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They made steel first, a very useful metal, before 200 B.C.E. It's made of iron, but it is less brittle than iron and easier to bend into different shapes.CHINESE DISCOVERIES AND INVENTIONS
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Another Chinese invention is a type of fine pottery called porcelain. Some historians think that the Chinese produced the first porcelain as early as the 1st century
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They invented the art of papermaking by the second century C.E. Chinese paper was probably made from hemp also the bark of the mulberry tree. INDUSTRY
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The Chinese developed the first compass as early as the 3rd century B.C.E. The first Chinese compasses were pieces of a magnetic mineral called lodestone. EXPLORATION AND TRAVEL
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Developed the first mechanical clock in about the 8th century. The new clock was more accurate than earlier timekeeping devices, such as sundials and hourglasses. EVERYDAY OBJECTS
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Discovered accidentally by alchemists who were working with a substance called saltpeter. They were looking for something that would allow them to live forever. MILITARY TECH
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Game cards were invented in China in about the 9th century. Printers used woodblock printing to make the cards from thick paper. EVERYDAY OBJECTS
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First weapon to use gunpowder. Mixed with oil and sprayed flames on the enemy. MILITARY TECH
