Ancient Chinese Civilization is one of the civilizations that made the greatest contribution to human progress. Here are the ten most important inventions made by Chinese culture:
Gunpowder
According to legend, gunpowder was accidentally found by Chinese alchemists in search of immortality. The irony in the invention of gunpowder is that people's efforts to extend their lives ended with a weapon that could kill them.
In the past, gunpowder was made from a mixture of potassium, nitrate, coal and sulfur, and this was first described in the Most Important Military Techniques Collection, compiled by Zeng Goliang in 1040. Gunpowder is thought to have been discovered earlier. Because Zeng mentioned three different mixtures of gunpowder, and the Chinese used gunpowder in the army as fireworks and flares before using it as a primitive grenade.
After a while, explosions of gunpowder of different colors emerged with the addition of metals to the mixture, and today's fireworks were born. In addition, gunpowder is detonated to launch the cores of pistol and rifle bullets.
Compass
With smartphones and navigation devices, you may think that the compass has become less important. But civilization would not have developed if the compass had not been invented. Finding our way and direction in places like open sea, sky or forest where everywhere is alike depends on the compass.
When the Chinese invented the compass for the first time, the needle of the compass pointed south. Because according to the Chinese, the main direction was south, not north. The first compasses were made of magnet stone in the 4th century BC.
The discovery of the magnet stone was by chance. When lightning strikes the flint, a very strong magnetic mineral called magnetite is formed inside. It is not known who first came up with the idea that the magnet stone can be used to determine direction. But pictures of compass scoops have been found in oracle inscriptions found in archaeological excavations in China. According to the Chinese oracles, these scoops not only show geographic orientation but inner harmony.
Paper
It is not entirely clear who first came up with the idea of "Spoken words fly away, written words remain". But we know that the Sumerians in Mesopotamia used writing in horse races. It is thought that Egyptians were the first to construct the written language, along with the Sumerians. We know that their language first appeared about 5000 years ago. But there are also those who think this goes back before. The wall paintings in caves belonging to the Dark Ages are considered to be an example of the language symbolically as well as artistic. When the language started to develop, people may have started to write important words on things. Clay tablets, bamboo, papyrus, and stone are some of the first inscribed surfaces.
Everything changed in China at the time when Cai Lun invented the first paper. Previously, the Chinese wrote on bamboo and silk. In 105 AD, Cai Lun mixed wood fiber and water and pressed it on a woven fabric. The weave of the fabric allowed moisture to seep into the soft mix, resulting in stiff paper.
Pasta
If you like pasta or noodles, you should thank the ancient Chinese, not the Italians. The Chinese invented pasta 2000 years before the Italians. In 2006, archaeologists found a bowl of noodles three meters underground in the Lajia area of Qinghai city, on the Chinese border with Tibet. This noodle found may be the oldest pasta in the world. Pasta is made from two types of millet and both have been cultivated in China for about 7000 years. Moreover, these two millets are used by the Chinese today.
Wheelbarrow
By finding the wheelbarrow, the Chinese have reduced the burden on people all over the world. Jugo Liang, who lived during the Han period, designed the one-wheeled wheelbarrow that was used to transport heavy goods in the 2nd century AD. Jugo's design did not have handles, it was added later. Still, the Chinese found the wheelbarrow a thousand years before the Europeans.
The wheelbarrow, like many other technological innovations, was first used for military purposes. Thanks to the physical advantages of the wheelbarrow, the Chinese armies gained the upper hand against their enemies. The Chinese have used the wheelbarrow not only to carry loads, but also to build portable barricades, and have kept their inventions secret for centuries.
Seismograph
When you think of earthquakes, you might think of the Richter scale, but the Chinese discovered the first earthquake detector, the seismograph, much earlier. The astronomer of the Chinese Empire, Chang Heng, built not an ordinary seismograph, but a fascinating seismograph during the Han period at the beginning of the 2nd century AD.
Heng's seismograph consists of a heavy bronze cauldron with nine dragons pointing down on its outer surface, and nine frogs looking upwards with their mouths open just below the dragons. There is a pendulum inside the cauldron. If there is a jolt, the pendulum moves and activates the mechanism inside the bowl. The movement of the pendulum and the internal mechanism causes the ball in the dragon's mouth on the side that points to the epicenter of the earthquake to fall into the mouth of the frog under it. This first seismograph may seem simple, but keep in mind that it was invented 1500 years before the seismographs of western nations.
Alcohol
We are indebted to the Chinese for inventing ethyl and isopropyl alcohol as well as alcoholic beverages. Few inventions have given people as much pain and pleasure as alcohol.
For many years it has been assumed that alcohol fermentation is derived from other similar processes. From the beginning of the 3rd century BC, the Chinese learned to purify products such as vinegar and soy sauce using distillation and brewing techniques. Distilling spirits followed.
Recent archaeological studies show that the Chinese discovering the brewing technique dates back much more. Traces of alcohol were found on 9000-year-old broken pottery pieces found in the province of Henan. Arabs started to produce alcoholic beverages only 1000 years after the Chinese.
Kite
Kites are thought to have been a part of Chinese culture for 2,400 years. In the 4th century BC, philosopher Gongshu Ban and art collector Mo Di made the first kite together. This kite was in the shape of a bird and swung up and down in the wind. This innovation quickly impressed people and quickly spread all over China.
Over time, the Chinese have found ways to use the kite outside of entertainment. Did you know that you can fish with a kite if you don't have a boat They fished in hard-to-reach waters by swinging the fishing line without a kite. They also used kites for military purposes. The Chinese army made its first air strikes with kites. These drones dropped bombs on enemies. They also used kites in psychological operations. The Chinese army used kites to send propaganda leaflets from the air to the Mongolian headquarters in 1232. These brochures contained instructions for Chinese prisoners of war to rebel and seize the enemy headquarters.
Hang Glider
As we mentioned before, kites were invented in the 4th century BC. In the 6th century AD, the Chinese made larger and aerodynamic kites that could support the weight of the average person. It was only a matter of time before someone saw what would come out when the kite got rid of the strings.
The Chinese used untethered kites, now known as gliders. But these kites weren't used for adrenaline rush flying: Emperors found it fun to tie criminals and enemy prisoners to gliders and throw them off cliffs. A weak person was flying 3 kilometers before landing safely on the ground. With these flights, the Chinese were 1335 years ahead of the Europeans in aviation.
Silk
Unfortunately, the Mongols, Byzantines, Greeks, and Romans found themselves confronted with the Chinese military innovations such as gunpowder. In contrast, silk was a vehicle of peace between the Chinese and other cultures. The demand for silk was very high, a good fabric helped China communicate with the outside world. This fabric enabled China's famous Silk Road to extend to the Mediterranean, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
The method by which silkworm production was controlled existed 4700 years ago. There was an article on silk production in a manuscript found in a tomb from the Liangzhu period, which lasted from 3300 to 2200 BC. The Chinese preserved the source of silk for a very long time. Only when the monks from Europe took the silkworm eggs and took them back from the West.