List of inventions made in China. Inventions of ancient China

Design and interior 15.10.2019

Design and interior

Great inventions in China make our lives easier every day. China is home to some of the most significant inventions of human civilization, including 4 (four) great inventions of ancient China: paper, compass, gunpowder and printing.

What else did the Chinese invent?

Original technologies in the field of mechanics, hydraulics,
mathematics in application to the measurement of time,
inventions in metallurgy,
achievements in astronomy
technologies in agriculture,
mechanism design,
music theory,
art,
navigation
warfare.

The most ancient period of Chinese civilization is the era of the existence of the Shang state, a slave-owning country in the Yellow River valley. Already in this era, ideographic writing was discovered, which, through a long improvement, turned into hieroglyphic calligraphy, and a monthly calendar was also drawn up in basic terms.

Chinese culture has made a huge contribution to world culture. At the turn of the millennium, paper and ink for writing were invented. Also at about the same time, writing was created in China. The rapid cultural and technical growth in this country begins just with the advent of writing.

Today it is the property of global culture, as, indeed, any other national culture. Inviting millions of tourists every year, this country willingly shares its cultural attractions with them, talking about its rich past and offering a lot of travel opportunities.

Inventions of ancient China that had big influence on subsequent inventions around the world, in today's world we take for granted.

Optical fiber wires deliver a huge amount of information at the speed of light to anywhere in the world. You can get into your car and use your voice to tell your GPS system where to go. We are very comfortable in the 21st century.

Achievements and inventions have accelerated human progress so much that everything that follows it seems to have built on the foundation laid by the very first inventions.
Perhaps no other ancient culture did not contribute as much to promote progress as the Chinese. Below are the greatest inventions of ancient China.

Invention of papermaking technology in China

It is still not entirely clear who was the first to come up with the idea of transferring thoughts to paper, transforming them into written speech. To this day, there are fluctuations between the Sumerians in Mesopotamia, the Harappans in what is now Afghanistan, and the Kemites in Egypt.

However, it is known that the first languages appeared about 5000 years ago. It can even be said that they appeared earlier, if we mean their artistic expression, such as cave paintings. As soon as languages began to develop, people began to write on everything that could survive for a relatively long period of time. Clay tablets, bamboo, papyrus, stone - these are just a small part of the surfaces on which ancient people wrote.

The situation changed dramatically after a Chinese named Cai Lun invented the prototype of modern paper. Which in the future conquered the whole world.

Artifacts such as ancient stuffing material and wrapping paper dating back to the 2nd century BC have been found. BC. The oldest piece of paper is a map from Fanmatan near Tianshui.

In the 3rd century paper was already widely used for writing instead of more expensive traditional materials. The paper production technology developed by Cai Lun was as follows:

a boiling mixture of hemp, mulberry bark, old fishing nets and fabrics turned into a pulp, after which it was ground to a paste-like homogeneous state and mixed with water. A sieve in a wooden reed frame was immersed in the mixture, the mass was scooped out with a sieve and shaken to make the liquid glass. In this case, a thin and even layer of fibrous mass was formed in the sieve.
This mass was then overturned onto smooth boards. Boards with castings were laid one on top of the other. They tied the pile and laid the load on top. Then the sheets hardened and strengthened under pressure were removed from the boards and dried. A paper sheet made using this technology turned out to be light, even, durable, less yellow and more convenient for writing.

Huiji paper banknote printed in 1160

Their origins go back to trade receipts during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), which were preferred by merchants and merchants in order not to deal with large amounts of copper coins in large commercial transactions.

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the central government used this system to monopolize salt production, and because of the shortage of copper: many mines closed, a huge outflow of copper money from the empire occurred to Japan, Southeast Asia, Western Xia and Liao. This prompted the Song Empire in the early 12th century to issue state paper money along with copper money in order to ease the situation of the state mint and reduce the cost of copper.

At the beginning of the 11th century, the government authorized sixteen private banks in Sichuan province to print banknotes, but in 1023 it confiscated these enterprises and created an agency to supervise the production of banknotes.. The first paper money had a limited circulation area and should not have been used outside it, but as soon as they received a guarantee of gold and silver from state reserves, the government initiated the issuance of nationwide banknotes. This happened between 1265 and 1274. The concurrent state of the Jin Dynasty also printed paper banknotes from at least 1214.

The invention of printing in China

The invention of printing and printing presses in China was only a matter of time. Since the production of paper grew every day. The emergence of printing in China had a long history.

Since ancient times, stamps and seals have been used in China, proving the identity of a state person or master. Even today, a personal seal will replace the signature of the owner in China, and seal carving is not only a craft, but also a refined art.

It is known that already in the Han era, wooden “seals of the gods” with spell texts carved on them in a mirror inverted image were common. Such seals were the immediate predecessors of the boards from which books began to be printed.

The first mention of text printing dates back to the 7th century. The oldest known examples of printed books date from the first half of the 8th century. The widespread distribution of printed books falls on the reign of the Sunn dynasty (X-XIII centuries). The absence of state censorship of books favored the development of the book market. By the 13th century, more than a hundred family publishing houses operated in the two provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian alone.

The oldest known example of woodblock printing is a Sanskrit sutra printed on hemp paper between approximately 650 and 670 BC. AD However, the Diamond Sutra, made during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), is believed to be the first standard size printed book. It consists of scrolls 5.18 m long.

Typography gave impetus to the development of typefaces and weaving.

Typesetting fonts

The statesman and polymath of China Shen Ko (1031-1095) first outlined the method of printing using typesetting in his work“Notes on the Stream of Dreams” in 1088, attributing this innovation to the unknown master Bi Sheng. Shen Kuo described the technological process for the production of fired clay letters, the process of printing and the manufacture of typefaces.

Bookbinding technique

The advent of printing in the ninth century significantly changed the technique of weaving. Towards the end of the Tang era, the book of rolled paper turned into a stack of sheets, reminiscent of a modern brochure. Subsequently, during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the sheets began to be folded in the center, making a “butterfly” type of dressing, which is why the book has already acquired a modern look.

The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) introduced the stiff paper spine, and later, during the Ming Dynasty, sheets were stitched with thread. Printing in China has made a great contribution to the preservation of a rich culture that has been formed over the centuries.

The invention of the compass in China

The invention of the first compass is credited to China, during the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), when the Chinese began to use magnetic iron ore, oriented north-south. True, it was not used for navigation, but for divination.

In the ancient text "Lunheng", written in the 1st century. AD, in chapter 52, the ancient compass is described as follows: “This instrument resembles a spoon, and if it is placed on a plate, then its handle will point south.”

A more advanced compass design was proposed by the already mentioned Chinese scientist Shen Ko. In his Notes on the Stream of Dreams (1088), he described in detail the magnetic declination, that is, the deviation from the direction to true north, and the device of a magnetic compass with a needle. The use of a compass for navigation was first proposed by Zhu Yu in his book “Table Talk in Ningzhou” (1119).

The magnet has been known to the Chinese since ancient times. Back in the III century. BC. they knew that a magnet attracted iron. In the XI century. the Chinese began to use not the magnet itself, but magnetized steel and iron.

At that time, a water compass was also used: a magnetized steel arrow in the shape of a fish 5-6 cm long was placed in a cup of water. The arrow could be magnetized by means of strong heating. The head of the fish always pointed south. Later, the fish underwent a number of changes and turned into a compass needle.

