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List of Chinese inventions
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China has been the source of some of the world's most significant inventions, including the Four Great Inventions of ancient China: paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing (both woodblock and movable type). The list below contains these and other inventions which first appeared in China. It does not include foreign-born technologies which the Chinese cultural realm acquired through contact, such as the windmill from the Islamic Middle East or the telescope from Early modern Europe. It also does not include technologies which were originally invented elsewhere but were later invented separately by the Chinese in their own right, such as the chain pump and odometer.
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China has been the source of some of the world's most significant inventions, including the Four Great Inventions of ancient China: paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing (both woodblock and movable type). The list below contains these and other inventions which first appeared in China. It does not include foreign-born technologies which the Chinese cultural realm acquired through contact, such as the windmill from the Islamic Middle East or the telescope from Early modern Europe. It also does not include technologies which were originally invented elsewhere but were later invented separately by the Chinese in their own right, such as the chain pump and odometer. Since there is no evidence that the Chinese were the first to invent writing or the calendar, Chinese inventions such as Chinese writing and the Chinese calendar do not need to be mentioned or described. The same may be applied to articles like Chinese opera, Chinese mathematics, and Chinese architecture. This is also not a list of Chinese discoveries of natural phenomena which can be found in the human body, other organisms, the environment of the world, and immediate solar system.
The Chinese invented original technologies involving mechanics, hydraulics, and mathematics applied to horology, metallurgy, astronomy, agriculture, engineering, music theory, craftsmanship, nautics, and warfare. By the Warring States Period (403–221 BCE), the Chinese had advanced metallurgic technology, including the blast furnace and cupola furnace, while the finery forge and puddling process were known by the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE). The rise of a sophisticated economic system in China gave birth to inventions such as the use of paper money during the Song Dynasty (960–1279). The invention of gunpowder by at least the 10th century led to an array of unique inventions such as the fire lance, land mine, naval mine, hand cannon, exploding cannonballs, multistage rocket, and rocket bombs with aerodynamic wings and explosive payloads. With the navigational aid of the 11th-century compass and ability to steer at high sea with the 1st-century sternpost rudder, premodern Chinese sailors sailed as far as East Africa and Egypt. In regards to water-powered clockworks, the premodern Chinese had used the escapement mechanism since the 8th century and the endless power-transmitting chain drive in the 11th century. They also created large mechanical puppet theaters driven by waterwheels and carriage wheels and wine-serving automatons driven by paddle wheel boats.
The contemporaneous Peiligang and Pengtoushan cultures represent the oldest Neolithic cultures of China and were formed sometime around 7000 BC. Some of the first inventions of Neolithic, prehistoric China include semilunar and rectangular stone knives, stone hoes and spades, the cultivation of millet, rice and the soybean, the refinement of sericulture, the building of rammed earth structures with lime-plastered house floors, the creation of the potter's wheel, the creation of pottery with cord-mat-basket designs, the creation of pottery tripods and pottery steamers, and the development of ceremonial vessels and scapulimancy for purposes of divination. Francesca Bray argues that the domestication of the ox and buffalo during the Longshan culture (c. 3000–c. 2000 BC) period, the absence of Longshan-era irrigation or high-yield crops, full evidence of Longshan cultivation of dry-land cereal crops which gave high yields "only when the soil was carefully cultivated," suggest that the plow was known at least by the Longshan culture period and explains the high agricultural production yields which allowed the rise of Chinese civilization during the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC). With later inventions such as the multiple-tube seed drill and heavy moldboard iron plow, China's agricultural output could sustain a much larger population.
Four Great Inventions
The following is a list of the Four Great Inventions of ancient China—as designated by the late Joseph Needham (1900–1995)—in the chronological order that they were established in China.
Paper
Although it is recorded that the Han Dynasty (202 BC–AD 220) court eunuch Cai Lun (c. 50–AD 121) invented the papermaking process and established the use of new raw materials used in making paper, ancient padding and wrapping paper artifacts dating to the 2nd century BC have been found in China, the oldest example of paper being a map from Fangmatan, Tianshui; by the 3rd century, paper as a writing medium was in widespread use, replacing traditional but more expensive writing mediums such as strips of bamboo rolled into threaded scrolls, scrolls and strips of silk, wet clay tablets hardened later in a furnace, and wooden tablets. The earliest known piece of paper with writing on it was discovered in the ruins of a Chinese watchtower at Tsakhortei, Alxa League, where Han Dynasty troops had deserted their position in AD 110 following a Xiongnu attack. In the papermaking process established by Cai in 105, a boiled mixture of mulberry tree bark, hemp, old linens, and fish nets created a pulp that was pounded into paste and stirred with water; a wooden frame sieve with a mat of sewn reeds was then dunked into the mixture, which was then shaken and then dried into sheets of paper that were bleached under the exposure of sunlight; K.S. Tom says this process was gradually improved through leaching, polishing and glazing to produce a smooth, strong paper.
Printing
Woodblock printing: The earliest specimen of woodblock printing discovered is a single-sheet dharani sutra in Sanskrit that was printed on hemp paper between 650 and 670 AD; it was unearthed in 1974 from a Tang tomb near Xi'an. A Korean miniature dharani Buddhist sutra discovered in 1966, bearing extinct Chinese writing characters used only during the reign of China's only self-ruling empress, Wu Zetian (r. 690–705), is dated no earlier than 704 and preserved in a Silla Korean temple stupa built in 751. However, the earliest known book printed at regular size is the Diamond Sutra made during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), a 5.18 m (17 ft) long scroll which bears the date 868 AD, or the "fifteenth day of the fourth moon of the ninth year" of Emperor Yizong's (859–873) Xiantong ?? reign period. Joseph Needham and Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin write that the cutting and printing techniques used for the delicate calligraphy of the Diamond Sutra book are much more advanced and refined than the miniature dharani sutra printed earlier. The two oldest printed Chinese calendars are dated 877 and 882; they were found at the Buddhist pilgrimage site of Dunhuang; Patricia Ebrey writes that it is no surprise that some of the earliest printed items were calendars, since the Chinese found it necessary to calculate and mark which days were auspicious and which were not.
Movable type: The polymath scientist and official Shen Kuo (1031–1095) of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) was the first to describe the process of movable type printing in his Dream Pool Essays of 1088, attributing this innovation to a little-known artisan named Bi Sheng (990–1051). With the use of fired clay characters, Shen described Bi's technical process of making the type, type-setting, printing, and breaking up the type for further use. Bi had experimented with wooden type characters, but their use was not perfected until 1297 to 1298 with the model of the official Wang Zhen (fl. 1290–1333) of the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), who also arranged written characters by rhyme scheme on the surface of round table compartments. It was not until 1490 with the printed works of Hua Sui (1439–1513) of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) that the Chinese perfected metal movable type characters, namely bronze. The Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) scholar Xu Zhiding of Tai'an, Shandong developed vitreous enamel movable type printing in 1718.
Effects on bookbinding: The advent of printing in the 9th century revolutionized bookbinding, as late Tang Dynasty paper books evolved from rolled scrolls of paper into folded leaves like a pamphlet, which developed further in the Song Dynasty (960–1279) into 'butterfly' bindings with leaves of paper folded down the center like a common book, then during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) wrapped back bindings had two edges of the leaves attached to the spine and secured with a stiff paper cover on the back, and during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) books finally had thread-stitched bindings in the back. It was not until the early 20th century that traditional Chinese thread-stitched bookbinding was replaced by Western-style bookbinding, a parallel to the replacement of traditional Chinese print methods with the modern printing press, in the tradition of Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1400–1468).
Gunpowder
Although evidence of gunpowder's first use in China comes from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907–960), the earliest known recorded recipes for gunpowder were written by Zeng Gongliang, Ding Du, and Yang Weide in the Wujing Zongyao military manuscript compiled in 1044 during the Song Dynasty (960–1279); the gunpowder formulas described were used in incendiary bombs lobbed from catapults, thrown down from defensive walls, or lowered down the wall by use of iron chains operated by a swape lever. Bombs launched from trebuchet catapults mounted on forecastles of naval ships ensured the victory of Song over Jin forces at the Battle of Caishi in 1161, while the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) used gunpowder bombs during their failed invasion of Japan in 1274 and 1281. During the 13th and 14th centuries, gunpowder formulas became more potent (with nitrate levels of up to 91%) and gunpowder weaponry more advanced and deadly, as evidenced in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) military manuscript Huolongjing compiled by Jiao Yu (fl. 14th to early 15th century) and Liu Ji (1311–1375), completed sometime before the latter's death with a preface added by the former in a 1412 Nanyang publication of the work.
