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Another Chinese invention is a type of fine pottery called porcelain. Porcelain is made by combining clay with the minerals quartz and feldspar. The resulting pottery is white, and hard.
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The invention of paper made another key development possible: printing. To print from the block, the printer covered the characters with black ink.
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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.
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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.
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The Chinese 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.
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By accident, they discovered that it could be used to make an explosive powder. During the Tang dynasty, alchemists recorded a formula for gunpowder. The Chinese created many other weapons using gunpowder. Artillery shells, for example, exploded after being hurled at enemies by a war machine called a catapult.
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The Chinese invented the art of papermaking by the second century C.E. The earliest Chinese paper was probably made from hemp and then the bark of the mulberry tree.
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In the 13th century, the Chinese used large bombs that were as explosive as modern bombs. Around the same time, they developed weapons much like today’s rifles and cannons.
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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.
