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Period: 3000 BCE to 1400 BCE
3000 BCE to 1400 CE
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Gunpowder
accidentally discovered by alchemists working with saltpeter looking for the secret to eternal life.MILITARY TECHNOLOGY. -
Crossbow
This is a pitcher of a crossbow back then Where they used them to kill people in the war back then. -
compass
Your compassis a magnetized needle that aligns itself with Earth’s
magnetic poles so that one end points north and the other
south. By the Song dynasty, the Chinese were using this
type of compass to help them navigate on long voyages.
People still use the same kind of device today. -
paddlewhel
Have you ever paddled a canoe or other small boat? As you push your paddle through the water, the boat moves forward. In the 5th century, the Chinese adapted this idea by arranging a series of paddles in a wheel. People walked on a treadmill to turn the paddlewheel, which in turn moved through the water, moving the boat forward. -
canal lock
Another way the Chinese improved transportation was by developing a new type of canal lock, during the Song dynasty. The Chinese used canals extensively to connect the many rivers. As the surrounding land sloped up, parts of canals were at different levels. Before the improved locks were invented, the Chinese had to drag their boats up stone ramps to reach water at a higher level. This was difficult and could damage the boats. -
papermaking
Papermaking became an important industry in China. For more than 500 years, the Chinese were the only people in the world who knew the secret of making paper. From China, knowledge of papermaking traveled to Japan and across Central Asia. Europeans probably first learned about this art after 1100. Considering how important it is for recording and transmitting information, few inventions touch our daily lives more than paper. -
Porcelain
Porcelain is made by combining clay with the minerals quartz and feldspar. The mixtureis baked in a kiln, or pottery oven, at very high temperatures. The resulting pottery is white, hard, and waterproof. However, light can pass through it, so that despite its sturdiness it looks quite delicate and beautiful. -
steel
The earliest Chinese steel was made from cast iron. The Chinese were the first to learn how to make cast iron by melting and molding iron ore. Later they learned that blowing air into molten, or melted, cast iron causes a chemical reaction that creates steel. Steel is a great deal stronger than iron. -
Game cards and paper money
Game cards were invented in China in about the 9th century. Printers used woodblock printing to make the cards from thick paper.Paper money was invented by the Chinese in the late 8th or early 9th century. Before that time, coins were the only form of currency. Like game cards, paper money was printed with wood blocks.
