We all know only a couple of important Chinese inventions that changed the world. The most well-known are the seismograph, compass, gunpowder and paper and printing. These five are already inventions that benefit mankind tremendously, as they undergo refinement and innovation.
The seismograph allowed the prediction of earthquakes and where it occurred, allowing fast life-saving response. The compass allowed ships on the high seas to navigate accurately, which is why the Chinese under Admiral Zeng He was already leading expeditions to as far as East Africa and as early as the 14th century. The invention of gunpowder in the early period was for celebration purposes, which later evolved into development of weapons and present-day rocketry and space exploration. The most profound invention must be paper and printing which allowed the mass dissemination of knowledge with the printing of books which promoted mass education.
But beyond all this, not many people know all the other inventions that the Chinese had accomplished, some more than two thousand years ago. Among them was the production of silk, porcelain, the abacus, the crossbow, the umbrella, wheelbarrow, tea, parachute, suspension bridge, bronze mirror and many others. Some were real surprises that many people would wrongly give credit to the West.
Beyond all the inventions, we must not forget that the ancient Chinese were already studying the stars, the moon, their influence on the tides which is how we now have the lunar calendar. That was how advance the ancient Chinese were. China is now reclaiming its former glory under a more modern concept of progress.
Anonymous
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