference
in Western history was in 1335, in the church of St. Gothard in Milan.
8. The Planetarium. A planetarium is a big enclosed space that shows the stars
and constellations on the inside. Orbitoscope was the name of the first
projection planetarium. It was built in Basil in 1912 by Professor E. Hinderman.
But, once again, China is the mother of this invention. The first planetarium is
attributed to the design of an early emperor. As one source states, an
astronomer named Jamaluddin created a planetarium during the
Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), along with a perpetual calendar and other important astronomical
devices.
9. The Earthquake Sensor. The earliest earthquake sensor was also an interesting
piece of art. It was a bronze cylinder about 8 feet around, with 8 dragons
perched above 8 open-mouthed frogs. In the mouth of each dragon rested a bronze
ball. When an earthquake struck, a pendulum inside the cylinder would swing. It
knocked the ball from the mouth of the dragon and down into the frog’s mouth.
That frog’s back was then facing the direction of the center of the quake. Chang
Heng invented it in A.D. 132 (during the Han Dynasty), almost 600 years before
the first western sensor was made in France. Later, in 1939, Imamura Akitsune
recreated the invention and actually proved it effective.
10. The Helicopter Rotor & Propeller. While the Ancient Chinese didn’t actually
invent the helicopter, they were involved in its creation. In the 4th century
A.D., they invented a toy called the “Bamboo Dragonfly”. You’ve probably seen
them as prizes at local fairs or carnivals. It was a toy top, with a base like a
pencil and a small helicopter-like blade at the end. The top was wrapped with a
cord. When you pulled the cord, the blade would spin around and soar into the
air. This toy was studied by Sir George Cayley in 1809 and played a role in the
birth of modern aviation. It wasn’t until the early 1900’s that the first
helicopter took flight.
It is sometimes a mind blowing thing to realize that what seemed to be modern
ideas or inventions are much older than we’d imagined. And it’s likely that
there are more inventions to be discovered. More historical changes to be made.
In the conclusion of The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2,000 Years, Jared
Diamond summed it up well while referring to the changing view of history and
its inventors, “So, forget those stories about genius inventors who perceived a
need of society, solved it single-handedly, and thereby transformed the world.
There has never been such a genius……..If Gutenberg hadn’t devised the better
alloys and inks used in early printing, some other contemporary tinkerer with
metals and oils would have done so……do give Gutenberg some of the credit---but
not too much.”
About the Author:
Jennifer Gibbs is a successful freelance writer who lives in South Georgia with her husband and son. If you’re on the lookout for fresh, custom content for your website or publication, be sure to check out her website at, http://www.jennifergibbs.com
Special Advertisement