Compass
In San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán, Veracruz, Mexico, an ancient hematite artifact from the Olmec era dating roughly 1000 BC indicates the possible use of the lodestone compass in Central America long before it was described in China, yet the Olmecs did not have iron which the Chinese would discover could be magnetized by contact with lodestone. Descriptions of lodestone attracting iron were made in the Guanzi, Master Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals and Huainanzi. The Chinese by the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) began using north-south oriented lodestone ladle-and-bowl shaped compasses for divination and geomancy and not yet for navigation. The Lunheng, written by Wang Chong (27–c. 100 AD) stated in chapter 52: "This instrument resembles a spoon, and when it is placed on a plate on the ground, the handle points to the south". There is, however, another two references under chapter 47 of the same text to the attractive power of a magnet according to Needham (1986), but Li Shu-hua (1954) considers it to be lodestone, and states that there is no explicit mention of a magnet in Lunheng. Shen Kuo (1031–1095) of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) was the first to accurately describe both magnetic declination (in discerning true north) and the magnetic needle compass in his Dream Pool Essays of 1088, while the author Zhu Yu (fl. 12th century) was the first to mention use of the compass specifically for navigation at sea in his book published in 1119. Even before this, however, the Wujing Zongyao military manuscript compiled by 1044 described a thermoremanence compass of heated iron or steel shaped as a fish and placed in a bowl of water which produced a weak magnetic force via remanence and induction; the Wujing Zongyao recorded that it was used as a pathfinder along with the mechanical South Pointing Chariot.
Pre-Shang
Inventions which originated in what is now China during the Neolithic age and pre-historic Bronze age are listed in alphabetical order below.
- Bell: Clapper-bells made of pottery have been found in several archaeological sites; 1 in a Yangshao site at Dahecun, Henan; 1 in a Daxi site at Yijiashan, Hubei; 7 in the Majiayao sites in Gansu; 2 in the Longshan sites at Baiying and Wadian, Henan; 1 in a Shijiahe site at Tianmen, Hubei; 2 in a Qijia site at Dahezhuang, Gansu. The earliest metal bells, with one found in the Taosi site, and four in the Erlitou site, dated to about 2000 BC, may have been derived from the earlier pottery prototype. Early bells not only have an important role in generating metal sound, but arguably played a prominent cultural role. With the emergence of other kinds of bells during the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC), they were relegated to subservient functions; at Shang and Zhou sites, they are also found as part of the horse-and-chariot gear and as collar-bells of dogs.
- Coffin, rectangular wooden: The earliest evidence of wooden coffin remains, dating from the 5000 BC are found in the Tomb 4 at Beishouling, Shaanxi. Clear evidence of wooden coffin in forms of rectangular shape are found in Tomb 152 in an early Banpo site. The Banpo coffin belongs to a four years old girl, measuring 1.4 m (4.5 ft) by 0.55 m (1.8 ft) and 3–9 cm thick. By 3000 BC, as much as 10 wooden coffins are found in the late phase of Dawenkou culture (4100–2600 BC) site at Chengzi, Shandong. The thickness of a wooden coffin composing by more than one timber frame also emphasized the level of nobility, as mentioned in the Classic of Rites, Xunzi and Zhuangzi, and have been found at several Neolithic sites; double coffin, consisting an outer and inner coffins, with the earliest finds in the Liangzhu culture (3400–2250 BC) site at Puanqiao, Zhejiang; triple coffin, consisting of two outer and one inner coffins, are found in the Longshan culture (3000–2000 BC) sites at Xizhufeng and Yinjiacheng in Shandong. The double coffin remained used during the Warring States Period (403–221 BC), such as the lacquered double coffin of Marquis Yi of Zeng, and have also found in an archaeologial site of Xiongnu's aristocracy in Inner Mongolia.
- Dagger-axe: The dagger-axe or ge was developed from agricultural stone implement during the Neothilic, dagger-axe made of stone are found in the Longshan culture (3000–2000 BC) site at Miaodian, Henan. It also appeared as ceremonial and symbolic jade weapon at around the same time, two being dated from about 2500 BC, are found at the Lingjiatan site in Anhui. The first bronze ge appeared at the early Bronze Age Erlitou site, where two were being found among the over 200 bronze artifacts (as of 2002) at the site, three jade ge were also discovered from the same site. Total of 72 bronze ge in Tomb 1004 at Houjiazhuang, Anyang, 39 jade ge in tomb of Fu Hao and over 50 jade ge at Jinsha site were found alone. It was the basic weapon of Shang (c. 1600–1050 BC) and Zhou (c. 1050 –256 BC) infantry, although it was sometimes used by the "striker" of charioteer crews. It consisted of a long wooden shaft with a bronze knife blade attached at a right angle to the end. The weapon could be swung down or inward in order to hook or slash, respectively, at an enemy. By the early Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD), military use of the bronze ge had become very limited (and mostly ceremonial); they were slowly phased out during the Han Dynasty by iron spears and iron ji halberds.
- Drum, alligator hide: Drums (made from clay) have been found over a broad area at the Neolithic sites from modern Shandong in the east to Qinghai in the west, dating to a period of 5500–2350 BC. In literary records, drums manifested shamanistic characteristics and were often used in ritual ceremonies. Drums covered with alligator skin for ceremonial use are mentioned in the Shijing. During the archaic period, alligators probably lived along the east coast of China, including southern Shandong. The earliest alligator drums, comprising a wooden frame covered with alligator skin are found in the archaeological sites at Dawenkou (4100 BC–2600 BC), as well as several sites of Longshan (3000 BC–2000 BC) in Shandong and Taosi (2300 BC–1900 BC) in southern Shanxi.
- Fermented beverage: Archaeologists have discovered residue of a fermented beverage that was 9,000-years old in pottery jars from the Neolithic site of Jiahu, Henan. Chemical tests (including gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, infrared spectrometry, and stable isotope analysis) have revealed a fermented beverage of hawthorn fruit and wild grape, beeswax associated with honey, and rice. Herbal wine and a filtered rice or millet beverage was found 5000 years later in sealed Shang and Western Zhou bronze containers and has been identified as containing specialized rice or millet, flavored with herbs, flowers, and possibly tree resins. It was found that the chemical composition of the samples is similar to those in modern rice, rice wine, grape wine, beehive wax, tannins, several herbal medicines and hawthorn.
- Fork: The fork had been used in China long before the chopstick; a bone fork has been discovered by archaeologists at a burial site of the early Bronze Age Qijia culture (2400–1900 BC), and forks have been found in tombs of the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC) and subsequent Chinese dynasties.
- Jade ritual object: Jade artifacts have been found in large quantities dating throughout the entire Neolithic period. The earliest development of jade use comes from the Xinglongwa culture (6200–5400 BC) at the Liao River region; jade carving reached to its height by the late Hongshan culture (3500–3000 BC), as shown in the Niuheliang site; in the lower Yangzi River, jade objects first occurred in the Majiabang and Songze cultures (5000–3200 BC), and became prevalent in the Liangzhu culture (3200–2000 BC); in the middle Yangzi River, jades appeared in the middle Daxi and Qujialing cultures (4000–2600 BC), and flourished during the Shijiahe culture (2600–2000 BC); in the lower Yellow River, jade objects are mainly dated to the Dawenkou and Longshan cultures (4300–2000 BC), although they have been found earlier in the Houli culture (6500–5500 BC). Jade plaques with the design of the eight trigrams, dating from about 2500 BC, have also been found at Lingjiatan, Anhui. Jade in distinctive shapes known later as bi, cong, gui, zhang, huang, and hu or the six ritual jades are mentioned in the Rites of Zhou; the earliest bi and huang were produced in the Hongshan culture at Niuheliang and Dongshanzui sites; the cong appear in large numbers in the Liangzhu culture at Fanshan and Yaoshan sites; the gui appear in large numbers in the Longshan culture, examples are found in the Dachengshan site; the zhang and hu appeared relatively late, with one each found at the Shang Dynasty sites in Erligang and Yinxu.
