Four Great Inventions of ancient China

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Five major steps in papermaking, outlined by Cai Lun in 105 AD
Five major steps in papermaking, outlined by Cai Lun in 105 AD

The Four Great Inventions of ancient China (traditional Chinese: 四大發明; simplified Chinese: 四大发明; pinyin: sì dà fāmíng, meaning "four great inventions") are, according to Chinese tradition and the British scholar and biochemist Joseph Needham:

These inventions are celebrated in Chinese culture for their historical significance and as signs of ancient China's advanced science and technology.[5] These four discoveries had an enormous impact on the development of Chinese civilization and a far-ranging global impact.

In 1620 the English philosopher Francis Bacon noted their importance by writing:

Printing, gunpowder and the compass: These three have changed the whole face and state of things throughout the world; the first in literature, the second in warfare, the third in navigation; 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. (Novum Organum, Liber I, CXXIX—Adapted from the 1863 translation)

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Contents

[edit] The Compass

Diagram of a Ming dynasty mariner's compass
Diagram of a Ming dynasty mariner's compass
Main article: Compass

The earliest reference in Chinese literature to magnetism is found in a 4th century BC book called Book of the Devil Valley Master (鬼谷子): "The lodestone makes iron come or it attracts it."[6]

The earliest reference to a magnetic device used as a "direction finder" is in a Song Dynasty book dated to 1040-44 AD. 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."[6] However, the first suspended magnetic needle compass was written of by Shen Kuo in his book of 1088 AD.

For most of Chinese history, the compass that remained in use was in the form of a magnetic needle floating in a bowl of water.[7] According to Needham, the Chinese in the Song Dynasty and continuing Yuan Dynasty did make use of a dry compass, although this type never became as widely used in China as the wet compass.[8]

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 loadstone sealed in by wax, and if rotated, the needle at the tail would always point in the northern cardinal direction.[8] Although the 14th century European compass-card in box frame and dry pivot needle was adopted in China after its use was taken by Japanese pirates in the 16th century (who had in turn learned of it from Europeans), the Chinese design of the suspended dry compass persisted in use well into the 18th century.[9]

[edit] Gunpowder

Handgun from the Yuan dynasty, circa 1300s.
Handgun from the Yuan dynasty, circa 1300s.
Main article: History of gunpowder

By the time the Song Dynasty treatise of the Wujing Zongyao (武经总要) was written by Zeng Gongliang and Yang Weide in 1044 AD, the various Chinese formulas for gunpowder held levels of nitrate in the range of 27% to 50%.[10] 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.[11]

In 1280 AD, the bomb store of the large gunpowder arsenal at Weiyang had accidentally caught fire, which produced such a massive explosion that a team of Chinese inspectors at the site a week later deduced that some 100 guards had been killed instantly, with wooden beams and pillars blown sky high and landing at a distance of over 10 li (~2 mi. or ~3.2 km) away from the explosion.[12]

By the time of Jiao Yu and his Huolongjing 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%,[10] with at least 6 different formulas in use that are considered to have maximum explosive potential for gunpowder.[10] By that time, the Chinese had discovered how to create explosive cannonballs by packing their hollow shells with this nitrate-enhanced gunpowder.[13]

[edit] Papermaking

Hemp wrapping paper, China, circa 100 BC
Hemp wrapping paper, China, circa 100 BC
Main article: Papermaking

Papermaking has traditionally been traced to China about 105 AD, when Cai Lun, an official attached to the Imperial court during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), created a sheet of paper using mulberry and other bast fibres along with fishnets, old rags, and hemp waste.[14] However a recent archaeological discovery has been reported from near Dunhuang of paper with writing on it dating to 8 BC.[15]

While paper used for wrapping and padding was used in China since the 2nd century BC,[16] Paper used as a writing medium became widespread by the 3rd century,[17] and by the 6th century sheets of paper in China were beginning to be used for toilet paper as well.[18] During the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) paper was folded and sewn into square bags to preserve the flavor of tea,[16] while the later Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD) was the first government on earth to issue paper-printed money (see banknote).

