Examine individual changes

'{{multiple image| align = right | direction = horizontal | header = | header_align = left/right/center | footer = A bronze Chinese [[crossbow]] trigger mechanism with a butt plate (the wooden components have since eroded and disappeared), inlaid with silver, from either the late [[Warring States period]] (403–256 BC) or the early [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC&nbsp;– AD 220)| footer_align = left | image1 = Warring States or Western Han crossbow.jpg | width1 = 150 | image2 = Warring States or Western Han crossbow2.jpg | width2 = 150}} [[China]] has been the source of many [[invention]]s,<ref>[[Joseph Needham]], ''[[Science and Civilisation in China]]'', 1954–2008, Cambridge University Press</ref> including the ''[[Four Great Inventions]]'': [[papermaking]], the [[compass]], [[gunpowder]] and [[History of typography in East Asia|printing]] (both [[Woodblock printing|woodblock]] and [[movable type]]). The list below contains these and other inventions in China attested by archaeology or history. The historical region now known as China experienced a [[History of science and technology in China|history]] involving [[mechanics]], [[hydraulics]] and [[mathematics]] applied to [[horology]], [[metallurgy]], [[astronomy]], [[agriculture]], [[engineering]], [[music theory]], [[Artisan|craftsmanship]], [[Maritime history|naval architecture]] and [[warfare]]. By the [[Warring States period]] (403–221 BC), inhabitants of the Warring States had advanced metallurgic technology, including the [[blast furnace]] and [[cupola furnace]], while the [[finery forge]] and [[Puddling (metallurgy)|puddling process]] were known by the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC–AD 220). A sophisticated economic system in imperial China gave birth to inventions such as [[Banknote|paper money]] during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960–1279). The invention of gunpowder by the 10th century led to an array of inventions such as the [[fire lance]], land mine, [[naval mine]], [[hand cannon]], exploding cannonballs, multistage [[rocket]] and [[Huolongjing#Fire arrows and rockets|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]].<ref>Bowman (2000), 104–105.</ref><ref>Levathes (1994), 37–38.</ref><ref>Hsu (1988), 96.</ref> In 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 made large mechanical puppet theatres driven by [[waterwheel]]s and [[spoke|carriage wheels]] and wine-serving [[automaton]]s driven by paddle wheel boats. Hi fuck {{History of science and technology in China}} The contemporaneous [[Peiligang culture|Peiligang]] and [[Pengtoushan culture]]s represent the oldest [[List of Neolithic cultures of China|Neolithic cultures of China]] and were formed around 7000 BC.<ref name="bellwood 2005 106">Bellwood (2006), 106.</ref> Some of the first inventions of Neolithic China include semilunar and rectangular stone knives, stone [[Hoe (tool)|hoes]] and spades, the cultivation of [[Foxtail millet|millet]], rice, and the [[soybean]], the refinement of [[sericulture]], the building of [[rammed earth]] structures with [[lime (material)|lime]]-plastered house floors, the [[Chinese ceramics|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]].<ref>Needham (2004) p201.</ref><ref name="bray 1978 24">Bray (1978), 24–26.</ref> Francesca Bray argues that the domestication of the [[ox]] and [[domestic buffalo|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 [[plough]] was known at least by the Longshan culture period and explains the high agricultural production yields which allowed the rise of Chinese civilisation during the [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600–c. 1050 BC).<ref>Bray (1978), 27–28.</ref> With later inventions such as the [[Seed drill|multiple-tube seed drill]] and [[Plough#Heavy ploughs|heavy moldboard iron plough]], China's agricultural output could sustain a much larger population. For the purposes of this list, [[invention]]s are regarded as technological firsts developed in China, and as such does not include foreign technologies which the Chinese acquired through contact, such as the [[windmill]] from the [[Middle East]] or the [[telescope]] from [[early modern Europe]]. It also does not include technologies developed elsewhere and later invented separately by the Chinese, such as the [[odometer]] and [[chain pump]]. Scientific, mathematical or [[List of Chinese discoveries|natural discoveries]], changes in minor concepts of design or style and artistic innovations do not appear on the