List of Chinese inventions
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China has been the source of some of the world's most significant inventions, including the Four Great Inventions of ancient China, a modern term which was coined by the British scholar Joseph Needham: paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing.
First inventions
China is a country where many inventions made their very first appearances. The inventions which made their first appearances in China are listed here.(Table 56, pgs. 176-180 in Needham's Volume 4 Part 2, Science and Civilization in China).
Other inventions
Things often misunderstood or rumoured to be invented by the Chinese:
- Abacus (first appearance: Mesopotamia, 2400 BC. First certain appearance in China: 12th century AD)
- Armillary sphere (invented by the Greek Eratosthenes), with the world's first water-powered armillary sphere by Zhang Heng.
- Various automata (refer to article on King Mu of Zhou, Mozi, Lu Ban, etc.)
- Bellows
- Canal Lock
- Compass(Wet compass and dry compass)
- Camera obscura
- The cannon
- Chain pumps
- Crossbow
- Drydock
- The Flamethrower
- Flash lock
- Early explosive grenades
- Odometer (also by Archimedes and Heron of Alexandria)
- Paddle wheel, for boats
- Paper money
- Parachutes
- Pontoon bridge
- Porcelain
- Postal system
- Saw
- Segmental Arch Bridge
- Scissors
- Steel
- Suspension bridge
- Star catalogue
- Tea
- Teeth
- Collapsable Umbrella
- Vaccination
- Water clock
- Waterwheel (also of the Greco-Roman tradition)
- Windmill
Native traditions
- Acupuncture
- Chinese martial arts
- Confucianism
- Taoism
- Chinese calendar
- Chinese cuisine
- Chinese clothing
- Traditional Chinese medicine
- Chinese astronomy
References
- Robert K. G. Temple, The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery and Invention, Publisher: Prion (October 1, 1998), ISBN 978-1853752926
- Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.