Chinese Discoveries and Inventions EQ: How have Medieval Chinese Discoveries and Inventions influenced the Modern World?

Sea Travel Compass Early Chinese compasses were made of a rock called lodestone, which, when floating, points north-south The Chinese eventually replaced lodestone with steel needles The compass still helps travelers navigate.

What new technology is replacing compasses?

Global Positioning System (GPS)

Improving Travel on Rivers, Lakes, Canals, and Bridges Canal lock The canal lock allowed boats to pass from one level to another in a canal. The canal lock could raise boats 100 feet above sea level Canal locks are still used on modern canals like the Panama Canal and the Three Gorges Dam project in China Segmental arch bridge Took less material to build, and it was stronger as well Paddlewheel boats Arranging a series of paddles on a wheel allowed much faster travel

Paper The Chinese invented papermaking by the 2nd century C.E. For more than 500 years the Chinese were the only people in the world who knew the art.

Printing Woodblock printing The printer carved out the wood around the characters, leaving the characters raised on the wood Enabled Chinese to create paper money and playing cards Movable type Movable type uses a separate block for each character Until recently, all newspapers, books, and magazines were printed using movable type

What new invention(s) are replacing books, paper, and typesetting?

Computers, internet, ebooks, email, etc…

Porcelain Porcelain is a form of pottery of great beauty that some historians think was developed in the first century C.E. Porcelain was mass-produced.

What is another term for porcelain?

Fine dishes are still called “china” after the fine porcelain made in China.

Steel The Chinese first made steel before 200 B.C.E. Steel is less brittle than iron and easier to bend into different shapes In the 1800s, the mass production of steel was crucial to the Industrial Revolution

Gunpowder The discovery of gunpowder made possible the development of powerful weapons Gunpowder may have been discovered by accident by alchemists looking for a way to extend life using saltpeter Chinese made flamethrowers. Chinese used catapults to hurl exploding bombs. Gunpowder changed the way wars were conducted around the world, especially Europe.

Rocket Rockets were first used in fireworks The Chinese made a two-stage rocket, with the first stage carrying the weapon over the enemy and the second stage dropping arrows. The rockets we use to explore space are based on the same principles as ancient Chinese rockets.

Cards and Money Playing cards Invented in China in the 9th century Printers used woodblock printing to make the cards from thick paper Paper money Paper money replace coins. Paper money was printed with wood blocks using many colors on each bill Paper money is the most common form of currency today.

Do you believe paper currency will exist 100 years in the future?

Mechanical Clock The mechanical clock had a wheel that made one revolution every 24 hours. Dripping water turned the wheel. 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.

Disease Prevention Disinfectant The Chinese burned a chemical that made a poisonous smoke that would kill germs The Chinese would steam the clothes of sick people. The steam would kill germs. Smallpox 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 to improve his/her immune system. Chinese knowledge about smallpox inoculation eventually led to the development of drugs called vaccines.

True or False? In general, vaccination is considered to be the most effective method of preventing infectious diseases.

True