Chinese inventions

  • Tea
    2700 BCE

    Tea

    The Chinese invented tea for use of medicine. They made it by letting tea leaves steep in boiling water.
  • Gunpowder
    850 BCE

    Gunpowder

    An explosive consisting of a powdered mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal. Chinese alchemists accidentally discovered gunpowder. They tried mixtures and eventually did this and started using gunpowder in daily life
  • Steel
    200 BCE

    Steel

    Steel was made with iron, but is less brittle than iron. They used cast iron because cast iron caused a chemical reaction to make steel
  • Paper
    100 BCE

    Paper

    The Chinese invented paper for art using hemp, bark, and then rags
  • Poreclain
    50 BCE

    Poreclain

    Porcelain is clay, minerals, quartz, and feldspar. Porcelain was used for decoration. It was a prized item.
  • Segmental Arch bridge
    618

    Segmental Arch bridge

    Regular bridges took much more material to build, so the Chinese took a segment out of the bridge to use less material in shape of a semi circle
  • Printing
    750

    Printing

    They invented printing by putting ink on a table then putting paper down. Then, they had a rolling pin with letters sticking out of it, so the ink would press on the paper when rolled and the letters would print
  • Flame thrower
    919

    Flame thrower

    The Chinese made the first weapon that used gunpowder. Early flame throwers contained gunpowder mixed with oil. They used this to spray enemies with fire
  • Canal lock
    983

    Canal lock

    The Chinese invented the canal lock to improve the convenience of transportation using boats for everyday life.