In navigation, the compass began to be used by the Chinese as early as the 11th century. At the beginning of the XII century. the Chinese ambassador, who arrived in Korea by sea, said that in conditions of poor visibility, the ship kept its course solely on a compass attached to the bow and stern, and the compass needles floated on the surface of the water.

The invention of gunpowder in China

Gunpowder is rightfully considered the most famous ancient Chinese invention.. Legend has it that gunpowder was created by accident when ancient Chinese alchemists were trying to create a mixture that would grant them immortality. Ironically, they managed to create something with which you can easily take a life from a person.

The first gunpowder was made from a mixture of potassium nitrate (nitrate), charcoal and sulfur. It was first described in 1044 in a book about the most important military techniques compiled by Zeng Goliang. The book says that the discovery of gunpowder happened a little earlier, and Zeng described three different types of gunpowder that the Chinese used in flares and fireworks. Much later, gunpowder began to be used for military purposes.

Gunpowder barrel weapons, according to Chinese chronicles, were first used in battles in 1132. It was a long bamboo tube where gunpowder was placed and then set on fire. This “flamethrower” inflicted severe burns on the enemy.

A century later in 1259, for the first time, a gun was invented that shoots bullets - a thick bamboo tube, in which a charge of gunpowder and a bullet was placed. Later, at the turn of the XIII - XIV centuries. in the Celestial Empire, metal cannons loaded with stone cannonballs spread.

The invention of gunpowder sparked a number of unique inventions such as burning spear, land mines, sea mines, squeakers, exploding cannonballs, multi-stage rockets and aerodynamically winged rockets.

In addition to military affairs, gunpowder was actively used in everyday life. So, gunpowder was considered a good disinfectant in the treatment of ulcers and wounds, during epidemics, and it was also used to bait harmful insects.

fireworks

However, perhaps the most “bright” invention in China, which appeared due to the creation of gunpowder, are fireworks.. In the Celestial Empire, they had a special meaning. According to ancient beliefs, evil spirits are very afraid of bright light and loud sound. Therefore, since ancient times, on the Chinese New Year, there was a tradition in the yards to burn bonfires from bamboo, which hissed in the fire and burst with a crash. And the invention of powder charges, of course, frightened the "evil spirits" in earnest - after all, in terms of the power of sound and light, they significantly exceeded the old method.

Later, Chinese craftsmen began to create colorful fireworks by adding various substances to gunpowder. Today, fireworks have become an indispensable attribute of the celebration of the New Year in almost all countries of the world. Some believe that the inventor of gunpowder or the forerunner of the invention was Wei Boyang in the 2nd century BC.

What other inventions were made by the Chinese

In 403 - 221 BC the Chinese had the most advanced technologies in metallurgy, including blast furnaces and cupola furnaces, and the bloomery and blacksmith-pudling process were known during the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD). Using a navigational compass and using the one known from the 1st century. a helm with a sternpost, Chinese sailors achieved great success in steering a ship on the high seas, and in the 11th century. they sailed to East Africa and Egypt.

As for the water clock, the Chinese have used the escapement mechanism since the 8th century, and the chain drive since the 11th century. They also created large mechanical puppet theaters powered by a water wheel, a spoked wheel, and a vending machine driven by a spoked wheel.

Seismoscope - invented in China

In the late Han era, the imperial astronomer Zhang Heng (78-139) invented the world's first seismoscope, who noted weak earthquakes at large distances. This device has not survived to this day. Its design can be judged from the incomplete description in Hou Hanshu. Although some details of this device are still unknown, general principle quite clear.

The seismoscope was cast in bronze and looked like a wine vessel with a domed lid. Its diameter was 8 chi (1.9 m). Along the circumference of this vessel were placed the figures of eight dragons or only the heads of dragons, oriented in eight directions of space: four cardinal points and intermediate directions.

Dragon heads had movable lower jaws. In the mouth of each dragon was a bronze ball. Next to the vessel under the heads of the dragons were placed eight bronze toads with wide open mouths. The inside of the vessel probably contained an inverted pendulum, of the kind found in modern seismographs. This pendulum was connected by a system of levers to the movable lower jaws of the dragon's heads.

During an earthquake, the pendulum began to move, the mouth of the dragon, located on the side of the epicenter of the earthquake, opened, the ball fell into the mouth of the toad, producing a loud noise that served as a signal to the observer. As soon as one ball fell out, a mechanism worked inside to prevent other balls from falling out during subsequent shocks.

The story of checking the seismoscope

Zhang Heng's seismoscope was sensitive even to register small shocks passing at a distance of hundreds of li (0.5 km.). The effectiveness of this device was demonstrated shortly after its manufacture. When the ball first fell out of the dragon's mouth, no one at court believed that this meant an earthquake, since the tremors were not felt at that moment.

But a few days later, a messenger arrived with news of an earthquake in the city of Longxi, which was located northwest of the capital at a distance of more than 600 km. Since then, duty officials the astronomical department was to record the directions of origin of earthquakes. Later, similar instruments were repeatedly built in China. After 3 centuries, the mathematician Xintu Fang described a similar instrument and, possibly, made it. Ling Xiaogong made a seismoscope between 581 and 604.

Tea has been known in China since ancient times.. In sources dating back to the 1st millennium BC. there are references to a healing infusion obtained from the leaves of the tea bush. The first book about tea, "Classic Tea", written by the poet Lu Yu, who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), talks about various methods cultivation and preparation of tea, the art of drinking tea., where did the tea ceremony come from. Tea became a common drink in China already in the 6th century BC.

Legend of Emperor Shen Non.

According to another legend, Emperor Shen Non was the first to accidentally taste tea. Leaves from a nearby wild camellia fell into the boiling water. The aroma that emanated from the drink was so seductive that the emperor could not resist and took a sip. He was so impressed with the taste that he made tea the national drink.

Initially, Chinese teas were only green.. Black tea appeared much later, but here the Chinese were the pioneers. And with the development of new fermentation technologies, white, and blue-green, and yellow, and red teas arose.

Chinese silk

China is the birthplace of silk. Even the Greek name for China - Seres, from which the names of China in most European languages \u200b\u200bderived, goes back to the Chinese word Si - silk.

Weaving and embroidery have always been considered an exclusively female occupation in China; absolutely all girls, even from the highest class, were taught this craft. The secret of silk production has been known to the Chinese since ancient times. According to legend, Chinese women were taught to breed silkworms, process silk and weave from silk threads by Xi Ling, the wife of the first emperor Huang Di, who reigned, according to legend, more than 2500 BC.

Chinese porcelain

Chinese porcelain known all over the world and highly valued for its extraordinary quality and beauty, the very word "porcelain" in Persian means "king". Europe in the thirteenth century. it was considered a great treasure, samples of Chinese ceramic art were kept in the treasuries of the most influential persons, inserted by jewelers in a gold frame. Many myths are associated with it, for example, in India and Iran it was believed that Chinese porcelain has magical properties and changes color if poison is mixed into food.

Suspension bridges - an invention of ancient China

Since ancient times, the Chinese have paid great attention to the construction of bridges. Initially, they were built only from wood and bamboo. The first stone bridges in China date back to the Shang-Yin era. They were built from blocks laid on overpasses, the distance between which did not exceed 6 m. This method of construction was also used in subsequent times, having undergone significant development. So, for example, during the Song Dynasty, unique giant bridges with large spans were built, the size of which reached 21 m. Stone blocks up to 200 tons in weight were used.

