Chinese Discoveries and Inventions

18.2 Exploration and Travel Compass Early Chinese compasses were made of a rock called lodestone, which, when floating, points north-south. The Chinese eventually replaced it with a steel needle Lodestone Compass Compasses still help travelers navigate.

18.2 Exploration and Travel Canal Lock The canal lock allowed boats to pass from one level to another in a canal. Passing the locks at the Grand Canal Canal locks are still used on modern canals, like the Panama Canal

18.3 Industry Movable type uses separate block for each character. Printers made characters out of clay, baked them, and then placed them in an iron frame. Early Chinese moveable blocks Until recently, all newspapers, books, and magazines were printed using movable type.

18.3 Industry   Porcelain Porcelain is a form of pottery of great beauty that some historians think was developed in the first century A.D. Porcelain was mass-produced. Porcelain, circa 1600 A.D. Fine dishes are still called “china” after fine porcelain.

Gunpowder changed the way wars were conducted around the world. 18.4 Military Technology   Gunpowder The discovery of gunpowder made possible the development of powerful weapons. Gunpowder may have been discovered by accident by people looking for a way to extended life. Gunpowder changed the way wars were conducted around the world.

18.5 Everyday Objects Paper money replaced coins. Paper money was printed with wood blocks using many colors on each bill. Circa 1378 Paper money is the most common form of currency today.

18.5 Everyday Objects   Mechanical Clock The mechanical clock had a wheel that made one revolution every 24 hours. Dripping water turned it. Every quarter hour drums would beat, and every hour a bell would chime so people knew what time it was. Modern mechanical clocks are based on the same principles as early Chinese clocks.

18.6 Disease Prevention   Small Pox Inoculation The Chinese developed a way to inoculate people against smallpox. They made a powder from the scab of an infected person and inserted it into the nose of the person who wanted protection. There are vaccines for many diseases.

Other Inventions and Discoveries Paddlewheel Boats Playing Cards Watertight Compartments Segmented Arch Bridges Woodblock Printing Steel Production Artillery Shells Catapults Rifles Cannons Flamethrowers Disinfectants (Boiling to kill germs)