2006-08-22T02:31:00.000-07:00

Inventions of China

Paper
The invention of paper greatly contributed to the spread and development of civilisation.
China was the first country in the world to make proper paper.Paper was made during the western Han Dynasty(202BC-16AD).In A.D.105 enuch,cai lun in the Han Dynasty did a futher development of paper.Plant fiber such as tree-bark,bits of rope,rags and worn-out fishing nets were used as raw materials.Technique of paper making was exported in Korea in 384 A.D.A korean monk then took this skill with him to Japan in 610 A.D.
Printing
Printing-Four proccessess of printing.
1.making the types
2.composing the text
3 & 4.Printing and retrieving the movable types.
How did he do it?
Bi sheng curved individual characters on squares of sticky clay,then baked them made clay type pieces.When composing the text,he put a large iron frame on a piece of iron boared and arranged the words within the frame.When one plate was being printed,another plate could be composed.After printing the movable types were taken away and stored for futher use.
Movable type printing has a very important position in the history of printing,for all later printing methods such as wooden type,copper type and lead type printing invariably developed on the basis of movable clay types.Bi sheng created movable type printing more than 400 years earlier than it was invented in Europe.

an image of printing
Gun powder
The invention of gun powder was the most significant acheivements of the middle ages in China.The correct prescription of making gun powder with nitre,sulphur and carbon was probably discovered in the ninth century.The first precription for gun powder appeared in 1044,much earlier than the earliest(1265)gun powder-making instruction recorded in Europe.Gun powder was in extensive used by the Song Dynasty(960-1126).Gun powder was already used in simple hand-grenades which were thrown by a catapult after the Tang Dynasty.

An image of gunpowder.
Compass
The compass was for religious use.The compass started out as a wooden circle with markings on it and a magnetic spoon on top.The Han Dynasty(206BC-200AD)compasses consisted of bronze on which 24 directions were carved and a rod made from a natrual magnet.Such devices were in use until the eight century.
An image of the compass.

Reflection
We all feel that the inventions of the China greatly impacted our lifes now.It helped us in many ways.Without those inventions,we couldn't imagine how life can be now.No paper for us to do work,and no books to study with.People lost in the jungle will have a very hard time trying to find their way out.It also help us with our understanding towards the 4 great inventions of China.And let us know that China had contributed a lot to the world now using their ideas they had in the past and now being spread and widely used in the world today.We all have been very grateful to China...

Done by:
Chen Liming(3)
Oh Shimin(13)
Tan Chi Jia Evelyn(20)

Inventions Of China