Suspension bridges were invented in China, and the links of their chains were made of forged steel instead of woven bamboo. Cast iron was called "raw iron", steel was called "great iron", and malleable steel was called "ripened iron". The Chinese were well aware that iron loses some important component during “ripening”, and they described this process as “loss of life-giving juices”. However, not knowing the chemistry, they could not determine that it was carbon.

In the III century. BC. suspension bridges have gained popularity. They were built mainly in the southwest, where there are many gorges. The most famous Chinese suspension bridge is the Anlan Bridge in Guanxiang. It is believed that it was built in the III century. BC. engineer Li Bing. The bridge has a total length of 320 m, a width of about 3 m and is composed of eight spans.

Other inventions of China

Archaeological finds of trigger mechanisms suggest that crossbow weapons appeared in China around the 5th century BC. BC. The found archaeological materials are made of bronze devices of a certain weapon throwing arrows. In the famous dictionary "Shi Ming" (Interpretation of names), created by Lu Xi during the Han dynasty in the 2nd century. BC, it is mentioned that the term "ji" is used in relation to this type of weapon resembling a crossbow.

The decimal system, fundamental to all modern science, first arose in China. You can find evidence confirming its use, starting from the XIV century. BC, during the reign of the Shang dynasty. An example of the use of the decimal system in ancient China is an inscription dated to the 13th century. BC, in which 547 days are indicated as "five hundred plus four tens plus seven days." Since ancient times, the positional number system was understood literally: the Chinese really put counting sticks in the boxes allotted to them.

Ancient China made an invaluable contribution to the development of science and technology. All the richness of their culture is amazing, and it is impossible to overestimate its significance for world culture. Many discoveries made by Europeans were much later, and technologies, long kept secret, allowed China to flourish and develop for many centuries independently of other countries. All inventions made in China directly influence subsequent inventions in the world.

Not a single day passes without a huge number of inventions created many millennia ago. We are so busy with everyday affairs that in the bustle we do not think about the fact that this could not exist. Anyone who, at least once forgot the phone at home, understands how dependent on him, the whole everyday life modern man. What if it didn't exist at all? And what would happen if other things that are common to us were not invented? The lion's share of all the usual household items and gadgets is made in China. Although today most of the goods from China are not their own developments of this country, many centuries ago China brought to the world a huge number of valuable inventions, amazing and unknown to Western civilization.

1. Silk.
Every woman knows what this pleasant material is. He is the personification of luxury and tenderness to this day. Silk is a material made from a silk thread made from a cocoon. silkworm, the thread has a triangular section, which is why the fabric shimmers beautifully and has an attractive sheen for everyone. Among all the types of fabrics invented in modern times, silk remains the king of the textile industry. Its price is still the highest, and not everyone can afford a thing made of this wonderful material. The reason for the increased cost is the manufacturing technology that is inaccessible to everyone. For thousands of years, the Chinese have managed to keep the manufacturing method a secret. So to create silk, an unprecedented number of cocoons is required. Keeping the secrecy ensured that the producers dominated the market for the sale of silk, as everyone knows about the silk road that connected China and Europe. Demand for silk provided China with the establishment trade relations and unprecedented economic growth.

2. Alcohol.
The invention of ethanol and isopropyl alcohol, scientists refer to the ninth millennium. This is evidenced by recent archaeological excavations in the province of Henan, where traces of alcohol were found on fragments of pottery. The results obtained finally put an end to the dispute, who, after all, invented alcohol, the Chinese or the Arabs. This invention was prompted by the improvement of vinegar and soy sauce, using the method of fermentation and distillation. So as a result of experiments, alcohol was born.

3. Gunpowder.
Exactly this ancient invention China, according to the Legends, it appeared as a result of the search by alchemists for the elixir of immortality. It was created by accident, when creating a mixture that prolongs human life, but contrary to the hopes of Chinese alchemists, it turned out to be a deadly weapon that can kill a person in a matter of seconds.
The first composition of gunpowder included saltpeter, charcoal and sulfur. This became known from the book of Zeng Goliang, who spoke about the weapons and military tactics of that time. According to the book, gunpowder was used as an explosive, as well as for flares and fireworks.

4. Paper.
Lai Cun is the name of the creator, the first prototype of paper. According to some sources, Lai Cun lived in 105 BC. and was a eunuch in the court of the Han Dynasty. In those days, the subject for writing were thin strips of bamboo and silk. Paper appeared as a result of a mixture of wood fibers with water, which were pressed against a cloth. Prior to this, people wrote on stones, papyrus and clay tablets, and even tortoise shells were used.

5. Typography.
The invention of paper contributed to an increase in the literacy of the population, which gave impetus to the development of education in general. In connection with the growth of literacy, a need arose for the transmission of longer texts. The ruling strata of the population, to consolidate their decision and identity, used the seal. The creation of seals was a special art. Each seal was created unique and had no analogues of its kind. According to the principle of transferring an image to paper using printing, the Chinese came to book printing. In China, there was no censorship and control over print media, so this industry was quite widespread. The first historical references to the printed book date back to the seventh century. During the reign of the Sunn Dynasty, printing spread rapidly. It is known that in the eighth century in the provinces of Zhejian and Fujian there were more than a hundred family publishing houses.
The invention of typography, accompanied by the appearance of typefaces and weaving. "Notes on the Stream of Dreams" is the first work that describes the technological process of making letters from fired clay and producing sets of fonts and seals. The author of the book, the famous statesman and scientist Shen Ko, writes that this innovation belongs to an unknown master.

6. Pasta.
The oldest plate of noodles found in China is over 7,000 years old. It is made from two types of millet grains, the same technology used to make modern Chinese noodles. But until now, various excavations confuse scientists, and make them doubt who should be given primacy. Italians and Arabs are China's main competitors in this matter.

7. Compass.
Travel and military campaigns, maps and sea voyages, all this would be complicated by the determination of the course if there were no such thing as a compass. For the fact that we can get from one point to another, it is worth paying tribute to the inventors of ancient China. The first compass allowed to determine the south direction, the most important part of the world, according to the Chinese. The material from which the first compass was made was a magnet.

8. Seismograph.
One of the most important inventions of ancient China was the first seismograph invented by the imperial astronomer Zhang Heng. The first Seismograph was a vessel with nine dragons depicted on it. Frog figurines with open mouths were made under each dragon. A pendulum hung inside the vessel, which, in the event of an earthquake, would begin to move and inform everyone about the trouble. Thanks to a complex mechanism, it could even show the epicenter of an earthquake.

9. Kite.
The laws of aerodynamics that allow aircraft to take off were already known to some extent to the Chinese. In the fourth century BC, two lovers of philosophy, Gongshu Ban and Mo Di, built a snake that looked like a bird. It seemed to many that it was just a toy, but for mankind it was an advance in the field of science. The first planes and aircraft are due to the experience that the Chinese gave us by flying a kite into the sky.

10. Hang glider.
This modern entertainment device was invented in ancient China. Experimenting with the size of a kite, an apparatus was created capable of lifting and holding a person in the sky. The authorship of this device is unknown.

11. Chinese tea.
Every person on this planet has tasted tea at least once, and many of us drink it every day. Tea has been known in China since the first millennium. There are references to a healing infusion made from tea tree leaves. The invention of the Chinese is a method of brewing and obtaining a tea drink.

12. Umbrella
The birthplace of the folding umbrella, according to some sources, is also located in China. The existence of the umbrella has been known since the 11th century. In China, the umbrella was used to protect high-ranking dignitaries from the sun. So the emperor and his entourage took him on his walks, so the umbrella was a symbol of wealth and luxury.