- Lacquer: Lacquer was used in China since the Neolithic period and came from a substance extracted from the lac tree found in China. A red wooden bowl, which is believed to be the earliest known lacquer container, was unearthed at a Hemudu (c. 5000 BC–c. 4500 BC) site. Michael Loewe says coffins at many early Bronze Age sites seem to have been lacquered, and articles of lacquered wood may also have been common, but the earliest well-preserved examples of lacquer come from Eastern Zhou Dynasty (771–256 BC) sites. However, Wang Zhongshu disagrees, stating that the oldest well-preserved lacquerware items come from a Xiajiadian (c. 2000–c. 1600 BC) site in Liaoning excavated in 1977, the items being red lacquered vessels in the shape of Shang Dynasty bronze gu vessels. Wang states that many lacquerware items from the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC), such as fragments of boxes and basins, were found, and had black designs such as the Chinese dragon and taotie over a red background. Queen Fu Hao (died c. 1200 BC) was buried in a lacquered wooden coffin. There were three imperial workshops during the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) established solely for the purpose of crafting lacquerwares; fortunately for the historian, Han lacquerware items were inscribed with the location of the workshop where they were produced and the date they were made, such as a lacquerware beaker found in the Han colony in northwestern Korea with the inscription stating it was made in a workshop near Chengdu, Sichuan and dated precisely to 55 AD.
 - Noodle: In 2005, an archaeological excavation at the Lajia site of the Qijia culture (2400–1900 BC) revealed 4,000-year-old noodles made of millet (instead of traditional wheat flour) preserved by an upturned earthenware bowl that had created a vacuum between it and the sediment it was found on; the noodles resemble the traditional lamian noodle of China, which is made by "repeatedly pulling and stretching the dough by hand," according to a BBC News report on the find.
- Oar, rowing: Rowing oars have been used since the early Neothilic period; a canoe-shaped pottery and six wooden oars dating from the 6000 BC have been discovered in a Hemudu culture site at Yuyao, Zhejiang. In 1999, an oar measuring 63.4 cm (2 ft) in length, dating from 4000 BC, has also been unearthed at Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.
- Pottery, tripod: Tripod pottery was a characteristic vessels of northern China from the Neolithic Peiligang culture through the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC). Tripod pottery bowls and pots had been unearthed from several sites belonging to the Peiligang culture (7000–5000 BC), including type site, Jiahu, Shuiquan, Shigu and Beigang. Tripods were known as cooking vessels, such as the hollow-legged li and solid-legged ding, and pouring pitcher, such as gui, they have three properly constructed and non-stubby legs stand on ground. Outside mainland China, tripod pottery associated with Neolithic cultures has been found only in Taiwan and mainland Southeast Asia. The discoveries of tripods at Ban Kao site, brought question about the relationships of the Southeast Asian tripod pottery with other tripod pottery cultures of mainland China. Bird-shaped tripod pottery, such as one found at Hua County, Shaanxi, and the gui of the middle and late Dawenkou culture (3500–2600 BC) may also had associated with the mythologial three-legged bird or golden crow. The earliest depiction of a three-legged bird is found on the pottery of the Miaodigou culture (4000–3000 BC) in Henan, they are also mentioned in the Huainanzi and Records of the Grand Historian.
- Plastromancy: The earliest use of turtle shells comes from the archaeological site in Jiahu site. The shells, containing small pebbles of various size, color, and quantity, were drilled with small holes, suggesting that each pair of them was tied together originally. Similar finds have also been found in the Dawenkou burial sites of about 4000–3000 BC, as well as in Henan, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Shaanxi. The turtle-shell shakers for the most part are made of the shell of land turtles, identified as Cuora flavomarginata. These rattles have been unearthed in quantity, with 70 being found in the Jiahu site, and another 52 being found in the Dawenkou culture sites at Dadunzi, Jiangsu, and type site, Liulin and Wangyin in Shandong. Archaeologists believe that these shells were used either as rattles in ceremonial dances, shamantic healing tools or ritual paraphernalia for divinational purposes.
- Plowshare, triangular-shaped: Triangular-shaped stone plowshares are found at the sites of Majiabang culture dated to 3500 BC around Lake Taihu. Plowshares have also been discovered at the nearby Liangzhu and Maqiao sites roughly dated to the same period. David R. Harris says this indicates that more intensive cultivation in fixed, probably bunded, fields had developed by this time. According to Mu Yongkang and Song Zhaolin’s classification and methods of use, the triangular plow assumed many kinds and were the departure from the Hemudu and Luojiajiao spade, with the Songze small plough in mid-process. The post-Liangzhu plows used draft animals.
- Rice, cultivation of: In 2002, a Chinese and Japanese group reported the discovery in eastern China of fossilized phytoliths of domesticated rice apparently dating back to 11,900 BC or earlier. However, phytolith data are controversial in some quarters due to potential contamination problems. It is likely that demonstrated rice was cultivated in the middle Yangtze Valley by 7000 BC, as shown in finds from the Pengtoushan culture at Bashidang, Changde, Hunan. By 5000 BC, rice had been domesticated at Hemudu culture near the Yangtze Delta and was being cooked in pots. Although millet remained the main crop in northern China throughout history, several sporadic attempts were made by the state to introduce rice around the Bohai Gulf as early as 1st century. At present, rice remains the main diet in southern and northeastern China as well as Korea and Japan.
- Salt, use of: The earliest salt use is argued to have taken place on Lake Yuncheng, Shanxi by 6000 BC. Strong archaeological evidence of salt making dating to 2000 BC is found in the ruins of Zhongba at Chongqing. The historical records show that salt and iron monopolies often provided the bulk of state revenue, and remained important to state finance until the 20th century. The Discourse on Salt and Iron, written by Huan Kuan during the 1st century BC relates a debate on the state monopoly over salt and iron production and distribution.
- Silk: The oldest silk found in China comes from the Chinese Neolithic period and is dated to about 3630 BC, found in Henan province. Silk items excavated from the Liangzhu culture site at Qianshanyang, Wuxing District, Zhejiang date to roughly 2570 BC, and include silk threads, a braided silk belt, and a piece of woven silk. A bronze fragment found at the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC) site at Anyang (or Yinxu) contains the first known written reference to silk.
- Soybean, cultivation of: The cultivation of soybeans began in the eastern half of northern China by 2000 BC, but is almost certainly much older. Liu et al (1997) stated that soybean was first originated in China and was domesticated about 3500 BC. By the 5th century, soybeans were being cultivated in much of eastern Asia, but the crop did not move beyond this region until well into the 20th century. Written records of the cultivation and use of the soybean in China date back at least as far as the Western Zhou Dynasty.
- Steamer, pottery appliance for cooking: Archaeological excavations shown that using steam to cook began with the pottery cooking vessels known as yan steamer; a yan composed of two vessesl, a zeng with perforated floor surmounted on a pot or caldron with a tripod base and a top cover. The earliest yan steamer dating from about 5000 BC was unearthed in the Banpo site. In the lower Yangzi River, zeng pots first appeared in the Hemudu culture (5000–4500 BC) and Liangzhu culture (3200–2000 BC) and used to steam rice; there are also yan steamers unearthed in several Liangzhu sites, including 3 found at the Chuodun and Luodun sites in southern Jiangsu. In the Longshan culture (3000–2000 BC) site at Tianwang in western Shandong, 3 large yan steamers were discovered. During the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC), symbols for different kinds of food appliances, including the yan steamer, were inscribed on the bronze vessels. They were also found in the 13th century BC tomb of Fu Hao.
- Taotie motif: The taotie was a decorative mask motif found on artifacts. The earliest antecedent of taotie motif was found at the Gaomiao (5400–4800 BC) site in Hunan in 1991. The taotie motif are also found on the pottery and jade artifacts in the Hemudu culture (5000–4500 BC), Longshan culture (3000–2000 BC) in Shandong, Shijiahe culture (2500–2000 BC) and Lower Xiajiadian culture (2200–1600 BC). The most complicated design of the taotie motif found in the Neothilic sites comes from the ceremonial jades of Liangzhu culture (3400–2250 BC) sites at Fanshan and Yaoshan. The taotie motif of Longshan culture in Shandong and Bronze Age Erlitou site are considers as the mid-process example of late Shang Dynasty. Despite that taotie motif are commonly found on bronze vessels of the latter half of late Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC), it promptly went into decline and disappeared by the middle Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050–771 BC). The taotie was first mentioned by name in the Zuozhuan, while the earliest description and literary description of its appearance on ding comes from the Master Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals.
- Treetrunk coffin: The treetrunk coffin, single trunk coffin or boat coffin was one of the common burials found mainly in the southern China. One of the few earliest boat coffins are found among the 92 burial tombs in the Songze culture (4000–3000 BC) site at Jiaxing, Zhejiang, similar finds can also be found in the middle phase of Dawenkou culture (4100–2600 BC) sites. In 2006, a treetrunk coffin measuring 6.84 m in length, dating back to the Warring States Period (403–221 BC), are found in a site at Chengdu, Sichuan.
