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Four Chinese Inventions

Decent Essays

Located in East Asia, China has been around for over 5,000 years and is known as one of the four ancient civilizations. As China developed into a great nation, the government began to form “dynasties” in which China is ruled by a specific emperor. The first dynasty to have an emperor was the Qin Dynasty, established by Shi Huang Di. This notorious name was self-proclaimed by him and literally translates into the “First Emperor” of China. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Shi Huang Di was overthrown and China became conquered by another. Furthermore, these events spawned a new dynasty called the “Han Dynasty,” which ultimately fell and created the opportunity for another dynasty and so on. This incessant succession in governing Ancient China continued …show more content…

Likewise, China produced inventions that contributed to not only their culture, but the vast world of our past and present. Particularly, “The Four Great Inventions” have made a tremendous impact on our society as humans. These are the inventions of: Papermaking, Printing, Gunpowder, and the Compass, developed during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Starting with the art of papermaking, this process created a writing surface other than bones, silk, or bamboo. Using plant fibers, Cai Lun of the Eastern Han created a lightweight and smooth textured piece of paper--- as opposed to heavy, rough bones or expensive silk. Then, Bi Shang of the Northern Song Dynasty invented movable type printing, which was later updated and succeeded by Europe. By applying baked clay in which text could be composed, Shang could print the frame onto paper. Therefore, paper and printing were used as expected: creating a source of entertainment in books, information on news, producing art, and more. Progressively, the compass was conceived shortly afterwards. The initial compass had a magnetic rod among a bronze case with twenty-four directions etched into it and was used until the 8th Century. Its “brother” instrument used water to suspend itself and minimize movement, thus allowing long-distance sea navigation. Finally, the introduction of gunpowder had revolutionized China and the world. Gunpowder, which is made of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate, was discovered to burn rapidly, releasing immense volumes of gases. At first, this was used for firework displays, but was found to also be a powerful weapon. With the advantage of gunpowder, China had become a callous adversary in

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