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The first Chinese compasses were pieces of a magnetic mineral
called lodestone. This worked because the Earth is a giant magnet. -
The Chinese first made steel, a very useful metal, before 200 B.C.E. Steel is made from iron, but it is less brittle than iron and easier to bend into different shapes.
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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 C.E.
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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. Later, the Chinese used rags. -
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 paddle-wheel, which in turn moved through the water, moving the boat forward. -
The new Chinese bridge used arches that were a smaller part, or segment, of a circle. This made the bridges broader and flatter than
semicircular arches could. Called a segmental arch bridge,
the new type of bridge took less material to build and was
stronger, as well. -
For several thousand years, tea—made by letting tea leaves steep in boiling water—was drunk mostly as medicine. However, by
the 8th century C.E., tea had become a hugely popular everyday beverage throughout China. -
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. -
Chinese Alchemists accidentally accidentally discovered when looking for secret to eternal life.