- Urn, pottery burial: The first evidence of pottery urn dating from about 7000 BC comes from the early Jiahu site, where a total of 32 burial urns are found, another early finds are in Laoguantai, Shaanxi. There are about 700 burial urns unearthed over the Yangshao (5000–3000 BC) areas and consisting more than 50 varieties of form and shape. The burial urns were used mainly for childs, but also sporadically for adults, as shown in the finds at Yichuan, Lushan and Zhengzhou in Henan. A secondary burials containing bones from child or adult are found in the urns in Hongshanmiao, Henan. Small hole was drilled in most of the child and adult burial urns, and is believe to enable the spirit to access. It is recorded in the Classic of Rites that the earthenware coffins were used in the time of legendary period, the tradition of burying in pottery urns lasted until the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) when it gradually disappered. Most of the burial urns, starting from the Warring States Period (403–221 BC), are found in areas of Hebei and Liaoning.
- Vessel, use of skull as: The earliest archaeological evidence of vessels made of human skulls comes from a Longshan culture (3000 BC–2000 BC) site at Jiangou, Handan, where two were found. Another one at the northeastern quarter of the Bronze Age Erligang site dated to 1460–1384 BC, included refuse deposit of about 100 human skulls, mostly of young males that were sawn open at brow level. Most of those skull vessels were contributed from prisoners of war and were used in rituals for ancestor worship during the early Shang Dynasty. In literary records, writings concerning the use of skull vessel comes from the Lushi Chunqiu, Hanfeizi, Huainanzi, Shiji, Shuoyuan and Zhan Guo Ce, which includes a reference to Zhibo (d. 455 BC), whose skull was made into a drinking cup by his enemy after being killed.
Shang and later
Inventions which made their first appearance in China after the Neolithic age, specifically during and after the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC), are listed in alphabetical order below.
A
- Acupuncture: Acupuncture, the traditional Chinese medicinal practice of inserting needles into specific points of the body for therapeutic purposes and relieving pain, was first mentioned in the Huangdi Neijing compiled from the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC (Warring States Period to Han Dynasty). The oldest known acupuncture needles made of gold, found in the tomb of Liu Sheng (d. 113 BC), date to the Western Han (202 BC–9 AD); the oldest known stone-carved depiction of acupuncture was made during the Eastern Han (25–220 AD); the oldest known bronze statue of an acupuncture mannequin dates to 1027 during the Song Dynasty (960–1279). Acupuncture is still used to treat pediatric nocturnal enuresis, i.e. bedwetting.
- Animal zodiac: The earliest and most complete version of the animal zodiac mentions twelve animals which differ slightly (for instance, the dragon is absent, represented by a worm). Each animal matches the earthly branches and were written on bamboo slips from Shuihudi, dated to the late 4th century BC, as well as from Fangmatan, dating to the late 3rd century BC. Before these archaeological finds, the Lunheng written by Wang Chong (27–c. 100 AD) during the 1st century provided the earliest transmitted example of a complete duodenary animal cycle.
- Archaeology, catalogues and epigraphy: During the Song Dynasty (960–1279), the scholar Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) analyzed alleged ancient artifacts bearing archaic inscriptions in bronze and stone, which he preserved in a collection of some 400 rubbings; Patricia Ebrey writes that he pioneered early ideas in epigraphy. The Kaogutu or "Illustrated Catalogue of Examined Antiquity" (preface dated 1092) compiled by Lü Dalin (1046–1092) is one of the oldest known catalogues to systematically describe and classify ancient artifacts which were unearthed; it featured in writing and illustrations an assortment of 210 bronze items and 13 jade items of government and private collections that dated to the Shang (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC) to Han (202 BC–220 AD) dynasties. Another catalogue was the Chong xiu Xuanhe bogutu (???????) or "Revised Illustrated Catalogue of Xuanhe Profoundly Learned Antiquity" (compiled from 1111 to 1125), commissioned by Emperor Huizong of Song (r. 1100–1125), and also featured illustrations of some 840 vessels and rubbings. This catalogue was criticized by Hong Mai (1123–1202), who found that descriptions of certain ancient vessels dating to the Han Dynasty were incorrect when he compared them to actual Han Dynasty specimens he obtained for study. Song scholars established a formal system of dating these artifacts by examining their inscriptions, decorative motif styles, and physical shapes. Zhao Mingcheng (1081–1129) stressed the importance of utilizing ancient inscriptions to correct discrepancies and errors in later texts discussing ancient events, such as with dates, geographical locations of historical events, genealogies, and official titles. Ancient inscriptions on vessels were also used to revive ancient rituals for use in ceremonies. Instead of stressing the revival of ancient rituals, Shen Kuo (1031–1095) was more interested in discovering ancient manufacturing techniques and functionality. Unlike many of his peers who attributed the crafting of ancient ritual vessels to sages of old, Shen asserted that they were merely products of ancient artisans, just like in his time. Shen also incorporated his study of ancient relics into other disciplines, such as music, mathematics, and optics. Shen examined carved reliefs of the Zhuwei Tomb and concluded that they displayed Han Dynasty era clothing. Shen unearthed a surveying tool in a garden of Jiangsu which Joseph Needham asserts was Jacob's staff. Bruce G. Trigger writes that interests in antiquarian studies of ancient inscriptions and artifacts waned after the Song Dynasty, but were revived by early Qing Dynasty (1644–1912) scholars such as Gu Yanwu (1613–1682) and Yan Ruoju (1636–1704). Craig Clunas also states that epigraphic studies weren't revived until the Qing Dynasty, but that printed copies of the Chong xiu Xuanhe bogutu were widely circulated in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). Trigger asserts that archaeology as a discipline of its own never developed in China and was always considered a branch of historiography instead.
- Anti-malarial properties of artemisia: The antimalarial drug of compound artemisinin found in Artemisia annua, the latter being a plant long used in traditional Chinese medicine, was discovered in 1972 by Chinese scientists in the People's Republic led by Tu Youyou and has been used to treat multi-drug resistant strains of Plasmodium falciparum malaria.
- Armillary sphere, hydraulic-powered: Hipparchus (c. 190–c. 120 BC) (probably in Geographica from 1st century AD) credited the Greek Eratosthenes (276–194 BC) as the first to invent the armillary sphere representing the celestial sphere. However, the Chinese astronomer Geng Shouchang of the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) invented it separately in China in 52 BC, while the polymath Zhang Heng (78–139 AD) was the first to apply motive power to the rotating armillary sphere by a set of complex gears rotated by a waterwheel which in turn was powered by the constant pressure head of an inflow clepsydra clock, the latter of which he improved with an extra compensating tank between the reservoir and the inflow vessel.
- Automatic opening doors, foot-activated trigger: Emperor Yang (r. 604–617) of the Sui Dynasty (581–618) had a private library installed in the Guanwen Hall of the palace at the capital of Daxing (modern Xi'an), having a total of fourteen studies with luxurious apparel and furniture. At every third study there was a square door with curtains suspended above it as well as two figurine statues of flying immortals. In the emperor's entourage were serving maids holding "perfume burners"; as he walked towards any of these entrances, they would walk in front of him and press their feet down on a trigger mechanism which not only caused the flying immortals to sweep down and pull the curtains out of the way, but made the door-halves swing backwards and opened all the cabinet doors to the book cases within the study. When the emperor exited the study, the trigger was activated again and everything returned to its closed original state. It should be noted the Chinese were not the first to invent automatic opening doors, which were invented for a 1st century Roman temple designed by Heron of Alexandria (c. 10–70 AD), although his did not involve a foot-activated trigger mechanism, but worked with the aid of steam power.
B
* Banknote: Paper currency was first developed in China. Its roots were in merchant receipts of deposit during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), as merchants and wholesalers desired to avoid the heavy bulk of copper coinage in large commercial transactions. During the Song Dynasty (960–1279), the central government adopted this system for their monopolized salt industry, but a gradual reduction in copper production—due to closed mines and an enormous outflow of Song-minted copper currency into the Japanese, Southeast Asian, Western Xia, and Liao Dynasty economies—encouraged the Song government in the early 12th century to issue government-printed paper currency alongside copper to ease the demand on their state mints and debase the value of copper. In the early 11th century, the Song Dynasty government authorized sixteen private banks to issue notes of exchange in Sichuan, but in 1023 the government commandeered this enterprise and set up an agency to supervise the manufacture of banknotes there. The earliest paper currency was limited to certain regions and could not be used outside specified bounds, but once paper was securely backed by gold and silver stores, the Song Dynasty government initiated a nationwide paper currency, sometime between 1265 and 1274. The concurrent Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) also printed paper banknotes by at least 1214.
