China, located in the far north easterly corner of the globe is the largest country in Asia and home to over 1.3 billon people. Some sources claim China to be the oldest known continuous civilization in the world, with more than 5000 year of culture . Therefore it comes with no surprise that ancient China had some of the most influential ‘thinkers’ of that period who helped to shape their world. The early Chinese left behind a great number of legacies which were the forerunners to the ideas and technologies we enjoy today such as paper currency, the compass and gun powder. Without the inventions of Ancient China simple activities in our modern lives would most certainly be challenging.
A list of the most impacting inventions =
A list of the most impacting inventions =
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Image of an Ancient Chinese Compass
Compass
The compass was invented by Ancient Chinese between the 2nd century BC and 1st century AD. The Chinese invented the magnetic compass to help determine the correct direction. They used this in city planning at first, but it became very important to map makers and for the navigation of ships. Although the previous information is true, the original use for compasses was for maintaining harmony and prosperity with one's environment and for telling the future. If your home or business was placed in the right direction, then you would have a good life including good health and much wealth. Today, we known this practice as Feng shui. There is one major difference between the ancient Chinese compass and the compass of today; pointing to the south - Ancient Chinese , verse pointing to the north - today's compasses.
Image of Gun owder used in an explosive form
Gunpowder
Gunpowder was invented by Chinese Taoist alchemists about 1000 A.D. when they tried to find a potion to gain human immortality by mixing elemental 10 parts sulphur, 15 parts charcoal, and 75 parts saltpeter. It is generally believed that gunpowder spread to Europe during the Mongol expansion of 1200-1300 A.D.. The interesting fact is that Chinese used this discovery mainly for firecrackers and made great beautiful displays of fireworks for celebrations, while Europeans created cannons and guns. Gun powder had many uses in ancient China. The first use was fireworks, which was its only use for quite a few years. Several years later people had begun to realise that gunpowder could be used for warfare. This lead to the people in ancient China inventing the first cannon. they soon made many more weapons such as rockets, bombs and fire arrows. This is one of the reasons why china's armies were so strong compared to other armies at that time.
Image of the people of Chinese making alcohol
Alcohol
The inhabitants of the Arabian peninsula were widely believed to be the first brewers. However, in 2013, a 9000-year-old pottery found in Henan province revealed the presence of alcohol, 1000 years before Arabian. Alcohol is known as Jiu in Chinese and is often used as a spiritual offerings to Heaven and the Earth or ancestors in ancient China. Study shows that beer with an alcoholic content of 4% to 5% was widely consumed in ancient China and was even mentioned on oracle bone inscriptions of the Shang Dynasty (1600 BC–1046 BC). In China, alcohol is also called the "Water of History" because stories of liquor can traced back to almost every period in Chinese history. A legend said that Yi Di, the wife of the first dynasty's King Yu (about 2100 BC) invented the method to make alcohol. After the Zhou dynasty, alcohol was deemed as one of the Nine Rites, and every dynasty put great emphasis on alcohol administration to set up special ministries to manage alcohol production and banqueting.
Each of these inventions have played a massive role in the creation of China, spreading out to the rest of the world, over time. The compass is an invention used by a large portion of the world, and this invention has been used for over thousands of years. The compass has shaped modern culture by using it to navigate, build and travel, while in ancient times it shaped cultures by fortune telling, maintaining harmony and also building. Gunpowder is an invention that has brought joy and caused death, it has been the fate of many and made many peoples life. Gunpowder shaped modern culture by being a weapon in war and has shaped ancient china's culture by being a weapon of war, but also being a tool of happiness and joy, when used as fireworks. Alcohol is a commonly used invention, like gunpowder it has caused many casualties, emotions and scenarios. Alcohol has shaped modern culture by bring people together to celebrate and have a good time, but has also caused accidents when over used. Alcohol helped shape ancient China's culture by being used as spiritual offerings to heaven and the Earth or ancestors in ancient china.