Chinese Inventions Have Resulted In Some Incredible Innovations

Chinese are traditionally stereotyped for a lack of technological ability however when we speak about Chinese inventions it is actually difficult to know where to begin. For a start there is gunpowder, kite, paper making, printing, the wheelbarrow, ceramics, the dry dock, chopsticks (duh) firecrackers, ceramics, the crossbow, lacquer, iron casting, natural medicine, acupuncture, surgery, the seismograph, the compass, Indian ink, whiskey, brandy, tea drinking and shredding, chess, paper money and spaghetti. And this is only the beginning!

The four most important discoveries by the Chinese which influenced the western world to a huge degree were spaghetti, paper money, chopsticks and whiskey (joke), no they were actually gunpowder, paper and printing and the compass.

Gunpowder has certainly made one of the biggest impressions on the world, it has been responsible for a hell of a lot more deaths than lives, and is one of the most important warfare discoveries of ancient times. It was invented by and alchemist who was actually trying to invent the elixir of life for a Chinese Emperor in the Tang Dynasty. Elixirs of life have been considered to be vital to the Chinese people for centuries.

Cai Lun, who was a Chinese Eunuch (probably to protect the harem of the Emperor) was the inventor of paper in 105 AD. To my way of thinking paper was a far more important discovery than gunpowder, but then I am a pacifist. Many centuries later in 751 AD Arab captured Chinese Paper makers after the defeat of the Chinese army at the Battle of Talas River and this is how paper making spread to the world.

The compass was originally used by the Chinese to ensure that a house faced due North so that it was perfectly in line with nature. This was a religious rite and the first compass consisted of a wooden circle which was marked and balanced a magnetic spoon on the top. Without the compass navigation techniques would have floundered over the centuries.

Chinese medicine and their wide ranging pharmacopeias are well known throughout the world. Acupuncture also came from China, and it is believe that as far back as 4000 years ago in the New Stone Age, Chinese physicians were familiar with brain surgery. Skulls which have tested this ancient by Carbon dating, have been found to have indications that some kind of surgery took place after which the patient survived for some time.

The Chinese invented a lot of stuff that has an impact on our everyday life. We can go on and on but the above is probably good enough for now.

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