- Beer, alcohol content above 11% (i.e. sake): Ordinary beer in the ancient world, from Babylonia to Ancient Egypt, had an alcoholic content of 4% to 5%, while no beer in the West reached an alcohol content above 11% until the 12th century, when distilled alcohol was made in Italy. Ordinary beer was consumed in China during the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC) and was even mentioned on Shang oracle bone inscriptions as offerings to spirits during sacrifices. Robert Temple writes: "The major problem with ordinary beer is that the starch in grain cannot be fermented. Thousands of years ago, it was found that sprouting grain contains a substance (the enzyme now known as amylase) which degrades the starch of grain into sugars which can then be fermented. This was the basis of ancient beer around the world." Yet sometime around 1000 BC the Chinese created an alcoholic beverage which was stronger than 11%, a new drink which was mentioned in poetry throughout the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050–256 BC). The new process created xiao mi jiu, which Temple describes: "This consisted of ground, partially cooked wheat (or occasionally millet) grains which had been allowed to go moldy. These molds produce the starch-digestive enzyme amylase more efficiently than does sprouting grain. [This drink] therefore was a mixture of molds plus yeast. The Chinese would mix it with cooked grain in water, which resulted in beer. The amylase broke the starch down into surgar and the yeast fermented this into alcohol." The Chinese discovered that adding more cooked grain in water during fermentation increased alcohol content. This process is the same one that later Japanese utilized to make sake, or Nihonshu ???.
- Bellows, hydraulic-powered: Although it is unknown if metallurgic bellows (i.e. air-blowing device) in the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) were of the leather bag type or the wooden fan type found in the later Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368), the Eastern Han official Du Shi (d. 38 AD) applied the use of rotating waterwheels to power the bellows of his blast furnace smelting iron, a method which continued in use in China thereafter, as evidenced by subsequent records; it is a significant invention in that iron production yields were increased and it employed all the necessary components for converting rotary motion into reciprocating motion.
- Belt drive: The mechanical belt drive, with a large wheel and small pulley, was first mentioned by the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) author Yang Xiong (53–18 BC) in 15 BC, used for a quilling machine that wound silk fibers on to bobbins for weavers' shuttles. It was also featured in a Three Kingdoms era book of 230–232, and was not only later refined as the chain drive, but is an essential component to the invention of the spinning wheel. In 1090, Qin Guan's book on textiles and sericulture written during the Song Dynasty (960–1279) described a mechanical belt drive for a silk-reeling device. An illustration of a woman operating a multiple-spindle spinning wheel with a continuous driving belt is featured in the Book of Agriculture published in 1313 by Wang Zhen (fl. 1290–1333). This silk-handling machinery was a type of flyer which laid thread evenly on reels. By the 14th century, hydraulic power was applied to spinning mills in China for this purpose.
- Bird-and-flower painting: Bird-and-flower painting is an intimate style of nature painting which was developed in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907–960) and blossomed during the Song Dynasty (960–1279) as a definitive court art favored by patrons such as Emperor Huizong of Song (r. 1100–1125). Beginning with the latter's reign, paintings such as these were often coupled with lines of poetry in small album leaves. This unique style of Song painting was later revived by the Zhe School of art during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).
- Blast furnace: Although cast iron tools and weapons have been found in China dating to the 5th century BC, the earliest discovered Chinese blast furnaces, which produced pig iron that could be remelted and refined as cast iron in the cupola furnace, date to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, while the vast majority of early blast furnace sites discovered date to the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) period immediately following 117 BC with the establishment of state monopolies over the salt and iron industries during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC); most ironwork sites discovered dating before 117 BC acted merely as foundries which made castings for iron that had been smelted in blast furnaces elsewhere in remote areas far from population centers.
- Bomb, cast iron: The first accounts of bombs made of cast iron shells packed with explosive gunpowder—as opposed to earlier types of casings—was written in the 13th century in China. The term was coined for this bomb (i.e. "thunder-crash bomb") during a Jin Dynasty (1115–1234) naval battle of 1231 against the Mongols, yet the written account did not explicitly state that iron was used. The History of Jin «??» (compiled by 1345) states that in 1232, as the Mongol general Subutai (1176–1248) descended on the Jin stronghold of Kaifeng, the defenders had a "thunder-crash bomb" which "consisted of gunpowder put into an iron container...then when the fuse was lit (and the projectile shot off) there was a great explosion the noise whereof was like thunder, audible for more than a hundred li, and the vegetation was scorched and blasted by the heat over an area of more than half a mou. When hit, even iron armour was quite pierced through." The Song Dynasty (960–1279) official Li Zengbo wrote in 1257 that arsenals should have several hundred thousand iron bomb shells available and that when he was in Jingzhou, about one to two thousand were produced each month for dispatch of ten to twenty thousand at a time to Xiangyang and Yingzhou. The significance of this, as Joseph Needham states, is that a "high-nitrate gunpowder mixture had been reached at last, since nothing less would have burst the iron casing."
- Borehole drilling: By at least the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD), the Chinese used deep borehole drilling for mining and other projects, such as using a derrick to lift liquid brine to the surface through a bamboo pipeline that led to a distilling furnace (which Michael Loewe says was heated by natural gas) where salt could be processed; scenes of this entire process are featured in artwork on Han tomb brick reliefs of Sichuan province, while Loewe states that borehole sites could reach as deep as 600 m (2000 ft). K.S. Tom describes the drilling process: "The Chinese method of deep drilling was accomplished by a team of men jumping on and off a beam to impact the drilling bit while the boring tool was rotated by buffalo and oxen." This was the same method used for extracting petroleum in California during the 1860s (i.e. "Kicking Her Down"). A Western Han Dynasty bronze foundry discovered in Xinglong, Hebei had nearby mining shafts (built to extract copper which could be smelt with tin to make bronze) which reached depths of 100 m (328 ft) into the earth with spacious mining areas; the shafts and rooms were complete with a timber frame, ladders, and iron tools.
- Bristle toothbrush: According to a Library of Congress website, the Chinese have used the bristle toothbrush since 1498, during the reign of the Hongzhi Emperor (r. 1487–1505) of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644); it also adds that the toothbrush was not mass-produced until 1780, when they were sold by a William Addis of Clerkenwald, England. In accordance with the Library of Congress website, scholar John Bowman also writes that the bristle toothbrush using pig bristles was invented in China during the 1490s. While Bonnie L. Kendall agrees with this, she noted that a predecessor existed in ancient Egypt in the form of a twig that was frayed at the end.
- Bulkhead partition: The 5th century book Garden of Strange Things by Liu Jingshu mentioned that a ship could allow water to enter the bottom without sinking, while the Song Dynasty (960–1279) author Zhu Yu (fl. 12th century) wrote in his book of 1119 that the hulls of Chinese ships had a bulkhead build; these pieces of literary evidence for bulkhead partitions are confirmed by archaeological evidence of a 24 m (78 ft) long Song Dynasty ship dredged from the waters off the southern coast of China in 1973, the hull of the ship divided into twelve walled compartmental sections built watertight, dated to about 1277. Western writers from Marco Polo (1254–1324), to Niccoḷ Da Conti (1395–1469), to Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) commented on bulkhead partitions, which they viewed as an original aspect of Chinese shipbuilding, as Western shipbuilding did not incorporate this hull arrangement until the early 19th century.
C
* Calendar year at 365.2425 days: In the late Spring and Autumn Period (722–481 BC), the former Sifen calendar was established, and set the tropical year at 365.25 days (the same length of the Julian calendar). The Taichu calendar of 104 BC under Emperor Wu of Han rendered the tropical year at roughly the same (365 ). Many other calendars were established between then and the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), including those established by Li Chunfeng (602–670) and Yi Xing (683–727). In 1281, the Yuan astronomer Guo Shoujing (1233–1316) fixed the calendar at 365.2425 days, the same as the Gregorian calendar established in 1582; this calendar, the Shoushi calendar, would be used in China for the next 363 years. Guo Shoujing established the new calendar with the aid of his own achievements in spherical trigonometry, which he derived largely from the work of Shen Kuo (1031–1095) who established trigonometry in China.
- Cast iron: Confirmed by archaeological evidence, cast iron, made from melting pig iron, was developed in China by the early 5th century BC during the Zhou Dynasty (1122–256 BC), the oldest specimens found in a tomb of Luhe County in Jiangsu province; despite this, most of the early blast furnaces and cupola furnaces discovered in China date after the state iron monopoly under Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC) was established in 117 BC, during the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD); Donald Wagner states that a possible reason why no ancient Chinese bloomery process has been discovered thus far is because the iron monopoly, which lasted until the 1st century AD when it was abolished for private entrepreneurship and local administrative use, wiped out any need for continuing the less-efficient bloomery process that continued in use in other parts of the world. Wagner states that most iron tools in ancient China were made of cast iron in consideration of the low economic burden of producing cast iron, whereas most iron military weapons were made of more costly wrought iron and steel, signifying that "high performance was essential" and preferred for the latter.
