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The first Chinese compasses were pieces of magnetic material called lodestone
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Steel is made from iron but is less brittle and is easier to bend into different shapes. 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.
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Porcelain is made by combining clay with the minerals quartz and feldspar. The mixture is baked in a kiln, or pottery oven, at very high temperatures.
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The earliest Chinese paper was probably made from hemp and then the bark of mulberry.
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In about the 7th century the Chinese invented invented a technique called woodblock printing. The printer first drew characters on paper. then the paper was glued to a wooden block. When the glue is dry the printer carves out the characters, leaving them raised on the wood.
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The new clock was more accurate than sundials and hourglasses. The Chinese created a wheel that made one complete turn every 24 hours.
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Chinese alchemists accidentally discovered gunpowder, while looking for a substance that would allow people to live forever.
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Printers used woodblock to make the cards from thick paper. Famous artists drew the designs that appeared on the backs of cards. Europeans were introduced to card games by the 1300s.
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Before paper money, coins were the only currency. Like game cards, money was printed with wood blocks. By 1107, Song printers were using multiple wood blocks to print each bill.
