Ancient Chinese Culture
Archive for category Chinese Great Inventions
Four Great Inventions in Ancient China – Movable Type Printing
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Great Inventions on October 7, 2010
Movable Type Printing, invented by Bi Sheng in the 1040s, is one of the four great inventions in ancient China. The other three are Gunpowder, Compass and Paper-making .
Regarded as the great technological revolution in printing history, its history can date back to the period of Northern Song Dynasty (960~1127). Its early form was woodblock printing.
Though it is much more efficient than hand copying, the process of printing is quite complicated. Firstly, workers will make rectangular blocks with clay. Secondly, they engrave an individual Chinese character on each of the block and then burn the blocks with fire. Having been hardened by fire, these blocks will be put into iron frames and the printing Read the rest of this entry »
Four Great Inventions in Ancient China – Compass
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Great Inventions on September 8, 2010
Compass, a simple instrument of finding the direction, was one of the four great inventions in ancient China. The other three are namely Gunpowder, Movable Type Printing and Paper Making.
The history of compass can date back to the period of Warring States (475BC~221BC). During that time, working people used an instrument called Sinan to find their way. It consisted of two parts, a metal spoon which was made of loadstone and a square bronze plate with markings for different positions. Due to the earth’s magnetic field, the handle of the spoon always point to the south. It was believed as the earliest form of compass. During the period of Northern Song Dynasty (960~1127), another kind of compass south-pointing fish appeared and was used for military purpose.
Later, people discovered the directivity of the magnetite. Then the magnetized needles were used to point directions instead of the spoon-shaped loadstone. Finally, the compass came into being. According to records, it was used in navigation during the Northern Song Dynasty (960 A.D. – 1127 A.D.)
As a useful tool in ancient China, compass was also one of the most important inventions for the whole world. Nowadays, it is still used for different purposes, such as measuring, traveling, mining, astronomy, etc.
Chinese Abacus
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Great Inventions on August 13, 2010
The abacus, also called suanpan in Chinese, is a calculating tool invented in ancient China. The abacus can be used to do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
The abacus consists of a wire grid in a wooden (bamboo or plastic) frame with vertical rows of beads strung on wires. The beads are moved up and down when people are doing the calculation. Nowadays, it is still widely used by merchants, traders and clerks in some parts of China.
The history of abacus can date back to 600 BC. During the period of Eastern Han Dynasty (25~220), the abacus was mentioned in the book of Supplementary Notes on the Art of Figures. It was quite popular and widely used during the period of Northern Song Dynasty (960~1127). In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), it was introduced to Japan. Later people summarized many calculation formulas for abacus, which greatly accelerated the computing speed.
It is easy to learn, but if a person wants to be a qualified abacist, he or she needs more practice to master the skills. Chinese believe that the abacus not only brings convenience for calculating, but also has a function of developing the ability of thinking as it is an activity to improve the coordination of brain, eyes and hands.
Sundial in Ancient China
Posted by ancient chinese culture in Chinese Great Inventions on July 17, 2010
A sundial is an device that used to measure time by the position of the Sun. It is called “rigui” in Chinese. In ancient China, it was used by Chinese people to count hours during the sunny days. When the sun moves across the sky, it casts shadows from its Gnomon, a thin rod or a sharp, onto a flat calibrated dial. The lines marked on the dial indicate the hours of the day. At different time, the different hour-lines will be marked on the dial. Hence, people in ancient China could easily know the time via reading the lines from the sundial.
According to historical records, the flat horizontal dial plate, the earliest sundial of China, was invented in 574 AD. It is one of the most important inventions in ancient China. Today, you still have chance to appreciate this crystallization of wisdom in some places of China, such as the Palace Museum at the Forbidden City.
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