Chinese Inventions

Tea

2700 BCE

The Chinese have been drinking tea since 2700 B.C. Tea was used as a medication. Tea leaves was boiled in hot water. In the 8th century tea was not just used as a medication. Tea was a widely popular drink throughout China.

Porcelain

50

Porcelain is a fine pottery believed to be created in the first century. Porcelain is made by combining clay with the minerals quartz and feldspar. By the 10th century the Chinese were making porcelain of great beauty.

Disease prevention

100

Chinese knowledge of medicine and disease prevention dates to ancient times. Before the 1st century C.E. the Chinese developed a way of fighting infectious diseases. An infectious disease is one that can spread from person to person. When a person died from an infectious disease the Chinese burned a chemical that gave off a poisonous smoke. They believed that the smoke would destroy whatever was causing the disease.

The mechanical clock

Feb 15, 700

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. The Chinese devised a wheel that made one complete turn every 24 hours. Dripping water made the wheel turn. Every quarter hour, drums would beat; and every hour, a bell would chime. The sounds let people know what time it was.

Paper Money

Feb 20, 700

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. Paper money was printed with wood blocks.Paper money is the most common form of currency in the world today.

Gun powder

Jan 1, 850

The development of gunpowder started in China. Gunpowder was created by accident. Alchemists were trying to create a potion for immortality but ended up creating an explosion. Gunpowder is made of potassium, nitrate, common charcoal, and sulfur.

Game cards

Feb 17, 850

Game cards were invented in the 9th century. Game cards were made of thick paper.Artists drew the designs. The cards were introduced to the Europeans in the 1300s.

Paper

Feb 18, 1100

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. papermaking traveled to Japan and across Central Asia. Europeans probably first learned about this art after 1100.

Rocket Technology

Jan 15, 1300

Rocket technology was developed in China during the Song dynasty. These rockets were used as only fireworks then weapons. The rockets were made of a black powder made of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur.They spread throughout Asia and Europe in 1300.