13. Wheelbarrow.
The Chinese are great builders, the invention of the wheelbarrow helped them in this. A wheelbarrow is an object that facilitates manual transportation of goods, and also allows a person to lift and carry more weight. Invented it in the second century, a general named Yugo Liang. He came up with a basket on one wheel, later his design was supplemented with handles. Initially, the function of the wheelbarrow was defensive and was used in military operations. For centuries, the Chinese kept their invention a secret.

14. Porcelain.
Porcelain, used in everyday life and is considered best material for making dishes. Porcelain tableware has a beautiful, glossy surface that perfectly complements the design of any kitchen and transforms any dinner. Porcelain has been known since 620 in China. Europeans experimentally obtained porcelain only in 1702. In Italy, France and England, they have been trying to make porcelain for two centuries.

The inventions of Ancient China also include: horoscope, drum, bell, crossbow, violin, gong, wushu martial art, qigong gymnastics, fork, steamer, chopsticks, tofu soy cheese, paper money, varnish, playing cards and other.

Chinese culture has made a huge contribution to world culture. So, at the turn of the millennium, paper and ink for writing were invented. Also at about the same time, writing was created in China. The rapid cultural and technical growth in this country begins just with the advent of writing.

But whatever the culture of China, today it is the property of the global culture, as well as any other national culture. Inviting millions of tourists every year, this country willingly shares its cultural attractions with them, talking about its rich past and offering a lot of travel opportunities.

Paper - an invention of ancient China

The first great invention of ancient China is considered paper. According to the Chinese annals of the Eastern Han Dynasty, paper was invented by the court eunuch of the Han Dynasty, Cai Lun, in 105 AD.

In ancient times in China, before the advent of writing paper, bamboo strips rolled into scrolls, silk scrolls, wooden and clay tablets, etc. were used. The most ancient Chinese texts or "jiaguwen" were found on tortoise shells, which date back to the 2nd millennium BC. (Shan Dynasty).

Artifacts such as ancient stuffing material and wrapping paper dating back to the 2nd century BC have been found. BC. The oldest piece of paper is a map from Fanmatan near Tianshui.

In the 3rd century paper already widely used for writing instead of more expensive traditional materials. The paper production technology developed by Cai Lun consisted of the following: a boiling mixture of hemp, mulberry bark, old fishing nets and fabrics turned into pulp, after which it was ground to a paste-like homogeneous state and mixed with water. A sieve in a wooden reed frame was immersed in the mixture, the mass was scooped out with a sieve and shaken to make the liquid glass. In this case, a thin and even layer of fibrous mass was formed in the sieve.

This mass was then overturned onto smooth boards. Boards with castings were laid one on top of the other. They tied the pile and laid the load on top. Then the sheets hardened and strengthened under pressure were removed from the boards and dried. A paper sheet made using this technology turned out to be light, even, durable, less yellow and more convenient for writing.

Inventions of ancient China: paper huiji banknote, printed in 1160

A Han chronicle from 105 reports that Cai Lun "made paper from tree bark, rags, and fishing nets and presented it to the emperor." Since then, paper has ousted silk and bamboo from Chinese office supplies, and paper production has reached gigantic proportions (trade departments alone consumed about 1.5 million sheets annually). It was made both writing paper, the raw material for which was mulberry bark, ramie, algae, and various exquisite papers, for the manufacture of which, for example, sandalwood bark was used, which gave it a lasting aroma. For domestic use, paper was made from rice or wheat flour (for example, paper wallpaper or toilet paper). Since Chinese paper absorbs ink well, it was ideal for painting and calligraphy. Production technology changed in the 10th century, when bamboo was used instead of mulberry bark to make writing paper. Bamboo branches cut in spring were soaked in water for a long time, after which the bark was separated from the fibers, the wood was mixed with lime, and the resulting mass was dried. But with the advent of cheap paper produced industrial way, since the middle of the XIX century. handicraft paper production began to decline rapidly.

Typography - an invention of ancient China

The advent of paper, in turn, led to the advent of printing. The oldest known example of woodblock printing is a Sanskrit sutra printed on hemp paper between approximately 650 and 670 BC. AD However, the Diamond Sutra, made during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), is believed to be the first standard size printed book. It consists of scrolls 5.18 m long. According to the researcher traditional culture China to Joseph Needham, the printing methods used in the calligraphy of the Diamond Sutra are far superior in perfection and sophistication to the miniature sutra printed earlier.

Typesetting fonts

The Chinese statesman and polymath Shen Kuo (1031-1095) first outlined the method of printing with typesetting in his work Notes on the Stream of Dreams in 1088, attributing this innovation to the unknown master Bi Sheng. Shen Kuo described the technological process for the production of fired clay letters, the process of printing and the manufacture of typefaces.

Bookbinding technique

Emergence of printing in the ninth century significantly changed the technique of weaving. Towards the end of the Tang era, the book of rolled paper turned into a stack of sheets, reminiscent of a modern brochure. Subsequently, during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the sheets began to be folded in the center, making a “butterfly” type of dressing, which is why the book has already acquired a modern look. The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) introduced the stiff paper spine, and later, during the Ming Dynasty, sheets were stitched with thread. Printing in China has made a great contribution to the preservation of a rich culture that has been formed over the centuries.

In ancient times, in China, a seal with carved family hieroglyphs instead of a signature was used to certify the identity of an official or master. They are used by Chinese artists today. Carving hieroglyphs on a stone seal has always been considered not only a skill, but also a refined art. These seals were the forerunners of the boards from which printing began. The oldest examples of printed books date back to the first half of the 8th century, while their widespread distribution dates back to the period of the Song Dynasty (X-XIII). The absence of state monopoly and censorship for a long time favored the development of the book market. By the XIII century. there were more than 100 family publishing houses in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces alone. In China, printing spread in the form of woodcuts (printing from boards on which a mirror image of the printed text was cut), which made it possible to preserve the graphic features of the original manuscript and, if necessary, replace characters, as well as combine printed text and engravings. The Chinese printed book wandered into its final form by the 16th century, largely reproducing samples of the Sung era and had the appearance of a stitched notebook. And from the 17th century In China, the technique of color engraving was mastered.

Inventions of ancient China: The illustration given in the book of the scholar Wang Zhen (1313) shows typesetting characters arranged in a special order across the sectors of the round table.

Compass - an invention of ancient China

First prototype compass is thought to have originated during the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD) when the Chinese began to use north-south magnetic ore. True, it was not used for navigation, but for divination. In the ancient text "Lunheng", written in the 1st century. AD, in chapter 52, the ancient compass is described as follows: "This instrument resembles a spoon, and if it is placed on a plate, then its handle will point south."

Inventions of ancient China: Model of a Chinese compass from the Han Dynasty

Description magnetic compass to determine the cardinal points was first described in the Chinese manuscript "Wujing Zongyao" in 1044. The compass worked on the principle of residual magnetization from heated steel or iron ingots, which were cast in the shape of a fish. The latter were placed in a bowl of water, and as a result of induction and residual magnetization, weak magnetic forces appeared. The manuscript mentions that this device was used as a course indicator paired with a mechanical "chariot that points south."

A more advanced compass design was proposed by the already mentioned Chinese scientist Shen Ko. In his Notes on the Stream of Dreams (1088), he described in detail the magnetic declination, that is, the deviation from the direction to true north, and the device of a magnetic compass with a needle. The use of a compass for navigation was first suggested by Zhu Yu in his book Table Talk in Ningzhou (1119).

