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For several thousand years, tea—made by letting tea leaves steep in boiling water—was drunk mostly as medicine.
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Magnetized needle that aligns itself with Earth’s magnetic poles so that one end points north and the other south. The Chinese were using this type of compass to help them navigate on long voyages.
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The Chinese first made steel, a very useful metal. Steel is made from iron, but it is less brittle than iron and easier to bend into different shapes.
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Porcelain is made by combining clay with the minerals quartz and feldspar. The mixtures are baked in a kiln, or pottery oven, at very high temperatures.
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The Chinese invented the art of papermaking. The earliest Chinese paper was probably made from hemp and then the bark of the mulberry tree.
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In about the 7th century, the Chinese invented a technique called woodblock printing. The printer first drew characters (symbols) on
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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.
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Gunpowder was accidentally invented by alchemists how were trying to find the secret of eternal life.
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Printers used woodblock printing to make the cards from thick paper. Famous artists drew the designs that appeared on the backs of the cards.
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Rockets were powered by a black powder made of saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur. The Chinese used them as weapons.