- Cardinal direction, use of colors for: In ancient China, the use of five different soil colors corresponding to the four cardinal directions were used in construction of altars and mounds. The earliest archaeologial evidence of such example comes from a Spring and Autumn Period (722–481 BC) burial site located at Shuangdun, Anhui. The mentions of the "five colors" are recorded in the Shujing and Zuozhuan, while the earliest information on correlative colors associated with each four cardinal directions and center; east (blue), south (red), west (white), north (black) and center (yellow), comes from the Kaogongji, an independent work complied in the Warring States Period (403–221 BC) before being attached to the Rites of Zhou in place of the original missing section "Winter Office" (lost in its entirety) by the mid 2nd century BC.
- Celadon: Named after a pale-tinted spring green color, Wang Zhongshu (1982) asserts that shards having this type of ceramic glaze have been recovered from Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD) tomb excavations in Zhejiang; he also asserts that this type of ceramic became well known during the Three Kingdoms (220–265). Richard Dewar (2002) disagrees with Wang's classification, stating that true celadon—which requires a minimum 1260°C (2300°F) furnace temperature, a preferred range of 1285° to 1305°C (2345° to 2381°F), and reduced firing—was not created until the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127). The unique grey or green celadon glaze is a result of iron oxide's transformation from ferric to ferrous iron (Fe2O3 ? FeO) during the firing process. Longquan celadon wares, which Nigel Wood (1999) writes were first made during the Northern Song, had bluish, blue-green, and olive green glazes and high silica and alkali contents which resembled later porcelain wares made at Jingdezhen and Dehua rather than stonewares.
- Chain drive, endless power-transmitting: The Greek Philon of Byzantium (3rd or 2nd century BC) described a chain drive and windlass used in the operation of a polybolos (a repeating ballista), but the chain drive did not continuously transmit power from shaft to shaft. A continuously driven chain drive first appeared in 11th-century China. Perhaps inspired by chain pumps which had been known in China since at least the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) when they were mentioned by the Chinese philosopher Wang Chong (27–c.100 AD), the endless power-transmitting chain drive was first used in the gearing of the clock tower built at Kaifeng in 1090 by the official, mathematician, and astronomer Su Song (1020–1101) during the Song Dynasty (960–1279); in addition to the escapement mechanism invented earlier in the 8th century, the chain drive was used to mechanically rotate the tower's armillary sphere crowning the top (which imitated the movements of the stars in the celestial sphere) and move one of 600 mechanical gear teeth forward every 2 minutes and 24 seconds, thus each gear tooth represented of a 24 hour day, each hour announced by one of 133 clock jack figurines rotated on a mechanical wheel behind opening windows where they could be seen banging gongs, drums, bells, and holding plaques for special times of day.
- Chemical warfare using bellows, mustard smoke, and lime: As written in the 4th century BC by the Mohists, followers of the philosophy of Mozi (c. 470–c. 391 BC), the Chinese of the Warring States Period (403–221 BC) applied the use of burnt balls of the mustard plant (not to be confused with modern sulfur mustard, or 'mustard gas') as a lethal agent in warfare. During a siege, the besieging force would often dig mines under the walls to breach the fortifications of the defenders. As written by the Mohists, the defenders also had the option of digging to meet the enemy's underground tunnel, where bellows connected to furnaces above could be used to pump toxic smoke of burnt mustard and other vegetable material into the shafts. To fight off a peasant revolt in 178 AD during the late Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD), riding charioteers of the Imperial forces used portable bellows to pump lime smoke at the enemy, who were ultimately defeated. Powdered lime was also used in lobbed tear gas bombs, such as when the Song Dynasty (960–1279) general Yue Fei (1103–1142) used them with great success against the bandit leader Yang Yao in 1135; when the lime formed a thick fog in the air, Yang's "rebel soldiers could not open their eyes" according to the account of his campaign.
- Chinese remainder theorem: The Chinese remainder theorem, including simultaneous congruences in number theory, was first created by the mathematician Sunzi in the 3rd century AD, whose Mathematical Classic by Sun Zi (????, Sunzi suanjing) posed the problem: "There is an unknown number of things, when divided by 3 it leaves 2, when divided by 5 it leaves 3, and when divided by 7 it leaves a remainder of 2. Find the number." This method of calculation was used in calendrical mathematics by Tang Dynasty (618–907) mathematicians such as Li Chunfeng (602–670) and Yi Xing (683–727) in order to determine the length of the "Great Epoch", the lapse of time between the conjunctions of the moon, sun, and Five Planets (those discerned by the naked eye). Thus, it was strongly associated with the divination methods of the ancient Yijing. Its use was lost for centuries until Qin Jiushao (c. 1202–1261) revived it in his Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections of 1247, providing constructive proof for it.
- Chopsticks: The historian Sima Qian (145–86 BC) wrote in the Records of the Grand Historian that King Zhou of Shang was the first to make chopsticks out of ivory in the 11th century BC; the most ancient archaeological find of a pair of chopsticks, made of bronze, comes from Shang Tomb 1005 at Houjiazhuang, Anyang, dated roughly 1200 BC. By 600 BC, the use of chopsticks had spread to Yunnan (Dapona in Dali), and Töv Province by 1st century. The earliest known textual reference to the use of chopsticks comes from the Han Feizi, a philosophical text written by Han Fei (c. 280–233 BC) in the 3rd century BC.
- Chromium, use of: The use of chromium was invented in China no later than 210 BC, the date when the Terracotta Army was interred at a site not far from modern Xi'an; modern archaeologists discovered that bronze-tipped crossbow bolts at the site showed no sign of corrosion after more than 2,000 years of being interred, the reason being that the Chinese had coated the bronze tips of their crossbow bolts in chromium; chromium was not used anywhere else until the experiments of Louis Nicolas Vauquelin (1763–1829) in 1797–1798.
- Chuiwan (Chinese golf): Chuiwan, a game similar to the Scottish-derived sport of golf, was first mentioned in China by Wei Tai (fl. 1050–1100) in his Dongxuan Records; it was popular amongst men and women in the Song Dynasty (960–1279) and Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368), while it was popular among urban men in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) in much the same way that tennis was for urban Europeans during the Renaissance (according to Andrew Leibs). In 1282, Ning Zhi published the Book of Chuiwan, which described the rules, equipment, and playing field of chuiwan, as well as included commentary of those who mastered its tactics. Chuiwan clubs, 10 in all for each player, were stored in a brocaded case. The chuiwan clubs used by the emperor were lavishly decked in gold and inlaid with jade. The game was played on flat and sloping grassland terrain and—much like the tee of modern golf—had a "base" area where the first of three strokes were played.
- Civil service examinations: In the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD), the xiaolian system of recruiting government officials through formal recommendations was the chief method of filling bureaucratic posts, although there was an Imperial Academy to train potential candidates for office and some offices required its candidates to pass formal written tests before appointment. However, it was not until the Sui Dynasty (581–618) that civil service examinations became open to all adult males not belonging to the merchant class (although having wealth or noble status were not requirements) and were used as a universal prerequisite for appointments to office, at least in theory. During the Sui and Tang Dynasty (618–907), the civil service system was actually implemented on a much smaller scale than during the Song Dynasty (960–1279), when an elite core of dynastic-founding and professional families lost their majority in government to a broad strata of lesser gentry families from throughout the country. To ensure that examinations were relatively fair (despite difficult requirements and privilege of the better educated), the authorities employed numerous methods such as hiring a bureau of copyists to copy each candidate's examination answers to avoid favoritism by graders who could recognize one's signature calligraphy style.
- Co-fusion steel process: Although both Robert Temple and Joseph Needham speculate that it could have existed beforehand, the first clear written evidence of the fusion of wrought iron and cast iron to make steel comes from the 6th century AD in regards to the Daoist swordsmith Qiwu Huaiwen, who was put in charge of the arsenal of Northern Wei general Gao Huan (496–597, later honored as Emperor Xianwu by Northern Qi) from 543 to 550 AD. The Tang Dynasty (618–907) Newly Reorganized Pharmacopoeia of 659 also described this process of mixing and heating wrought iron and cast iron together, stating that the steel product was used to make sickles and Chinese sabers. In regards to the latter text, Su Song (1020–1101) made a similar description and noted the steel's use for making swords. In his encyclopedia of 1637, the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) author Song Yingxing (1587–1666) was the first to describe the process at length, stating that the wrought iron was first beaten into tiny thin plates, packed into wrought iron sheets, and then pressed down with cast iron piled on top. The cast iron would melt first in the furnace, "dripping and soaking" into the wrought iron; once united, they were taken out and forged, heated, and hammered in a process repeated numerous times. Temple and Needham both state that this anticipated the open hearth furnace later invented by Carl Wilhelm Siemens (1823–1883).