Magnet has been known to the Chinese since ancient times. Back in the III century. BC. they knew that a magnet attracted iron. In the XI century. the Chinese began to use not the magnet itself, but magnetized steel and iron. At that time, a water compass was also used: a magnetized steel arrow in the shape of a fish 5-6 cm long was placed in a cup of water. The arrow could be magnetized by means of strong heating. The head of the fish always pointed south. Later, the fish underwent a number of changes and turned into a compass needle.

Already during the Han Dynasty in China, they knew that identical magnetic poles repel each other, and different ones attract each other. In the X-XIII centuries. The Chinese discovered that the magnet only attracted iron and nickel. In the West, this phenomenon was discovered only at the beginning of the 17th century. English scientist Gilbert.

In navigation compass began to be used by the Chinese in the 11th century. At the beginning of the XII century. the Chinese ambassador, who arrived in Korea by sea, said that in conditions of poor visibility, the ship kept its course solely on a compass attached to the bow and stern, and the compass needles floated on the surface of the water.

Around the end of the XII century. The Arabs brought the Chinese water compass to the West.

Gunpowder - an invention of ancient China

Powder was developed in China in the 10th century. At first, it was used as a filling in incendiary shells, and later explosive powder shells were invented. Gunpowder barrel weapons, according to Chinese chronicles, were first used in battles in 1132. It was a long bamboo tube where gunpowder was placed and then set on fire. This "flamethrower" inflicted severe burns on the enemy.

A century later, in 1259, the first bullet gun was invented - a thick bamboo tube that held a charge of gunpowder and a bullet. Later, at the turn of the XIII - XIV centuries. in the Celestial Empire, metal cannons loaded with stone cannonballs spread.

fireworks

However, perhaps the most "bright" invention that appeared due to the creation of gunpowder are fireworks. In the Celestial Empire, they had a special meaning. According to ancient beliefs, evil spirits are very afraid of bright light and loud sound. Therefore, since ancient times, on the Chinese New Year, there was a tradition in the yards to burn bonfires from bamboo, which hissed in the fire and burst with a crash. And the invention of powder charges, of course, frightened the "evil spirits" in earnest - after all, in terms of the power of sound and light, they significantly exceeded the old method. Later, Chinese craftsmen began to create colorful fireworks by adding various substances to gunpowder. Today, fireworks have become an indispensable attribute of the celebration of the New Year in almost all countries of the world. Some believe that the inventor of gunpowder or the forerunner of the invention was Wei Boyang in the 2nd century BC.

Chinese technology in metallurgy

In (403-221 BC) the Chinese had the most advanced technology in metallurgy blast furnaces and cupolas, while the bloomery and blacksmith-pudling process were known during the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD). The emergence of a complex economic system in China gave rise to the invention of paper money during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The invention of gunpowder gave rise to a number of unique inventions such as the burning spear, land mines, sea mines, squeakers, exploding cannonballs, multi-stage rockets, and rockets with aerodynamic wings. Using a navigational compass and using the one known from the 1st century. a helm with a sternpost, Chinese sailors achieved great success in steering a ship on the high seas, and in the 11th century. they sailed to East Africa and Egypt. As for the water clock, the Chinese have used the escapement mechanism since the 8th century, and the chain drive since the 11th century. They also created large mechanical puppet theaters powered by a water wheel, a spoked wheel, and a vending machine driven by a spoked wheel.

The simultaneously existing Peiligang and Pengtoushan cultures are the oldest Neolithic cultures of China, they originated around 7000 BC. Neolithic inventions of prehistoric China include sickle-shaped and rectangular stone knives, stone hoes and shovels, millet, rice and soybean cultivation, sericulture, construction of zembit structures, houses plastered with lime, potter's wheel making, pottery making with cord and basket designs, the creation of a ceramic vessel on three legs (tripod), the creation of a ceramic steamer, and the creation of ceremonial vessels for divination. Francesca Bray argues that the domestication of bulls and buffaloes during the Longshan culture (3000-2000 BC), the lack of irrigation and high-yield crops in the Longshan era, the fully proven cultivation of drought-resistant crops that give high yields "only when the soil carefully crafted." This explains the high agricultural yields that led to the growth of Chinese civilization during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1050 BC). Together with the subsequent invention of the seed drill and the steel moldboard plow, Chinese agricultural production could feed a much larger population.

Seismoscope - an invention of ancient China

In the late Han era, the imperial astronomer Zhang Heng (78-139) invented the world's first seismoscope, which noted weak earthquakes at large distances. This device has not survived to this day. Its design can be judged from the incomplete description in Hou Han shu (History of the Second Han). Although some details of this device are still not known, the general principle is quite clear.

seismoscope was cast in bronze and looked like a wine vessel with a domed lid. Its diameter was 8 chi (1.9 m). Along the circumference of this vessel were placed the figures of eight dragons or only the heads of dragons, oriented in eight directions of space: four cardinal points and intermediate directions. Dragon heads had movable lower jaws. In the mouth of each dragon was a bronze ball. Next to the vessel under the heads of the dragons were placed eight bronze toads with wide open mouths. The inside of the vessel probably contained an inverted pendulum, of the kind found in modern seismographs. This pendulum was connected by a system of levers to the movable lower jaws of the dragon's heads. During an earthquake, the pendulum began to move, the mouth of the dragon, located on the side of the epicenter of the earthquake, opened, the ball fell into the mouth of the toad, producing a loud noise that served as a signal to the observer. As soon as one ball fell out, a mechanism worked inside to prevent other balls from falling out during subsequent shocks.

According to the chronicles, the device acted quite accurately. Zhang Heng's seismoscope was sensitive even to register small shocks passing at a distance of hundreds of li (0.5 km.). The effectiveness of this device was demonstrated shortly after its manufacture. When the ball first fell out of the dragon's mouth, no one at court believed that this meant an earthquake, since the tremors were not felt at that moment. But a few days later, a messenger arrived with news of an earthquake in the city of Longxi, which was located northwest of the capital at a distance of more than 600 km. Since then it has been the duty of the officials of the astronomical department to record the directions of origin of earthquakes. Later, similar instruments were repeatedly built in China. After 3 centuries, the mathematician Xintu Fang described a similar instrument and, possibly, made it. Ling Xiaogong made a seismoscope between 581 and 604. By the time of the Mongol rule in the XIII century. the principles of making a seismoscope were forgotten. The first seismograph appeared in Europe in 1703.

Chinese tea

In China tea has been known since ancient times. In sources dating back to the 1st millennium BC. there are references to a healing infusion obtained from the leaves of the tea bush. The first book about tea, "Classic Tea", written by the poet Lu Yu, who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), tells about the various methods of growing and preparing tea, about the art of drinking tea. Tea became a common drink in China already in the 6th century BC.

There are many legends about the origin of tea. One of them tells about a holy hermit who moved away from the world, settling on a hillside in a secluded hut. And then one day, as he sat, immersed in thought, he began to be overcome by sleep. No matter how he struggled, he became more and more sleepy, and his eyelids began to close against his will. Then, so that sleep would not interrupt his thoughts, the hermit took a sharp knife, cut off his eyelids and threw them aside so that his eyes could not close. From these centuries the tea bush grew.

