Chinese Discoveries & Inventions

  • Period: 3000 BCE to Jan 1, 1400

    3000 BCE - 1400 CE

  • Tea
    2600 BCE

    Tea

    For several thousands of years tea was drunk as medicine. INDUSTRY
  • Compass
    250 BCE

    Compass

    The first Chinese compasses were made of lodestone. They were used for navigating while traveling. EXPLORATION & TRAVEL
  • Porcelain
    50

    Porcelain

    Porcelain is made by combining clay with the minerals quartz and feldspar. The mixture is the put in a kiln and becomes a white, hard, and waterproof pottery. INDUSTRY
  • Paper
    150

    Paper

    Chinese paper was most likely made of hemp and the bark of a mulberry tree. INDUSTRY
  • Paddle Wheel Boat
    450

    Paddle Wheel Boat

    The paddle wheel boat was easy to maneuver and made traveling by river much easier. EXPLORATION & TRAVEL
  • Bridges
    Jan 1, 618

    Bridges

    A Chinese engineer came up with a new arched bridge. EXPLORATION & TRAVEL
  • Gun Powder
    Jan 1, 750

    Gun Powder

    Alchemists trying to find an eternal life elixir, using saltpeter, accidentally created gunpowder. MILITARY TECHNOLOGY
  • Flamethrowers
    Jan 1, 950

    Flamethrowers

    Early flamethrowers contained gunpowder mixed with oil. The Chinese used them to spray enemies with a stream of fire. MILITARY TECHNOLOGY
  • Rockets
    Jan 1, 1300

    Rockets

    Rockets were powered by a black powder made of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur. At first, rockets were used only in fireworks. Later, the Chinese used them as weapons.
    MILITARY TECHNOLOGY