China is one of the four ancient civilizations with a history of more than 5,000 years, with many inventions that amaze the world.
In addition to the four ancient inventions we are familiar with (gunpowder, papermaking, movable type printing books and compasses), there are actually many influential works.
This article will take stock of the top ten most influential inventions in ancient China. Let's take a look at the extraordinary wisdom of the ancients!
10th Place Gunpowder
Gunpowder is probably one of the most outstanding inventions of ancient China.
Legend has it that gunpowder was invented by chance by ancient warlocks in the process of refining elixirs.
Ironically, however, this invention does not make people immortal, but it can easily take people's lives.
Early gunpowder was a mixture of potassium nitrate (saltpeter), charcoal and sulfur, and was first recorded in 1044 in the book "General Outline of the Martial Classics" edited by Zeng Gongliang.
The book records three types of gunpowder, which Chinese used to make flares and firecrackers long before they were used for military purposes and to make improvised grenades, from which it can be inferred that gunpowder should have been invented even earlier.
Ninth place Compass
The compass is equivalent to today's mobile phone navigation, and you can imagine how important the compass was in the status of the ancients.
The original intention of the ancients to invent the compass was to make it point due south, because they believed that the main position was due south, not true north.
So the compass was originally only used for sacrifice, ceremonies, military and divination, and to determine orientation when looking at feng shui.
The earliest compasses appeared in the 4th century BC and were ground from natural magnets. (Natural magnet is a highly magnetized magnetite after being struck by lightning, which can naturally point to the north and south poles)
As one of the four major inventions of ancient China, its invention has an immeasurable effect on the development of human science and technology and civilization.
8th Paper
It can be said that paper is the most important carrier for the development of culture and civilization.
The mainland was the first country in the world to invent paper. The Western Han Dynasty paper with a map unearthed at Fangmatan in Gansu is the earliest paper in the world.
Cai Lun of the Eastern Han Dynasty transformed the art of paper. The use of bark, hemp heads, rags, fishing nets, etc. to create paper that is easy to write, known as "Caihou paper", the paper he transformed is the prototype of modern paper.
Papermaking is one of the four major inventions in ancient China, which not only accelerated the process of world civilization, but also made great contributions to the development of human culture.
7th Place Pasta
As the saying goes, the people take food as the sky. Unexpectedly, pasta was also invented in our country.
Although italians and Allabos claim to be the inventors of noodles, they have been their staple food for at least two thousand years.
But in fact, an archaeological discovery on China's Loess Plateau now finally has an answer: China had noodles four thousand years ago, two thousand years before the dating back to now.
In 2006, archaeologists discovered an upside-down bowl buried ten feet deep in soil with slender, dry noodles inside during excavations at the Site of Lajia. The site is located in Qinghai Province, close to Tibet, and has a history of 4,000 years.
The newly discovered noodles are probably the oldest in the world, made from two grains that have been cultivated in China for 7,000 years, and Chinese still use them today.
6th Place Iron Plough
When it comes to food, it is all grown in the field, and from planting to harvesting, in ancient times it was necessary to use a tool - the iron plough.
Iron ploughs first appeared in China's Spring and Autumn Warring States period, iron ploughs are equipped with iron ploughs and plough mirrors, pulled by livestock or human hands, and cultivated 2-3 acres of arable land per day.
The technology of the iron plough did not spread to England and the Netherlands until the 17th century, and was later copied, along with the use of branch cultivation methods and seed strip sowing mechanical vehicles, which directly led to the European Agricultural Revolution.
The invention of the iron plough is a remarkable achievement, which marks a new period in the development of human society and also marks a new stage in the struggle of mankind to transform nature.
Fifth place Chinese medicine
With the rapid development of modern medicine, there are two kinds of chinese medicine and Western medicine in the concept of medicine in China.
Mainland Chinese medicine has a history of more than 2,000 years and is a precious heritage of the motherland's medical culture.
Chinese medicine takes the five elements of yin and yang as the theoretical basis, and regards the human body as a unity of qi, form, and god.
Traditional Chinese medicine is generally through the method of "looking, hearing and asking", using a variety of treatment methods such as traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, tuina, massage, cupping, qigong, diet therapy, etc., so that the human body can achieve yin and yang harmony and recovery.
Some difficult and complicated diseases are not good in Western medicine, and can be recovered through slow conditioning through traditional Chinese medicine.
Therefore, for the whole world, including developed Western countries, there is no such developed Chinese medicine culture, and at present, they are doing everything possible to introduce Chinese Chinese medicine culture.
4th place Wine
Wine is a magical thing that can cure diseases and harm people.
The reason why there is disinfectant alcohol in the world is thanks to Chinese invented wine very early.
Archaeologists have found a 9,000-year-old pottery in Henan Province, which has found traces of wine, which fully confirms that Chinese is the originator of winemaking.
As a special cultural carrier, wine occupies a unique position in human interaction.
Wine culture has penetrated into all fields of human social life, and has a huge impact and role on humanistic life, literature and art, medical and health, industrial and agricultural production, and political economy.
3rd place Porcelain
Porcelain is synonymous with China and is also a symbol of China. It has been used to this day and is widely used and widely used.
As early as the Eastern Han Dynasty, the ancients built kilns in Changnan (now Jingdezhen) and fired ceramics. This technique was perfected in the Tang Dynasty and reached its peak during the Song Dynasty.
In Europe, Changnanzhen porcelain is a very cherished valuable item, and Europeans use "Changnan" as a synonym for porcelain (China) and "China" (China) for the production of porcelain. (This is the origin of the Chinese English name China)
The wide application of porcelain is an invention and an artistic creativity, and it is an art form that deserves the pride of every Chinese.
2nd place Tea
Although tea is not as famous as Pepsi and Coca-Cola today, the mainland was the first country to invent the drink.
The oldest drink Chinese grown and invented is tea.
The actual history of tea was medicinal in the early days of Chinese cultivation.
It wasn't until the 4th century AD that Chinese began to treat drinking tea as a daily pleasure rather than a cure for disease.
Nowadays, tea drinking has become a worldwide fashion, one of the world's three major health drinks, and its footprints have spread all over the world.
Tea drinking customs and cultures in various regions have the characteristics of competition. Different tea customs reflect the different values and cultural orientations of different nationalities, regions and countries.
1st Place Silk
The ancient Chinese not only enjoyed eating and drinking, but also far ahead of other countries in terms of clothing.
The silk invented in ancient China is soft and smooth in texture and glows with irresistible elegance, which is a symbol of ancient luxury jewelry and one of the important ways for the spread of ancient civilization.
Chinese was the first culture to nurture and use silk to make clothing and other valuables.
Silk began to exist during the Dawenkou culture period, 5300 years ago. In ancient legend, the Yellow Emperor's wife, Changzu, invented "raising silkworms for silk".
Silk played an important role not only in China, but throughout the history of Europe and Asia.
The advent of silk also led to an explosive increase in trade. The famous "Silk Road" was a trade route that spread across two continents.
Thousands of years ago, silk spread from Chang'an along the Silk Road to Europe, bringing not only a piece of gorgeous clothing, ornaments, but also the ancient and splendid civilization of the East, since then, silk has almost become a disseminator and symbol of oriental civilization.
Silk is a symbol of China's ancient culture and has made indelible contributions to the development of human civilization in the world.
What are the different views on the inventions of the ancients? Welcome to leave a comment.