Today in China, tea is grown mainly in the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Fujian and Guangdong. The lower slopes of the hills are best suited for growing the tea bush. The seeds of the tea bush are first sown in special "nurseries", from where, after a year, the sprouts are transplanted to the plantation. From a three-year-old bush, you can already start collecting leaves. During the summer season, as a rule, 4 collections are held: the first - in April (white tea is obtained from the leaves of this collection), the second - in May, the third - in July and the fourth - in August. Each successive harvest yields a coarser leaf with less flavor. The best tea is obtained in the first two harvests. Only a young green tea shoot is collected, at the end of which there are no more than 2-3 leaves and a bud. The kidney can be either just started or half-blown. Fully blooming flowers for tea have no value, because. do not transfer their flavor to the brew. The top of a tea shoot (2-3 leaves and a bud) is called a flush. The best tea is obtained when the picker picks a flush with 1-2 upper leaves and a half-blown bud. In addition, the best tea flushes are harvested from the top shoots, not the side shoots, where they are coarser. As a general rule, tea made from the top three leaves (including the bud) is labeled "Golden Tea" on the packs, while tea made from the top three leaves without buds is labeled as "Silver Tea". Often on elite teas there are also indications - “first sheet”, “second sheet”, “third sheet”. This indicates that this varietal blend of tea is dominated by hand-picked top leaves.

Initially, Chinese teas were only green. Black tea appeared much later, but here the Chinese were the pioneers. And with the development of new fermentation technologies, white, and blue-green, and yellow, and red teas arose.

The most popular varieties of tea are green tea (lu cha) and black tea (hon cha). Although they are prepared from the leaf of the same shrub, they differ in color, taste, etc. This difference appears due to the processing methods. To obtain green tea, castings are poured onto mats for two to three hours to fall through. After that, they are placed for five minutes in round iron pans, slightly heated from below by fire, and constantly stirred and turned over. Under the influence of heat, the leaves burst, become moist and soft from the juice. After that, they are placed on bamboo tables and rolled out by hand. At the same time, part of the juice is squeezed out and flows out through the cracks of the table, while the leaves themselves curl up. Then they are again laid out on mats and kept for some time in the shade in the open air. Next comes the roasting process. The leaves are again placed in the pans and subjected to heat, stirring constantly. From this, they gradually dry out, shrink, curl up. After about an hour, the roasting is over, and after sifting through a whole series of sieves and sorting, the tea is ready.

To get the same black tea the first drying in the air lasts from twelve to twenty hours. During this time, a slight fermentation occurs in the leaves. Roll the leaves on the tables more vigorously, so as to squeeze out as much juice as possible. Then they are laid out in the open air for two or three days for further fermentation. The main difference in the preparation of green and black tea lies precisely in this process. Heating in pans and rolling is repeated until all the juice is squeezed out. The final toasting stops fermentation. The tea is then sieved and sorted. There is a huge variety (more than 600) of different varieties of Chinese tea, special rituals and methods of brewing tea, tea drinking ceremonies. These traditions have not been lost in China to this day.

China is the birthplace of silk

For a long time, for the West, China was primarily the homeland silks. Even the Greek name for China - Seres, from which the names of China in most European languages \u200b\u200bderived, goes back to the Chinese word Si - silk. Weaving and embroidery have always been considered an exclusively female occupation in China; absolutely all girls, even from the highest class, were taught this craft. The secret of silk production has been known to the Chinese since ancient times. According to legend, to breed silkworms, process silk and Chinese women were taught to weave from silk threads by Xi Ling, the wife of the first emperor Huang Di, who reigned, according to legend, more than 2.5 thousand BC. As the patroness of sericulture, a separate temple was dedicated to her. Every spring, the elder wife of the emperor collected mulberry leaves and sacrificed them. Silk fabric is made from threads obtained from the cocoons of silkworms. Their breeding requires a lot of attention and painstaking work. Great care must be taken, as even noise, draft or smoke can harm them, and the temperature and humidity in the room must be carefully regulated. And you can feed the worms only with the leaves of the mulberry tree, and they are completely clean, exceptionally fresh and dry. Worms are very fragile creatures, subject to various diseases: a whole colony can die in just one day with insufficient care. In early April, small caterpillars hatch from the testicles, and in 40 days they reach adulthood and can already twist cocoons. An adult caterpillar, as a rule, is flesh-colored, 7-8 cm long and as thick as a little finger. These caterpillars weave cocoons on specially prepared bundles of straw. The process lasts 3-4 days, and the length of the thread of one cocoon is from 350 to 1000 meters. Silk is obtained from the cocoon by the so-called unwinding. The cocoon consists of a silk thread and glue that holds this thread together. To soften it, the cocoon is thrown into hot water. Since the thread of one cocoon is too thin, as a rule, the threads of 4-18 cocoons are taken and, having connected, they are passed through an agate ring and attached to a reel, which slowly rotates, and the threads, passing through the ring, are glued into one. Thus, raw silk is obtained. It is so light that for 1 kg of finished fabric there are from 300 to 900 kilometers of thread.

Mostly sericulture practiced in South and Central China. Natural silk can be white or yellow. The first is produced mainly in the provinces of Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong and Hubei. This variety is given by the caterpillars of the “domestic silkworm”, which is fed only with garden mulberry leaves. Natural yellow silk is produced in the provinces of Sichuan, Hubei and Shandong. To get the yellow color of the caterpillars, the first half of their life is fed with the leaves of the Zhe trees (it looks like mulberry and grows in the mountains), and only in the other half of their life they are given the leaves of the garden mulberry. There is another kind of silk - wild silk, it is given by the caterpillar of the "wild silkworm", which feeds on the leaves of different species of oak. This silk Brown color and difficult to color.

Weaving art of China

The Chinese tradition of artistic weaving and dyeing has a rather long history. Samples of weaving art dating back to the second half of the 1st millennium BC have survived to this day almost unchanged. These are the most different types silk, from thin gauze to brocade. Many of them are embroidered with ornaments in the form of mythical animals, various geometric shapes. The heyday of Chinese weaving falls on the era of the Tang Dynasty. Sources of that time mention 50 varieties of ornament on silk: “dragons frolicking among flowers”, “lotus and reeds”, “water herbs with fish”, “peonies”, “dragon and phoenix”, “palaces and pavilions”, “pearls with grains of rice”, etc. Many of these motifs already existed in the Han era and have survived to this day. In the Song era, beautiful woven images on silk appeared, made in the style of "engraved silk" (ke si). Silk paintings are an integral part cultural heritage China. They often reproduced calligraphic inscriptions and landscapes of famous artists. In his books on fine household items, Wen Zhenheng states that "an exalted husband cannot help but keep one or two such canvases among other paintings in his house." The quality of Chinese woven products, which typically used gold and silver threads, is unparalleled in the world. Suffice it to say that the frequency of threads in the works of Chinese masters is 3 times higher than that in the best French tapestries, and the gold embroidery in them has not faded even after the 6th-7th centuries.

