FREE THE TECHNOLOGY OF ANCIENT CHINA PDF Robert Greenberger | 48 pages | 30 Jan 2006 | Rosen Central | 9781404205581 | English | New York, NY, United States History of science and technology in China - Wikipedia One of the most advanced ancient civilizations in recorded history, was the one that thrived in ancient China. The legacy of that civilization is that many scientific ideas, inventions, and technology of ancient China is still being used by the whole world today. Ancient Chinese civilization claims credit for many discoveries and invention of technologies like discovery of gunpowder or technology of manufacturing paper. Some of the other rare technologies that were invented in ancient China were firearms, seismoscope device used to detect earthquakesthat was made by Zhang Heng and was named as Houfeng Didong Yi. Four Chinese inventions that are regarded as the greatest technologies developed by Chinese civilization are; compass, technology of paper making, printing and gunpowder. Compass was one of the most important technological developments in ancient China, as it promoted and aided exploration that was initiated by Chinese rulers. The development of compass made China the first imperial power in the world. Chinese empire indeed was termed as an imperial power till the end of monarchy in China and the royal place was also known as Imperial Palace. Origins of manufacturing compass can be traced to 4th century BC, China. The first properly developed compass that was made from lodestone, probably appeared during Song dynasty. Records from the dynasty dated between AD, describing the device made from lodestone as a direction finder. This device or rather the The Technology of Ancient China compass made from lodestone, was shaped like a small fish and was kept on a piece of wood, floating in a bowl of water. Chinese explorers used this compass for many centuries, facilitating trade with far off lands bringing prosperity to Chinese merchants. The compass was also widely used in land explorations. The basic principle was same, however a dry compass did not float in a bowl of water but was hung in a wooden box. Though the dry compass was convenient to use, it was The Technology of Ancient China and expensive to manufacture. The Technology of Ancient China wet compass hence remained in use till Europeans introduced the dry compass. The exact era or dynasty during which the Chinese invented technology of paper manufacturing, is uncertain. But the technology certainly led to many more advancements as it facilitated scholars, philosophers and writers of Chinese civilization. Paper that was invented in ancient China was not only used as a medium of writing, but creative Chinese innovators also used it as a raw material for manufacturing bags as well as paper currency. History of paper making can be traced to Han dynasty, which ruled from BC to AD, when court official Cai Lun set to the task of making paper. He deployed mulberry, bast fibers, waste material such as old rags and hemp waste. He also made use of fishing nets to bind the materials together. Some archaeological findings however, suggests The Technology of Ancient China paper in ancient China may have been invented during the 8th century BC. Initially this crude form of paper was The Technology of Ancient China used for writing. It was deployed as a means of wrapping and padding. By the end of 3rd century AD, it had become a popular medium of writing, and by 6th century it was even used as toilet papers. During this time, paper was used to make bags for tea storage, that helped preserve the flavor and smell of the tea. The invention of printing is regarded as one of the most important inventions, due to the fact that it made books cheaper. Cheaper books ensured an educated society. Many dynasties, The Technology of Ancient China and scholars from ancient China contributed to the development of printing press. Printing technology started evolving from some time around BC, with the printing of the first The Technology of Ancient China book the Diamond Sutra. The book was printed with the help of the wood block printing. It had become a very advanced technology by the end of the Song dynasty. Writer Shen Kuo, who was also a courtier of Songs, promoted the use of printing for the spread of knowledge. Bi Sheng, who was an artisan, invented the movable ceramic printing. Inventors like Hua Sui also attempted to invent the metal castings and rollers for movable printing. One of the few destructive inventions of ancient Chinese civilization was that of gunpowder. Discovery of gunpowder led to invention of firearms and revolutionized battlefields in Asian Continent. Chinese alchemists who were searching for an elixir of life, accidentally discovered the explosive property of gunpowder, some time around 9th century AD. By the end of the 10th century Asian powers had introduced grenades, crude bombs and firearms on battlefields. Among the technologies of ancient China, gunpowder and firearms is regarded as most useful, popular and also most destructive. Many more inventors and scientists have played significant roles in development of many different technologies of ancient China. The Chinese have displayed their technological capabilities in many other disciplines like manufacture of arms, agriculture, textile industry, civil engineering, medicine and even archeology. Many of these technologies have been lost with advancement of time. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information. Any The Technology of Ancient China that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar Skip to footer The Technology Used in Ancient China Was Truly Mind- boggling One of the most advanced ancient civilizations in recorded history, was the one that thrived in ancient China. 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Non-necessary Non-necessary. History of technology - China | Britannica The earliest scrap of paper still in existencea crude material made mostly from hemp fiber found in a tomb in China indates back to sometime between and 87 B. But Cai Lun, a eunuch in the Han court in A. An undated photograph of a Chinese built suspension bridge, with boats docked at a pier in foreground, in the Szechwan Province, China. But by 90 A. Han Dynasty salt miners in the First Century B. The technique they developed was the forerunner of modern oil and gas exploration. A model of a Chinese wheelbarrow. It can accommodate a much larger wheel, thus reducing the rolling resistance, and by having the wheel almost directly under the load it reduced the weight on the user's arms. The wheelbarrow was developed in China perhaps as early as B. C, according to this article by M. Lewis in the journal T echnology and Culture. The Chinese astronomer, mathematician and seismologist, Zhang Heng A. Arriving shock waves displace a pendulum linked to a mechanism which opens the jaws of the dragon facing the direction of The Technology of Ancient China earthquake. A ball falls from the dragon's teeth into the mouth of a toad below to record the event. Zhang Hengan early Chinese scientist, explored fields ranging from astronomy to clock-making. Its design was simple—an urn equipped with a pendulum. When it picked up a vibration, it dropped a ball from the mouth of a metal dragon into a metal frog, creating a loud clang. The first time that happened, nobody in the court reportedly felt anything, but a few days later, a The Technology of Ancient China from a village miles away arrived to inform the emperor that an earthquake had occurred there. Right around the beginning of the Han Dynasty in the early s B. According to Temple, The Technology of Ancient China First Century B. Chinese used a tool somewhat similar to the one used by plumbers and tinkerers, in which a sliding caliper gauge allowed the pieces to be adjusted. Modern wrenches have a worm screw, a different mechanism, but the function is the same. Initially, the devices seem to have been used for measuring, rather than loosening and tightening lug nuts or pipes. But a couple of hundred years later, some ingenious Han inventor came The Technology of Ancient China with the kuan, also known as the moldboard plow. The tool had a central piece that ended in a sharp point, and wings to push the soil away and reduce the friction.