In the last two centuries, new cultural discoveries have almost rewritten history. It has been an exciting time, full of adventures and surprises. Around every corner are new answers to questions that we had already imagined answered. And of these advances, none shines as bright as the impact of ancient Chinese inventions on modern life. As we explore ten of ancient China’s greatest inventions and innovations, you may be surprised at their influence on recent technology.
1. Paper. Paper as we know it was invented in China around 105 AD. After seeing previous attempts made with silk, bamboo sticks, and animal skins, Cai Lun had his own idea. After mixing mulberry bark, rags, wheat stalks and other things, a pulp was formed. This pulp was pressed into sheets and dried, turning into a raw paper shape. Paper was such an important invention that the manufacturing process was a closely guarded secret. The secret was safe until the 7th century when the art spread to India.
2. The printing press. Before Johann Gutenberg “invented” the printing press in the 1440s, China created a type of printing press between 206 BC. C. and 45 d. It was made using stone tablets to create a “rubbing” of the famous Buddhist and Confucian texts. Then 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, movable type printing presses were introduced. According to the authors of Ancient Inventions, “By 1000 AD, books with modern-style pages had replaced scrolls, some 450 years before Gutenberg.”
3. The first book. Due to the early arrival of the printing press, China also claims the first book. In 868, almost six hundred years before the Gutenberg Bible, the oldest known book was printed. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, China had bookstores in almost every city.
4. Paper money. Although today you prefer to carry a lot of cash instead of coins, this has not always been the case. The idea of paper money was first tried under Emperor Han Wu-Ti (140-87 BC) after the war depleted 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 deer. But the creature was so rare that the idea soon lost its appeal. In the early 800s, the idea was revived to deter highway robbers. In 812, the government went back to printing money. By 1023, the money had an expiration date and was already plagued with inflation and counterfeits. Almost six hundred years later, paper money headed west, first printed in Sweden in 1601.
5. The abacus. Long before Texas Instruments, the first calculator was in the works. The abacus dates from around 200 BC It is a very advanced tool with a simple design. The wood is made in a rectangular frame with rods that go from the base to the top. About 2/3 from the base, a divider crosses the frame, known as a counting bar. In each of the rods there are beads. All the beads on the counting bar add up to five. Those that are below equal to one. Rows of rods are read from right to left. The bar farthest to the right is one o’clock, the next one is ten, then one hundred, and so on. While their design may seem 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. His first believed example was in a Spanish manuscript dated around 976. But, the first true example goes back much further. In China, an inscription dated to the thirteenth century BC, “547 days” was written as “five hundred plus four decades plus seven days.” The Chinese probably created the decimal system because their language relied on characters (such as pictures) rather than an alphabet. Each number had its own unique character. Without the decimal system, the Chinese would have had a terrible time memorizing all these new characters. By using units of ones, tens, hundreds, etc., the Chinese saved time and trouble.
7. The mechanical watch. In 732, a Buddhist monk and mathematician invented the first mechanical watch. He called it “Spherical Map of the Heavens with a Bird’s Eye View, Powered by Water.” Like previous watches, it was powered by water, but machinery covered the movement. But, after a few years, corrosion and freezing temperatures took their toll. It was not until 1090, when the astronomer Su Sung designed his mechanical marvel “Cosmic Engine”, that a more reliable watch was made. Created for Emperor Ying Zong, this clock had a tower over 30 feet tall. It housed machinery that, among other things, caused the wooden puppets to emerge from one of the five doors at regular intervals throughout the day. (Much like the modern idea of a cuckoo clock). The whole machine was powered by a giant water wheel. This clock worked until 1126, when it was dismantled by the conquering Tatars and transferred to Beijing for several more years. The first clock reference in Western history was in 1335, in the church of San Gotthard in Milan.
8. The planetarium. A planetarium is a large enclosed space that shows the stars and constellations 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 one of the first emperors. As one source says, 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 oldest earthquake sensor was also an interesting piece of art. It was a bronze cylinder about 8 feet in diameter, with 8 dragons perched on 8 frogs with their mouths open. In the mouth of each dragon rested a bronze ball. When an earthquake occurred, a pendulum inside the cylinder would swing. He knocked the ball out of the dragon’s mouth and shoved it into the frog’s mouth. The back of that frog was then facing the direction of the center of the earthquake. It was invented by Chang Heng in 132 AD (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 proved its effectiveness.
10. The rotor and propeller of the helicopter. While the ancient Chinese did not actually invent the helicopter, they were involved in its creation. In the 4th century AD, they invented a toy called “Bamboo Dragonfly”. You’ve probably seen them as prizes at local fairs or carnivals. It was a toy spinning top, with a pencil-like base and a small helicopter-shaped blade on the end. The top was wrapped with a cord. When he pulled on the cable, the blade spun and rose 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 1900s that the first helicopter took off.
Sometimes it is mind-boggling to realize that what appeared to be modern ideas or inventions are much older than we had imagined. And there are likely more inventions to discover. More historical changes will be made. In the conclusion of The Greatest Inventions of the Last 2,000 Years, Jared Diamond summed it up well by referring to the changing view of history and its inventors: “So forget about those stories about great inventors who perceived a need from society, the solved alone -by hand, and thus transformed the world. There has never been such a genius …….. If Gutenberg had not come up with the best alloys and inks used in early printing, some other contemporary modifier with metals and oils would have done so … give Gutenberg some credit, but not too much. “
Questions:
1. Choose one of the inventions mentioned. Explain how different the world would be if it had not been invented.
2. Why do you think there was such a long period of time between the dates of the invention of the East and the West?
3. What are two other inventions that came from ancient China? Do your research and find out when the idea was introduced into Western culture.