Great Inventions

The earliest reference to magnetism in Chinese literature is found in the 4th-century BC Book of the Devil Valley Master (鬼谷子Guǐg?zǐ): “The lodestone makes iron come， or it attracts it.”

The earliest reference to a magnetic device used as a “direction finder” is in a Song Dynasty book dated to AD 1040-44. Here there is a description of an iron “south-pointing fish” floating in a bowl of water， aligning itself to the south. The device is recommended as a means of orientation “in the obscurity of the night.” However， the first suspended magnetic needle compass was written of by Shěn Kuò 沈括 (1031–1095) in his book of Dream Pool Essays (夢溪筆談 mèng xī bǐ tán) in the year from 1086 to 1093.

The dry compass used in China was a dry suspension compass， a wooden frame crafted in the shape of a turtle hung upside down by a board， with the lodestone sealed in by wax， and if rotated， the needle at the tail would always point in the northern cardinal direction.

Gunpowder

火藥 huǒ yào

Gunpowder was discovered in the 9th century by Chinese alchemists searching for an elixir of im- mortality. By the time the Song Dynasty treatise， W?jīng Zǒngyào (武經總要)， was written by Zēng Gōngliàng (曾公亮) and Dīng Dù (丁度) in AD 1044， the various Chinese formulas for gunpowder held levels of nitrate in the range of 27% to 50%. By the end of the 12th century， Chinese formulas of gunpowder had a level of nitrate capable of bursting through cast iron metal containers， in the form of the earliest hollow， gunpowder-filled grenade bombs.

By the time of Jiāo Yǜ (焦玉) and his Huǒlóngjīng (火龍經) in the mid 14th century， the explosive potential of gunpowder was perfected， as the level of nitrate in gunpowder formulas had risen to a range of 12% to 91%， with at least 6 different formulas in use that are considered to have maximum explosive potential for gunpowder.

Papermaking

造紙術 zào zhǐ shù

Papermaking has traditionally been traced to China about AD 105， when Cài Lún (蔡倫)， an official attached to the Imperial court during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220)， created a sheet of paper using mulberry and other bast fibres along with fishnets， old rags， and hemp waste.

While paper used for wrapping and padding was used in China since the 2nd century BC， paper used as a writing medium only became widespread by the 3rd century. By the 6th century in China， sheets of paper were beginning to be used for toilet paper as well. During the Tang Dynasty (AD 618–907) paper was folded and sewn into square bags to preserve the flavor of tea. The Song Dynasty (AD 960–1279) that followed was the first government to issue paper currency.

Printing

印刷術 yìn shuā shù

The Chinese invention of Woodblock printing， at some point before the first dated book in 868 (the ter suited to Chinese characters than movable type， which the Chinese also invented， but which did not replace woodblock printing. Printing in China was further advanced by the 11th century， as it was written in Shen Kuo’s Dream Pool Essays that the common artisan Bì Shēng 畢升 (990-1051) invented ceramic movable type printing. Then there were those such as Wáng Zhēn 王禎 (fl. 1290-1333) and Huá Suì 華燧 (1439–1513)， who invented respectively wooden and metal movable type printing. Movable type printing was a tedious process if one were to assemble thousands of individual characters for the printing of simply one or a few books， but if used for printing thousands of books， the process was efficient and rapid enough to be successful and highly employed.

“Printing， gunpowder and the compass ... whence have followed innumerable changes， in so much that no empire， no sect， no star seems to have exerted greater power and influence in human affairs than these mechanical discoveries.”

— British philosopher Francis Bacon (1561–1626)