Ancient China: inventions. The most ancient and important Chinese inventions

In today's market it is difficult to find products produced not in China. Almost everything we use is done in the Middle Kingdom. Here, labor costs are much cheaper than in other countries, and people can come up with something that no one else can do. The best and most popular toys were invented by the Chinese, innovative household appliances, again, was born in China. In a word, the state was already known in the deep past precisely for its technical and other achievements. The discoveries and inventions of Ancient China formed the basis of modern production and became the prototype of many objects known today to every person.

Porcelain Heritage

Products from Chinese porcelain are extremely valued all over the world. To have such dishes at home is to demonstrate to others the impeccable taste. Such things are valued for their unrivaled quality and amazing beauty. In Persian, the word "porcelain" means "king". And this is truly so. In the thirteenth century in the European countries porcelain from the Celestial Empire was an incredible value. The most influential people in their treasuries kept samples of ceramic Chinese art framed in a rim of gold. And the inhabitants of Iran and India were sure that Chinese porcelain is endowed with magical opportunities: if food was mixed with poison, then it will change its shade. Thus, the most famous invention, made in ancient China, is, as you might guess, porcelain.

In the second millennium BC. E. (The Tang Dynasty) there is ceramics, which represents historical and artistic value. A little later a proto-porcelain appeared, not having a characteristic whiteness and transparency. But the Chinese consider this material a true porcelain, while Western art historians refer it to the stone masses.

Ancient China (inventions of one of the most ancient states caused and still cause great interest) gave the world a real matte white porcelain. At the very beginning of the 7th century ceramists from the Middle Kingdom learned to receive porcelain masses, mixing kaolin, feldspar and silicon. During the reign of the Song dynasty , Chinese ceramic production flourished.

The appearance of cast iron

Already in the IV century. BC. E. In the Middle Kingdom, the technology of smelting pig iron was known. From the same period, and perhaps even earlier, the Chinese began to use coal as a fuel, which provided heat. It is in such a state as ancient China (achievements and inventions are described in this article) that the following method for producing cast iron was developed: iron ore was formed in melting crucibles resembling a pipe in shape . The tanks themselves were coated with coal and set on fire. This technology guaranteed the absence of sulfur.

Cast iron was used to make iron knives, chisels, plowshares for plows, axes and other tools. Such material was not disdained in the production of toys. Thanks to its technology of smelting pig-iron, the Chinese molded trays and pots with incredibly thin walls.

Deeper, deeper

In such a state as ancient China, the achievements and inventions of which are actively used to this day, the method of deep well drilling was invented. It happened in the first century BC. The invented method made it possible to drill holes in the ground, the depth of which reached fifteen hundred meters. Drilling rigs that are used today, work on a principle similar to what the ancient Chinese invented. But in those distant times the rigs for securing the instrument reached a 60-meter height. Workers in the middle of the necessary territory for the direction of the tool laid stones with holes. Today, guide tubes are used for this purpose.

Then, using hemp ropes and bamboo power structures, the masters regularly lowered and lifted the bur from the iron. This was done until the required depth was reached, on which the layer of natural gas lay. It was subsequently used as fuel in the salt production process.

North or East

You can long enumerate the inventions of Ancient China. Compass is worth mentioning in the first five. Since ancient times, the Chinese knew about the existence of a magnet. In the III century. BC. E. The inhabitants of Heaven became aware that it can attract iron. As early as they guessed, and that this material is able to indicate in which direction the south and north are located. Presumably, at the same time, the first compass was invented. However, at that time it resembled a magnetic spoon that rotated around its own axis and was placed in the center of a device resembling a stand made of wood or copper. And the division line on the device meant the sides of the world. The spoon regularly pointed to the south. Such a device was called "a spoon that controls the world".

In the eleventh century, instead of a magnet, the Chinese began using magnetized iron or steel. At this time, the water compass was also very popular. Ancient China, whose inventions are truly amazing and unique, is the state where such a device was used as follows: a magnetized arrow of steel was lowered into a vessel with water. It was made in the form of a fish and reached six centimeters in length. The head of the figure pointed only to the south. Over time, the fish succumbed to changes and became an ordinary compass needle.

Stirrups

Horseback riding people began to engage in a long time ago. And for a long time they moved on horses without legs. The stirrups were not then known to the Babylonians, nor the Medes, nor to the Greeks, nor to other ancient peoples. With fast driving people had to cling to the horse's mane, so as not to fall. But the great inventions of Ancient China would not bear such an honorable title if they did not really deserve it. In the III century, the Chinese invented how to avoid such inconveniences. At that time they were considered incredibly gifted metallurgists, and therefore iron and bronze were used for casting stirrups. Unfortunately, the name of the person who invented this object has not survived. But it was in the Middle Kingdom that they learned to mold the stirrups from metal, and they had an ideal shape.

If there was no paper

Ancient China, whose inventions deserve respect, opened a new era in book development. The Chinese succeeded in inventing paper and printing. The oldest texts of a hieroglyphic character date back to 3200 BC. E. Lithography was opened during the Six Dynasties in the Celestial Empire. At first the text was punched out on a stone, and then they made an impression on paper. In the 8th century AD, instead of stone, paper was used. So there was an engraving and a woodcut.

According to legends, Tsai Lun, the servant of the Emperor's harem, became the inventor of the paper. He lived during the times of the Eastern Han dynasty. Historical sources claim that for the production of paper Tsai used wood bark, fishing nets and rags. Such a creation the servant presented to his emperor. Since then, the paper has firmly entered the life of mankind and has become an indispensable attribute of its existence.

Chinese silk

Over the centuries, Western countries knew China solely as a silk manufacturer. Even in deep-deep antiquity the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire had secrets of making this wonderful material. Xi Ling, the wife of Emperor Huang Di, taught Chinese girls to grow silkworms, to process silk and weave from the threads obtained.

The most famous invention

A list called "Inventions of Ancient Chinese People" would be incomplete without mentioning such a substance as gunpowder. Already in the first centuries of our era, alchemists from the Celestial Empire learned to extract a mixture of sulfur and saltpeter, which together with coal is the basis for the chemical formula of gunpowder. This discovery was a little ironic. And all because the Chinese tried to get a substance through which it would be possible to attain immortality. But instead they created what takes life.

Gunpowder was used to activate weapons and for domestic purposes. Well, everything is clear with the war, but what about the peaceful life? What is the use of such a dangerous substance? It turns out that when there were outbreaks of a disease (epidemic), gunpowder played the role of a disinfectant. Powder was treated with a variety of ulcers and wounds on the body. They also poisoned insects.

A few more innovations

Ancient China (the inventions described above) can boast of other discoveries. For example, it was the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire who invented fireworks, without which no solemn event is taking place today. The seismoscope first appeared also in Ancient China. Favorite by many gourmets, tea has learned to grow and cook in this country. And yet there was a crossbow, a mechanical watch, a horse harness, an iron plow and many other useful items.