Chinese porcelain

Chinese porcelain is known all over the world and highly valued for its extraordinary quality and beauty, the very word "porcelain" in Persian means "king". Europe in the thirteenth century. it was considered a great treasure, samples of Chinese ceramic art were kept in the treasuries of the most influential persons, inserted by jewelers in a gold frame. Many myths are associated with it, for example, in India and Iran it was believed that Chinese porcelain has magical properties and changes color if poison is mixed into food.

ceramic art traditionally well developed in China, ceramics of the Shang time (2 thousand BC) is not only of historical, but also of artistic value. Later, products from proto-porcelain appeared, which the Western classification refers to the so-called stone masses, since it does not have transparency and whiteness. The Chinese, on the contrary, appreciate in porcelain, first of all, its sonority and strength, therefore they consider proto-porcelain to be true porcelain. Among the beautiful ceramics of the Tang period, there are the first examples of "real" white matte porcelain. At the beginning of the 7th century Chinese ceramists have learned how to get porcelain masses mixed from feldspar, silicon and kaolin - essential element porcelain mass, which got its name from Mount Gaoling, where it was first mined. Firing the porcelain mass at a high temperature made it possible to obtain hard, white, translucent ceramics. Tang porcelain ceramics continued in their massive and rounded forms the traditions of the ancient potters, but the necks in the form of bird heads and serpentine handles, imitating the forms of Iranian vessels, speak of a noticeable foreign influence. Then there was a desire for the uniformity of the surface of the vessel, which was subsequently developed by the Sung ceramists.

heyday ceramic production in China during the Song Dynasty. The increased demand for porcelain products spawned a huge number of new kilns and led to imperial patronage of production. From the 5th - 6th centuries in the north and south of China, there were special departments that oversaw the production of high-quality ceramics. Sung porcelain is characterized by simplicity and elegance of forms, smooth monochrome glazes and restraint of ornaments. The thinnest milky-white ceramics with delicate carved or stamped patterns were called “ding” ceramics, sometimes iron oxides were added to the glaze and then black, brown, green, purple or red vessels were obtained. Much later, during the Qing Dynasty, the popularity of single-colour vessels led to an almost infinite number of glaze colors.

Production of polychrome painted porcelain began during the Yuan Dynasty, when they began to make the famous blue underglaze painting on a white background. During the Ming Dynasty, this technique improved and began to be combined with five-color overglaze paintings (wucai). The development of the technique of colored enamels led to the emergence of three "families" of Chinese porcelain. "Green Family" - these are products painted on a white background in several shades of green. Usually, battle scenes or simply figures and flowers were depicted on the vessels of this family. Products with color painting on a deep black background were called the “black family”. Porcelain painted in soft pink tones with iridescent shades on the theme of "women and flowers" was named "pink family".

In the era of the Ming Dynasty, porcelain became in some way a strategic commodity and was supplied in huge quantities to the countries of Europe and Asia, through Arab traders even got to South Africa. The huge scale of porcelain exports in the Ming era and subsequent years is evidenced by the fact that in 1723, 350 thousand porcelain products were sold to the French city of Lorian alone. And for many Europeans to this day, the term "Minsk vase" means all Chinese pottery.

Suspension bridges - an invention of ancient China

suspension bridges were invented in China, and the links of their chains were made of forged steel instead of woven bamboo. Cast iron was called "raw iron", steel was called "great iron", and malleable steel was called "ripened iron". The Chinese were well aware that during the "maturation" iron loses some important component, and they described this process as "the loss of life-giving juices." However, not knowing the chemistry, they could not determine that it was carbon.

Other inventions of China

Archaeological finds of escapement mechanisms suggest that crossbow weapon appeared in China around the 5th century. BC. The found archaeological materials are made of bronze devices of a certain weapon throwing arrows. In the famous dictionary "Shi Ming" (Interpretation of names), created by Lu Xi during the Han dynasty in the 2nd century. BC, it is mentioned that the term "ji" is used in relation to this type of weapon resembling a crossbow.

Throughout the long history of horsemanship, people have done without footholds. Ancient peoples - Persians, Medes. Romans, Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks - stirrups were not known. Approximately in the III century. the Chinese managed to find a way out, By that time they were already quite skillful metallurgists and began to pour stirrups bronze and iron. This invention was brought to the West by the warriors of the Zhuan-Zhuan tribe, which became known as the Avars. The success of their cavalry is due to the fact that it was equipped with cast iron stirrups. Approximately in the middle of the VI century. the Avars settled between the Danube and the Tisza. In 580, Emperor Mark Tiberius issued the military charter "Strategikon", which outlined the basics of cavalry equipment. It also emphasized the need to use iron stirrups. This was the first mention of them in European literature.

Decimal system Calculus, fundamental to all modern science, first arose in China. You can find evidence confirming its use, starting from the XIV century. BC, during the reign of the Shang dynasty. An example of the use of the decimal system in ancient China is an inscription dated to the 13th century. BC, in which 547 days are indicated as "five hundred plus four tens plus seven days." Since ancient times, the positional number system was understood literally: the Chinese really put counting sticks in the boxes allotted to them.

Ancient China made an invaluable contribution to the development of science and technology. All the richness of their culture is amazing, and it is impossible to overestimate its significance for world culture. Many discoveries made by Europeans were much later, and technologies, long kept secret, allowed China to flourish and develop for many centuries independently of other countries. It is obvious that this heritage gives the Chinese the strength to actively develop even now, because the country's culture, its history is something that no one can take away, it is something that instills pride and confidence in every decent citizen.

Student: Tuikov A.S.
Head: Zapariy V.V.

The Chinese invented original technologies in the field of mechanics, hydraulics, mathematics, applied to the measurement of time, metallurgy, astronomy, agriculture, mechanical design, music theory, art, navigation and warfare.

Ancient China;
paper;
compass;
powder;
typography;
typesetting fonts;
binding technique;
fireworks;
seismoscope;
silk;
porcelain.

http://ru.admissions.cn/Culture/2009-8/view10172.html
http://www.epochtimes.ru/content/view/37664/4/
http://ru.wikipedia.org/
http://www.abc-people.com/typework/art/antich1-txt.htm
http://kitaia.ru/kultura-kitaya/neprehodyashchie-cennosti/
http://intway-holiday.com/page2b.htm

China is the birthplace of many significant inventions of human civilization. In particular, the Chinese invented the compass, paper, gunpowder and many other necessary things. Recently it turned out that the ancient Chinese already 5 thousand years ago could create reservoirs using complex cascades of water dams. /website/

This week, Chinese archaeologists managed to find the remains of ancient hydraulic structures. The discovery was made near the city of Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province. Scientists have discovered a system of 11 dams, the length of which exceeds six kilometers. “Thus, this is the largest such archaeological find in the world,” said Liu Bin, head of the Zhejiang Institute of Archeology.

So far, archaeologists have dug out 3 of the 11 dams discovered. The total area of the complex can be almost 10 square kilometers. According to the researchers, the system could be used to irrigate land, protect against floods, or move goods by water. Initial studies showed that the structure was built 4.7-5.1 thousand years ago.

Other inventions of the Chinese

This is not the first find confirming the engineering and scientific discoveries of the ancient Chinese. China has invented many original technologies in the field of mechanics, hydraulics, astronomy and other fields. During the Warring States Period (403-221 BC), the Chinese had the most advanced technology in metallurgy.

The Chinese have also excelled in cooking. While people in other regions ate mostly meat and vegetables, the Chinese preferred more refined cuisine. During excavations in China, noodles were discovered about four thousand years old. It resembled modern lagman noodles, which are made by "repeatedly rolling and stretching the dough with your hands." At the same time, the noodles were made from two types of millet grains grown in China for more than seven thousand years.

Of course, one of the most famous and useful inventions of China is paper. According to the Chinese chronicles of the Eastern Han Dynasty, paper was invented by the court eunuch of the Han Dynasty - Cai Long in 105 AD. However, archaeologists in the vicinity of Dunhuang found a paper that dates back to 8 AD. Initially, paper was used for packaging, then for writing, and later toilet paper appeared.

