Top 10 Ancient Chinese Inventions

Since the Chinese New Year is coming up on Thursday, Feb. 15, it’s a good idea to look at all the inventions the Ancient Chinese came up with thousands of years ago.

Many inventions that we take for granted were invented in China. Everything from moveable type and papermaking to noodles and alcohol fermentation was invented in China.

China also has what is known as the “Four Great Inventions.” These include Papermaking, Gunpowder, Moveable printing and the Compass. Without these four, today’s world would be inconceivable.

We still use all four. If we get lost, we need a compass to help us find our directions. We wouldn’t have newspapers without movable type and paper. Gunpowder has proven essential for war and firecrackers. When these four finally reached Europe, they soon spread worldwide and changed everything.

Aside from these four, China provided the world with countless other great inventions.

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The first bells appeared in China in 2000 BC and quickly became an integral part of life in China quickly. After all, this was long before alarm clocks, so the only way people knew that it was time for a religious meeting was by a ringing bell. As HistoryOfBells.com points out, bells also became a sign of wealth throughout Asia.

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The Rowing oar was actually invented in China and some have been found dating back to 6000 BC. It might sound like an odd thing to call important today, but in a world where boats were the primary mode of transportation for explorers, oars were very important. After all, without them, you are completely at the mercy of wind direction.

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Alcoholic beverage fermentation was invented in China, as scientists have found jars that display evidence of containing alcoholic beverages.

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Who loves dominoes? Back in 2012, dominoes were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame, but they didn’t need that recognition to feel important. It’s not clear how dominoes evolved to what we know today, but it’s pretty cool to know that we’re still playing with a game invented centuries ago.

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Could you imagine Mary Poppins without kites? While the Chinese originally used kites for military signals, over time, they became a pastime.

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While the matches in ancient China didn’t exactly have the same purpose as today’s, they did exist for the purpose of lighting fire. In Ancient China, they were first developed to take an existing fire to the kitchen for cooking. Today, we light matches to start a fire from scratch.

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Now we come to the tough task of ranking the “Four Great Inventions.” Let’s start with the Compass. In a world before GPS devices and cell phones, the only way to tell where you were was by the stars and with the help of a compass, which wasn’t introduced in Europe until the 14th century, notes TravelChinaGuide. Without a compass, it’s safe to say that the Age of Discovery might not have happened.

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Gunpowder was initially invented as an elixir, but it was soon discovered that it could be used in war with cannons to launch projectiles. It spread to European and Arab countries in the 12th and 13th centuries.

China also developed other uses for gunpowder, most notably fireworks.

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Before printing and moveable type came around, people had to handwrite even books. Initially, printing didn’t really take off in China because of all the characters in the Chinese language. Once the process was refined in the centuries after it was invented and it spread around the globe, it became impossible to live without.

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Human civilization would look very different had Cai Lun not created paper making in 105 AD. He began using lighter, cheaper material to write on, making it easier for the anyone to read a book. The skills to make paper reached Korea in 384 AD and then Japan in 610 AD. Arabs introduced it to Africans and Europeans, finally helping paper making a worldwide skill.