- Coin, knife and spade-shaped: Robert S. Wicks states that the cowry shell was used as a primitive form of currency during the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC). During the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050–256 BC) the use of bronze coins in various shapes and sizes, such as circular coins with either a rounded or square hole in the center (to fit a string through), came into general use. The knife-shaped and spade-shaped coins, styles unique to China, also came into use during the Zhou period; as proven by archaeological excavations, these coin were common in the State of Yan, State of Qi, State of Zhao, State of Han, State of Chu, State of Liang, and State of Qin, with dates ranging from the Spring and Autumn Period (722–481 BC) to the Warring States Period (403–221 BC). The historian Sima Qian (145–86 BC) in his Records of the Grand Historian (91 BC) wrote that in ancient times, tortoise shells, cowry shells, knives, and gold were used as forms of currency.
- Coke as fuel: By the 11th century, during the Song Dynasty (960–1279), the demands for charcoal used in the blast and cupola furnaces of the iron industry led to large amounts of deforestation of prime timberland; to avoid excessive deforestation, the Song Chinese began using coke made from bituminous coal as fuel for their metallurgic furnaces instead of charcoal derived from wood.
- Contour canal: After numerous conquests and consolidation of his empire, China's first emperor Qin Shi Huang (r. 221–210 BC) commissioned the engineer Shi Lu (fl. late 3rd century BC) to build a new waterway canal which would pass through a mountain range and link together the Xiang River and Lijiang River. The result of this project was the Lingqu Canal, complete with thirty-six lock gates, and since it closely follows a contour line (i.e. following the contours of the natural saddle in the hills), it is the oldest known contour canal in the world. According to Sima Qian (145–86 BC) in his Records of the Grand Historian (compiled by 91 BC), the canal project was initiated to effectively send supplies of grain south to the armies of Zhao Tuo in the conquest of the Yue peoples.
- Crank handle: The earliest known depicted crank handle in art comes from a 1st century BC Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) green-glazed pottery tomb model of a farmyard, complete with a rotary grain mill, a man operating a foot tilt hammer for pounding grain, and to his left a winnowing machine with a crank handle used to operate the fan. The crank handle in later Imperial China (Tang and Song dynasties) was also used in grain mills, silk-reeling and hemp-spinning machines, the hydraulic-powered flour-sifter, the hydraulic powered bellows, the water well windlass, and other devices.
- Crossbow, handheld: In China, bronze crossbow bolts dating as early as mid 5th century BC were found at a State of Chu burial site in Yutaishan, Hubei. The earliest handheld crossbow stocks with bronze trigger, dating from the 6th century BC, comes from Tomb 3 and 12 found at Qufu, Shandong, capital of the State of Lu. Other early finds of crossbows were discovered in Tomb 138 at Saobatang, Hunan dated to mid 4th century BC. Repeating crossbows, first mentioned in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, were discovered in 1986 in Tomb 47 at Qinjiazui, Hubei dated to around 4th century BC. The earliest textual evidence of the handheld crossbow used in battle dates to the 4th century BC. Handheld crossbows with complex bronze trigger mechanisms have also been found with the Terracotta Army in the tomb of Qin Shihuang (r. 221–210 BC) that are similar to specimens from the subsequent Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD), while crossbowmen described in the Han Dynasty learned drill formations, some were even mounted as cavalry units, and Han Dynasty writers attributed the success of numerous battles against the Xiongnu to massed crossbow fire. Chao Cuo (d. 154 BC) wrote a memorial to the throne in 169 BC which included his assertion that the Chinese crossbow was superior to the Xiongnu bow. In a cross comparison with a contemporary civilization which created an early crossbow, the ancient Greeks had a crossbow known as the gastraphetes ("belly-bow", so named because the shooter had to draw the bow by pressing his stomach against the concave rear), which was described in Heron's Belopoeica (1st century AD), yet some scholars assert that the handheld crossbow (as invented in China) was not seen in Europe until the 10th century AD. Unlike the Chinese crossbow, the heavy weight and bulk of the gastraphetes necessitated a prop to keep it standing, i.e. by mounting it on a defensive wall or using a portable prop.
- Cuju (football): The game of football known as cuju was first mentioned in China by two historical texts; the Zhan Guo Ce (compiled from the 3rd to 1st centuries BC) and the Records of the Grand Historian (published in 91 BC) by Sima Qian (145–86 BC). Both texts recorded that during the Warring States Period (403–221 BC) the people of Linzi city, capital of the State of Qi, enjoyed playing cuju along with partaking in many other pastimes such as cockfighting. Besides being a recreational sport, playing cuju was also considered a military training exercise and means for soldiers to keep fit. Both Sima Qian and Ban Gu (32–92 AD) in his Book of Han wrote that the general Huo Qubing (140–117 BC), after leading his troops north to attack the nomadic Xiongnu, allowed his soldiers to construct a playing field for cuju football.
- Cupola furnace: Vincent C. Pigott states that the cupola furnace existed in China at least by the Warring States Period (403–221 BC), while Donald B. Wagner writes that some iron ore melted in the blast furnace may have been cast directly into molds, but most, if not all, iron smelted in the blast furnace during the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) was remelted in a cupola furnace; it was designed so that a cold blast injected at the bottom traveled through tuyere pipes across the top where the charge (i.e. of charcoal and scrap or pig iron) was dumped, the air becoming a hot blast before reaching the bottom of the furnace where the iron was melted and then drained into appropriate molds for casting. Pigott states that even in modern cupola furnaces, sometimes an excess of injected oxygen will cause enough decarburization that a resulting lump of low-carbon iron will appear in the furnace, similar to the wrought iron of the bloomery; although the ancient Chinese had produced wrought iron (no doubt, Pigott says, from the cupola furnace) from about the same time (c. 500 BC) cast iron appeared during the very late Spring and Autumn Period (722–481 BC), there is no direct evidence that the bloomery ever existed in China.
D
- Decimal fractions: As proven by inscriptions from the 13th century BC, the decimal system existed in China since the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC). The earliest evidence of a decimal fraction, where the fraction's denominator is a power of ten, appears on an inscription of a standard measure of volume used by the mathematician and astronomer Liu Xin (c. 46 BC–23 AD), dated precisely 5 AD. The first significant piece of Chinese literature to feature decimal fractions was the The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art. This text was first mentioned in 179 AD, although Liu Hui (fl. 3rd century AD) asserts that some of its material predates the infamous Qin book burning in 213 BC (i.e. older than the oldest surviving Chinese mathematical treatise, the Book on Numbers and Computation, 202–186 BC). Liu Hui used decimal fractions with measurements and as solutions to equations. At first decimal fractions were written in word form, since it was Han Yan (fl. late 8th century) of the Tang Dynasty (607–907) who first used modern decimal notation to write out decimal fractions. Decimal fractions were vital to the work of Song (960–1279) mathematicians such as Yang Hui (1238–1298) and Qin Jiushao (c. 1201–1261). Jamshid al-Kashi (1380–1429), director of the astronomical observatory at Samarkand, adopted the use of decimal fractions; they were first mentioned in Europe by Christoff Rudolff of Augsburg in his Exempel-Buechlin of 1530, yet not given serious attention until the 1585 work of the Flemish mathematician Simon Stevin (1548–1620).
- Deficiency diseases, correction by proper diet: As early as the 4th century BC, Warring States Period (403–221 BC), records indicate that Imperial Dieticians were appointed at royal courts. The first explicit description of a regulated diet used to curb certain diseases is found in the Systematic Treasury of Medicine written by Zhang Zhongjing (c. 150–c. 219) during the late Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD). Although Zhang did not understand the true nature of vitamins, he prescribed foods now known to be rich in certain vitamins, which were discovered to be useful after much trial and error. The Tang Dynasty (618–907) official and poet Han Yu (768–824) observed that the deficiency disease beriberi (caused by lack of Vitamin B1) was far more prevalent south of the Yangzi River than north of it, an observation confirmed in the 20th century. The Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) physician and Imperial Dietician Hu Sihui (fl. 1314–1330) published his book Principles of Correct Diet which compiled a large amount of previous material written on the subject. In it, Hu identified the two types of beriberi (today known as "wet" and "dry" types) and prescribed remedies of diets rich in Vitamin B1 and other vitamins. Later, Christiaan Eijkman (1958–1930) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1929 for discovering that beriberi was caused by a poor diet lacking the essential Vitamin B1.
