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We know from written accounts that the Chinese have been drinking tea since at least 2700 B.C. 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. Tea houses had sprung
up throughout the country. -
The chinese inovated the boat moving with a paddle. They put a treadmill to turn the paddlewheel moving through water.
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Porcelain is beautiful pottery that is sturdy but looks delicate. Porcelain dinerware is called China.
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The Chinese invented the art of papermaking. The earliest Chinese paper was made out of hemp and the bark of a mulberry tree. Later, the Chinese used rags to make paper.
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The Chinese improved bridges by using only a segment of a circle. This made the bridges broader and flatter then semicircle arch bridges. The improved Chinese bridges were made out of less material and were more stable and strong.
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The Chinese invented a technique called woodblock printing. The printer drew symbols on paper. He then glued the paper to a wooden block. When the glue was dry, the printer carved out the wood around the characters, leaving the characters raised on the wood. By the 8th century, there was an entire woodblock
printing industry in China. In the 10th century, the
Chinese started printing modern-style books with pages.
In the 11th century, during the Song dynasty, the Chinese
invented movable type. -
Gunpowder was accidentally invented by alchemists who were trying to find the secret of immortality.
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The magnetic compass was created by the Song dynasty they used this compass to help navigate on long voyages. The compass is made of a magnetized needle that aligns itself with Earth's magnetic poles to point north and south.
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Rocket technology was developed in China during the Song dynasty. 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. They even developed a two-stage rocket for their armies. The first stage propelled the rocket through the air. The second stage dropped arrows down on the enemy. By 1300, rockets had spread through much of Asia and into Europe.
