China is famous for their inventions. The 4 Great Inventions - paper making, compass, printing and gunpowder- were made in China, thousands of years ago.
The abacus, alcohol, compass, crossbow, ink, glass, gunpowder, fireworks, printing, paper making, seismoscope, porcelain, kite, musical instruments, paper money, umbrella, tea, silk (learned to use silk worms and discovered silk), acupuncture, canals and locks, iron and bronze, science such as chemistry, physics and astronomy, maths, ‘zero’ (0), the circulation of blood around the human body, some languages. are some examples of Chinese inventions and discoveries.
Compass
The Compass was invented in 206 BC in the Han Dynasty. Compasses were used mostly to make sure that homes were built facing the right direction of the sun so the would be in harmony with nature. Ancient Chinese compasses were originally made of iron oxide. The Ancient Chinese compasses always pointed to the south while the compasses used today always point north.
Gunpowder
Gunpowder was invented in the 9th Century. Gunpowder was invented by accident, when Ancient Chinese chemists were trying to invent mixture that would create immortal humans but instead made an explosion. When they realised that it was created explosions, the Chinese started using it for fireworks instead. Years later, they realised that if you fire gunpowder near people they might die, so they started using it as a weapon as an explosive.
Paper Making
Paper making was invented in 100 BC. It was perfected in 105 BC, the same year that the first paper making industry was made. The invention of paper and paper making helped the spread of civilisation. Before paper was invented, bones, tortoise shells and bamboo were used for writing on. The skill of paper making was given to India in the 11th Century and then was eventually passed to the rest of the world.
Printing
Printing was invented in 868 AD and was called fixed-printing. Fixed-printing was the first type of printing but was inconvenient because it was unable to be moved. A movable type of printing was made 200 years later. Both ways of printing did not use ink, but the information was carved into stone. This was very time consuming, was hard to fix errors and it was not easy to store.
Mahjong
There is a legend about how Mahjong was invented. Chinese philosopher Confucius invented but this myth has not yet been confirmed. Some of the reason that this is the myth is that the 3 dragon tiles are the same as Confucius' mentioning of the 3 noble virtues.
There is a legend about how tea was discovered. It tells us that the first cup of tea was brewed in 2737 BC when dried leaves accidently landed in a cup of boiling water and then served to the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung. The idea of tea spread through the world very quickly and today, there are many variations of the original Chinese tea. Tea is not only used for a drink, but is also used to stain fabric, make cold compresses for swollen eyes, to calm sunburns and many more things.
Sciences
The Chinese have discovered many different sciences including chemistry, physics and astronomy. China has also contributed to many other things in science and has also discovered maths, the circulation around the human body and the number zero (0).