- Diabetes, recognition and treatment of: In ancient China, diabetes was aptly called 'dissolutive thirst' due to diabetic patients' excessive thirst and passing of urine. The Huangdi Neijing compiled by the 2nd century BC during the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) identified diabetes as a disease suffered by those who had made an excessive habit of eating sweet and fatty foods, while the Old and New Tried and Tested Perscriptions written by the Tang Dynasty (618–907) physician Zhen Quan (died 643) was the first known book to mention an excess of sugar in the urine of diabetic patients. While his book is now lost, quotations of it were preserved in the Important Medical Formulae and Prescriptions Now Revealed by the Governor of a Distant Province, written by Wang Tao in 752. The Tang physician Sun Simiao (581–682) wrote in his Thousand Golden Remedies of 655 that for diabetic patients "three things must be renounced, wine, sex, and eating salted, starchy cereal products; if this regimen can be observed, cure may follow without drugs." Robert Temple writes that this is similar to the modern method of avoiding alcohol and starchy foods. The sweetness of urine in diabetic patients is also noted in an ancient text of India, but unlike the Chinese texts its date is ambiguous. Sweetness in urine of diabetic patients was discovered in Europe by Thomas Willis (1621–1675) around 1660 and published in 1679, yet this was not associated with sugar until 1776 in a work by Matthew Dobson; in 1815 this sugar was finally specified as glucose.
- Dominoes, Chinese: The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) author Xie Zhaozhe (1567–1624) initiated the legend that dominoes were first presented to the imperial court in 1112. However, the oldest confirmed written mention of dominoes in China comes from the Former Events in Wulin (i.e. the capital Hangzhou) written by the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) author Zhou Mi (1232–1298), who listed "pupai" (gambling plaques or dominoes) as well as dice as items sold by peddlers during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of Song (r. 1162–1189). Andrew Lo asserts that Zhou Mi meant dominoes when referring to pupai, since the Ming author Lu Rong (1436–1494) explicitly defined pupai as dominoes (in regards to a story of a suitor who won a maiden's hand by drawing out four winning pupai from a set). The earliest known manual written about dominoes is the Manual of the Xuanhe Period (1119–1125) written by Qu You (1347–1433). In the Encyclopedia of a Myriad of Treasures, Zhang Pu (1602–1641) described the game of laying out dominoes as pupai, although the character for pu had changed (yet retained the same pronunciation). Traditional Chinese domino games include Tien Gow, Pai Gow, Che Deng, and others. It should be noted that the thirty-two-piece Chinese domino set (made to represent each possible face of two thrown dice and thus have no blank faces) differs from the twenty-eight-piece domino set found in in the West during the mid 18th century (in France and Italy).
- Dougong: A dougong is a building bracket which is unique to Chinese architecture. Since at least the Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050–771 BC), they were placed between the top of a column and a crossbeam to support the concave roofs of beam-in-tier buildings which were archetypal of Chinese architecture. Each dougong is formed by double bow-shaped arms (?, gong) supported by a wooden block (?, dou) on each side. Dougong were also used for decorative and ceremonial rather than entirely pragmatic purposes of support, such as on solid brick pagodas like the Iron Pagoda built in 1049. The Yingzao Fashi building manual published in 1103 by the Song Dynasty (960–1279) official Li Jie featured illustrations and descriptions of dougong.
- Drawloom: The earliest confirmed drawloom fabrics come from the State of Chu and date circa 400 BC. Most scholars attribute the invention of the drawloom to the ancient Chinese, although some speculate an independent invention from ancient Syria since drawloom fabrics found in Dura-Europas are thought to date before 256 AD. Dieter Kuhn states that an analysis of texts and textiles from the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) proves that the figured fabrics of that era were also crafted with the use of a drawloom. The drawloom was certainly known in Persia by the 6th century AD. Eric Broudy asserts there is virtually no evidence of its use in Europe until the 17th century, while the button drawloom was allegedly invented by Jean le Calabrais in the 15th century. Mary Carolyn Beaudry disagrees, stating that it was used in the medieval Italian silk industry.
E
- Eight-legged essay: The eight-legged essay was a style of essay that had to be mastered by candidates (for bureaucratic office) in the civil service examinations. Its name derived from the eight sections it was divided by: an opening, amplification, preliminary exposition, initial argument, central argument, latter argument, final argument, and conclusion. It was introduced by Wang Anshi (1021–1086), a chancellor of the Song Dynasty (960–1279), and was used by the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) governments. In the examination, each candidate was required to write three essays of this type for the Four Books (of Zhu Xi) and four essays of this type for the Five Classics of antiquity.
- Endocrinology, isolation of sex and pituitary hormones from urine: A group of leading scholars under Liu An (179–122 BC), a King of Huainan during the Western Han (202 BC–9 AD), compiled the Huainanzi by 139 BC, which coined the phrase 'autumn minerals' for crystals similar to hoar-frost of autumn and that had "white color and solidity." In 25 BC, the minister Gu Yong gave a speech to the court railing against magicians, Daoists, and alchemists, saying of Daoists: "from dark and muddy [that is, concentrated] urine they can make a hard white ice-like [crystalline] substance." The Tang Dynasty (618–907) poet Bai Juyi (722–846) mentioned that his poet friend Yuan Zhen (779–831) had prepared the 'autumn mineral' drug for his illness. The first explicit recipe for making the 'autumn mineral' is found in Song Dynasty (960–1279) author Zhang Shengdao's Valuable Tried and Tested Prescriptions of 1025, with ten other recipes found in thirty-nine other books between then and 1833. The oldest recipe mentioned called for 568 liters (150 gallons) of male urine to be placed in a giant evaporating pan with an earthenware still mounted on the top. After heating, a dry, powdered residue could be obtained, which was then heated over a stove of charcoal to achieve sublimation; the product of this, only 85 g (3 oz), was ground into a powder, mixed with the skin of palm dates, and made into pills the size of mung beans. Another process published in 1110 specified the use of gypsum (containing calcium sulfate) as well as saponin from the beans of Gleditschia sinensis to extract hormones from urine, a process of using natural soaps which was not discovered elsewhere until the use of digitonin by Adolf Windaus (1876–1959) in 1909. In 1927, Selmar Ascheim (1878–1965) and Bernhard Zondek (1891–1966) discovered that urine of pregnant women had a high concentration of steriod sex hormones; a subsequent discovery was made that urine contained sex hormones of androgens and estrogens, as well as the pituitary hormone gonadotrophin. In modern medicine, the extraction of these hormones from urine is a standard practice, yet centuries before this the Chinese had used it to treat hypogonadism, impotence, spermatorrhea, dysmenorrhea, leukorrhea, and even stimulating the growth of beards (since they knew that castration resulted in the loss of ability to grow a beard).
- Equal temperament: During the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD), the music theorist and mathematician Jing Fang (78–37 BC) extended the 12 tones found in the 2nd century BC Huainanzi to 60. While generating his 60-divisional tuning, he discovered that 53 just fifths is approximate to 31 octaves, calculating the difference at ; this was the exact same value for 53 equal temperament calculated by the German mathematician Nicholas Mercator (c. 1620–1687) as 353/284, a value known as Mercator's Comma. The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) music theorist Zhu Zaiyu (1536–1611) elaborated in three separate works beginning in 1584 the tuning system of equal temperament; in an unusual event in music theory's history, the Flemish mathematician Simon Stevin (1548–1620) discovered the mathematical formula for equal temperament at roughly the same time (within 1 to 25 years of Zhu), yet he did not publish his work and it remained unknown until 1884; therefore, it is debatable who discovered equal temperament first, Zhu or Stevin. In order to obtain equal intervals, Zhu divided the octave (each octave with a ratio of 1:2, which can also be expressed as 1:212/12) into twelve equal semitones while each length was divided by the 12th root of 2. He did not simply divide the string into twelve equal parts (i.e. 11/12, 10/12, 9/12, etc.) since this would give unequal temperament; instead, he altered the ratio of each semitone by an equal amount (i.e. 1:2 11/12, 1:210/12, 1:29/12, etc.) and determined the exact length of the string by dividing it by 12v2 (same as 21/12). The Harmonie Universelle (1636) written by Marin Mersenne (1588–1648) was the first publication in Europe outlining equal temperament, a new system of tuning that was passionately defended by J.S. Bach (1685–1750) in his Well-Tempered Clavier of 1722.
- Escapement: An escapement mechanism was first developed by the Buddhist monk, court astronomer, mathematician and engineer Yi Xing (683–727) of the Tang Dynasty (618–907) for his water-powered celestial globe in the tradition of Zhang Heng (78–139), and could be found in later Chinese clockworks such as the clock towers of both Zhang Sixun
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