The advent of paper led to printing, which was also created by the ancient Chinese. The oldest known example of woodblock printing is a Sanskrit sutra printed on hemp paper between approximately 650 and 670 CE. However, the Diamond Sutra, created during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), is believed to be the first printed book in standard sizes.

The compass is also one of the great inventions of the ancient Chinese. The description of the attraction of iron by hematite is found in ancient Chinese treatises. The compass was invented during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and was used to indicate the direction of travel in the desert. However, its first prototype appeared earlier, during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). True, it was not used for orientation, but for divination.

Since China periodically suffered from earthquakes, the Chinese created the world's first seismograph. The device was created by the imperial astronomer Zhang Heng during the Han Dynasty. Moreover, the master made the seismograph incredibly beautiful. It was a vessel with nine dragons depicted on it. The dragons were evenly spaced, and underneath each dragon was a frog with its mouth open.

A copy of Zhang Heng's seismograph. Photo: Kowloonese/wikipedia.org/CC BY-SA 3.0

Inside the vessel was a pendulum, which was set in motion by an earthquake. As a result, a ball fell into the dragon's mouth, indicating the epicenter of the earthquake. After that, the ball fell into the mouth of a frog sitting under the dragon. This apparatus existed for about 1.5 thousand years, until more modern devices were invented.

The Chinese created many more great inventions, such as the bell, crossbow, tea, silk, steamer, porcelain and much more. The powerful and original Chinese civilization has made an invaluable contribution to the history of world art and culture. However, since the beginning of the 20th century, civilization began to decline. In 1949, with the coming to power of the Communist Party, traditional Chinese culture almost completely disappeared.

Most of the things that exist in the modern world are perceived by us as a given. Fiber optic cables transmit huge amounts of information, and global positioning systems allow you to find your location anywhere in the world. But the facts remain little known that many of the achievements of modern mankind owe their origin to ancient China.

Passing through time, we often forget about the significance of those things that were invented before us. Surprisingly, back in the 19th century, among many prominent minds, the opinion prevailed that the pinnacle of manufacturability had been reached, and mankind had invented everything it could. To some extent, these words made sense, because each new global invention used the foundation left by our distant ancestors. In this rating, we will present the achievements of Chinese civilization, which are used up to the present day.

10. Gunpowder
Gunpowder is perhaps the most famous of Chinese achievements. According to an ancient legend, it was created quite by accident at a time when ancient Chinese alchemists were trying to create an elixir of immortality. Very ironic, but attempts to find eternal life led to the creation of a substance that brings death. The first gunpowder mixture was described in a book in 1044 AD. The first gunpowder was used by the Chinese to make flares and fireworks. In the future, by adding various metals to the powder mixture, mankind has learned to create bright colored fireworks, which we see to this day.

9.Compass
How possible would the great geographical discoveries and long-distance expeditions be without the invention of the compass? As ancient records indicate, the first compasses were invented by the Chinese in the fourth century BC, and the basis of their design was a magnet. The first models of the compass could only point to the south direction, later with the discovery of a magnetic iron ore called Lodston, they were able to make a device that was magnetized both north and south. To this day, it is not known exactly who came up with the idea of creating this mechanism, but it is known for sure that it is of Chinese origin.

8.Paper
It has not been established for certain who owns the idea of writing down thoughts using paper, there are different points of view. Among the applicants are mentioned both the Sumerians and the Harappas and Kemites from Egypt. However, the first languages appeared about five thousand years ago, and the first basis for writing was a variety of materials, such as papyrus, clay, bamboo, stone. Naturally, they required a lot of effort to keep records. Everything changed after the discovery by the Chinese Cai Lun in 105 BC of the first prototype of modern paper. For those years, the technology was rather complicated: the Chinese created a mixture of water and wood fibers, after which he pressed it with a special cloth. Thanks to the weaves of the fabric, the resulting substance leaked out - this is how the first paper appeared. Unfortunately, it is not known what exactly was written by Cai Lun on the first page.

7. Pasta
Lovers of Italian cuisine, in particular pasta, for the most part do not even guess whose handiwork is its creation. Meanwhile, in 2006, archaeologists exploring ancient settlements more than four thousand years old in the Chinese province of Qinghai stumbled upon a bowl of gooey noodles buried three and a half meters. Most experts tend to believe that this is the oldest pasta on earth. And it was made from grains of two different types, which have been grown in China for more than seven thousand years, and to this day - the Chinese use them to make pasta.

6. Wheelbarrow
Such a simple but necessary invention, like a wheelbarrow, also owes its origin to the Chinese. Yugo Liang, a general during the Han Dynasty, created the first prototype of a single-wheeled wheelbarrow for transporting heavy military supplies around the second century AD. The only drawback of the ancient design was the lack of handles - they appeared later after the original invention was finalized. Wheelbarrows gave the Chinese a significant advantage over their rivals, not only in the transport of goods, they were also used as barricades. Surprisingly, the invention was kept secret for a long time, and a special code was used to designate it.

5.Seismograph
The creation of the first seismograph belongs to the hands of the Chinese. Of course, they did not have the opportunity to use the Richter scale to indicate the strength of the crushing elements, because it was invented only in 1935. But they had their own graduation system, and besides, the device was unusually beautiful. The first seismograph was a bronze vessel, on which dragons were depicted at an equal distance from each other. Inside the vessel was a stationary pendulum, but the pendulum was stationary until the shocks began to move it in such a way that many internal levers began to move it. Due to the complex design, the pendulum pointed in the direction of the epicenter of the earthquake. This seismograph was used for one and a half thousand years, until Western civilization created its own, more progressive device.

4. Alcohol
Surprisingly, all modern lovers of relaxing with alcohol should also thank the Chinese - it was they who created ethanol and isopropyl alcohol. For a long time it was believed that fermentation was a natural process, but in the third century AD, the Chinese learned to subject soy sauce and vinegar to distillation and fermentation, which became a harbinger of the appearance of alcohol. In addition, the latest work of archaeologists suggests that, in fact, it was invented earlier, because fragments of ceramics found in Henan province, whose age exceeds nine thousand years, carry the remnants of alcohol.

3.Kite
The national pride of the Chinese is the kite. In the fourth century BC, it was discovered by two Chinese lovers of art and philosophy as an entertainment, but very soon it began to be used in many other industries - both for fishing and for military affairs. It is also interesting that kites were, in fact, the first unmanned aerial vehicles - in one of the conflicts, the Chinese used it to deliver propaganda materials to the Mongol camp.

2.Hang-glider
In the sixth century AD, the Chinese were able to create a snake so large and strong that it could easily support the weight of a person. Over time, they began to be used to punish convicted criminals - they were tied to gliders and forced to jump from high cliffs. Sometimes there were cases when convicts overcame several kilometers and landed successfully. Surprisingly, with this invention, the Chinese were able to get ahead of the representatives of Western civilization by 1300 years.

1.Silk
Silk has become, in its meaning, an invention absolutely the opposite of gunpowder - thanks to its extraordinary properties, it created peace between the Chinese and representatives of a dozen other civilizations. As a result, the creation of silk led to the emergence of the Great Silk Road, stretching from Europe to the East, from China to the Mediterranean. For a long time, the Chinese kept the process of creating marvelous material a secret, but lost their monopoly when monks from Europe got hold of silkworm eggs, and were able to distribute them in the West.