[edit] Printing

Main article: History of typography in East Asia

The Chinese invention of Woodblock printing, at some point before the first dated book in 868 (the Diamond Sutra) produced the first print culture in the world: "it was the Chinese who really discovered the means of communication that was to dominate until our age."[19] It was better suited to Chinese characters than movable type, which the Chinese also invented, but which did not replace woodblock printing. Western printing presses, although introduced in the 16th century, took until the 19th to spread in China which, along with Korea,[20] was one of the last countries to adopt them.

The intricate frontispiece of the Diamond Sutra from Tang Dynasty China, 868 AD (British Museum)
The intricate frontispiece of the Diamond Sutra from Tang Dynasty China, 868 AD (British Museum)

Woodblock printing for textiles, on the other hand, preceded text printing by centuries in all cultures, and is first found in China at around 220,[21] then Egypt in the 4th century,[22] and reached Europe by the 14th century or before, via the Islamic world, and by around 1400 was being used on paper for old master prints and playing cards."[23][24] In another analysis Hyatt Mayor states that "a little before 1400 Europeans had enough paper to begin making holy images and playing cards in woodcut. They need not have learned woodcut from the Chinese, because they had been using woodblocks for about 1,000 years to stamp designs on linen."[25]

Printing in China was further advanced by the 11th century, as it was written by the Song Dynasty scientist and statesman Shen Kuo (1031-1095) that the common artisan Bi Sheng (990-1051) invented ceramic movable type printing.[26] Then there were those such as Wang Zhen (fl. 1290-1333) and Hua Sui (1439-1513), the former of whom invented wooden movable type printing in China,[27] the latter of whom invented metal movable type printing in China.[28] 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. Indeed, there were many cities in China where movable type printing, in wooden and metal form, was adopted by the enterprises of wealthy local families or large private industries. Even the Qing Dynasty court sponsored enormous printing projects using movable type printing during the 18th century.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Four Great Inventions of Ancient China -- Compass. ChinaCulture.org. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  2. ^ Four Great Inventions of Ancient China -- Gunpowder. ChinaCulture.org. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  3. ^ Four Great Inventions of Ancient China -- Paper. ChinaCulture.org. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  4. ^ Four Great Inventions of Ancient China -- Printing. ChinaCulture.org. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  5. ^ The Four Great Inventions. China.org.cn. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  6. ^ a b Shu-hua, Li (July 1954). "Origine de la Boussole 11. Aimant et Boussole". Isis 45: pp. 175 - 196. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford Student Publications Ltd.. 
  7. ^ Kreutz, p. 373
  8. ^ a b Needham p. 255
  9. ^ Needham, p. 290
  10. ^ a b c Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 345.
  11. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 347.
  12. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 209-210.
  13. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 264.
  14. ^ papermaking. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  15. ^ World Archaeological Congress eNewsletter 11 August 2006 (2006-08-11). Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  16. ^ a b Needham, Volume 5, 122.
  17. ^ Needham, Volume 5, 1.
  18. ^ Needham, Volume 5, 123.
  19. ^ A Hyatt Mayor, Prints and People, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Princeton, 1971, nos 1-4. ISBN 0691003262
  20. ^ Melvin McGovern, "Early Western Presses in Korea", Korea Journal, 1967, pp.21-23
  21. ^ Shelagh Vainker in Anne Farrer (ed), "Caves of the Thousand Buddhas",p112, 1990, British Museum publications, ISBN 0-7141-1447-2
  22. ^ Ancient Coptic Christian Fabrics. Tour Egypt. Retrieved on 2007-11-11.
  23. ^ A Hyatt Mayor, Prints and People, Metropolitan Museum of Art/Princeton, 1971, nos 5-18. ISBN 0691003262
  24. ^ An Introduction to a History of Woodcut, Arthur M. Hind, Houghton Mifflin Co. 1935, pp64-127 (in USA), reprinted Dover Publications, 1963 ISBN 0-486-20952-0
  25. ^ A. Hyatt Mayor, "A Historical Survey of Printmaking", Art Education, Vol. 17, No. 4. (Apr., 1964), pp. 4-9 (4)
  26. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 201.
  27. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 206.
  28. ^ Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 212.

[edit] References

  • Li Shu-hua (1954) "Origine de la Boussole 11. Aimant et Boussole", Isis, 45 (2: July), p. 175–196
  • Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 1, Physics. Taipei: Caves Books, Ltd.
  • Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7, Military Technology; the Gunpowder Epic. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.
  • Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 1, Paper and Printing. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.
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