Chinese Discoveries and inventions

  • Period: 3000 BCE to Dec 31, 1400

    Chinese history

  • Tea
    2700 BCE

    Tea

    Tea was made by letting tea leaves steep boiling water was drunk mostly as medicine. Later in the years, tea had became has become a huge beverage throughout Chins.
  • Steel
    200 BCE

    Steel

    Chinese steel was very useful. Steel is made from iron but it is less brittle than iron and easier to bend into different shapes.
  • Paper
    150 BCE

    Paper

    Chinese invented the art of paper making. Paper making became a important industry in China. The paper was made out of hemp and then the bark of the mulberry tree.
  • Paper money
    Jan 1, 650

    Paper money

    Like game cards, paper money was printed with wood blocks. By 1107, Song printers were using multiple wood blocks to print each bill. A single bill would have many colors. Paper money is the most common form of currency in the world today.
  • Mechanical clocks
    Jan 1, 750

    Mechanical clocks

    The new clock was more accurate than earlier timekeeping devices, such as sundials and hourglasses. The Chinese devised a wheel that made one complete turn every 24 hours. Dripping water made the wheel turn. Every quarter hour, drums would beat; and every hour, a bell would chime.
  • Game cards
    Jan 1, 850

    Game cards

    Game cards were invented in China in about the 9th century. Printers used woodblock printing to make the cards from thick paper. Famous artists drew the designs that appeared on the backs of the cards. Today, card games are played throughout the world.
  • Flame thrower
    Jan 1, 950

    Flame thrower

    By the 10th century, the Chinese had made the first weapon that used gunpowder: the flamethrower. Early flamethrowers contained gunpowder mixed with oil. The Chinese used them to spray enemies with a stream of fire.
  • Rocket Technology
    Jan 1, 1300

    Rocket Technology

    Rocket technology was developed in song dynasty. Rocket was powered by black powder made of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur.
  • Gunpowder
    Jan 1, 1400

    Gunpowder

    Chinese alchemists accidentally discovered when they were using saltpeter to try and find secret to immortalitiy.