list. {{CompactTOC8|side=yes|custom1=Four Great Inventions|custom2=Pre-Shang|custom3=Shang and later|custom4=Modern (Post-Qing)|nobreak=no|refs=yes|seealso=yes}} ==Four Great Inventions== {{Main|Four Great Inventions}} The following is a list of the ''Four Great Inventions''—as designated by [[Joseph Needham]] (1900–1995), a [[sinologist]] known for his research on the history of Chinese science—in the chronological order that they were established in China. [[File:Chinese hemp paper western han.jpg|150px|thumb|Fragments of [[hemp]] wrapping paper dated to the reign of [[Emperor Wu of Han]] (141–87 BC)]] [[File:Jingangjing.jpg|thumb|150px|The ''[[Diamond Sutra]]'', the oldest printed book, published in AD 868 during the Tang Dynasty (618–907)]] ===Paper=== :''This sub-section is about papermaking; for the writing material first used in [[ancient Egypt]], see [[papyrus]].'' Although it is recorded that the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– AD 220) court eunuch [[Cai Lun]] (50 AD&nbsp;– AD 121) invented the pulp 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 pulp papermaking [[History of cartography#China|being a map]] from Fangmatan, [[Tianshui]];<ref>Buisseret (1998), 12.</ref> by the 3rd century, paper as a writing medium [[History of the Han Dynasty#Reign of Wu|was in widespread use]], replacing traditional but more expensive writing mediums such as strips of [[bamboo]] rolled into threaded scrolls, strips of [[silk]], wet [[clay tablet]]s hardened later in a furnace, and wooden tablets.<ref>Needham (1985), Volume 5, Part 1, 1–2, 40–41, 122–123, 228.</ref><ref name="bowman 2000 594">Bowman (2000), 594.</ref><ref name="tom 1989 99">Tom (1989), 99.</ref><ref name="day mcneil 122">Day & McNeil (1996), 122.</ref><ref>Cotterell (2004), 11–13.</ref> 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.<ref>Cotterell (2004), 11.</ref> In the papermaking process established by Cai in 105, a boiled mixture of [[Morus (plant)|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.<ref name="tom 1989 99"/><ref name="day mcneil 122"/> ===Printing=== '''[[Woodblock printing]]''': The earliest specimen of woodblock printing 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]].<ref>Pan (1997), 979–980.</ref> A Korean miniature ''dharani'' Buddhist [[sutra]] discovered in 1966, bearing [[Chinese characters of Empress Wu|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 [[Unified Silla|Silla Korean]] temple [[stupa]] built in 751.<ref>Needham and Tsien (1985), Volume 5, Part 1, 149–150.</ref> The first printed periodical, the [[Kaiyuan Za Bao]] was made available in AD 713. However, the earliest known book printed at regular size is the ''[[Diamond Sutra]]'' made during the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618–907), a 5.18&nbsp;m (17&nbsp;ft) long scroll which bears the date 868 AD.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 151">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 151.</ref> Joseph Needham and Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin write that the cutting and printing techniques used for the [[Chinese calligraphy|delicate calligraphy]] of the ''Diamond Sutra'' book are much more advanced and refined than the miniature ''dharani'' sutra printed earlier.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 151"/> [[File:Chinese movable type 1313-ce.png|left|thumb|200px|An illustration published in [[Wang Zhen (official)|Wang Zhen's]] ([[floruit|fl.]] 1290–1333) book of AD 1313 showing [[movable type]] characters arranged by rhyme scheme in round table compartments]] '''[[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. He attributed the innovation of reusable fired clay characters to a little-known artisan named [[Bi Sheng]] (990–1051).<ref>Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 201–202.</ref><ref name="gernet 1996 335">Gernet (1996), 335.</ref><ref name="bowman 2000 599">Bowman (2000), 599.</ref><ref name="day mcneil 70">Day & McNeil (1996), 70.</ref> 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 (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.<ref name="gernet 1996 335"/><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 205–207.</ref> 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]].<ref>Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 212.</ref><ref name="bowman 2000 601"/> The [[Qing Dynasty]] (1644–1912) scholar Xu Zhiding of [[Tai'an]], [[Shandong]] developed [[vitreous enamel]] movable type printing in 1718.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 203.</ref> ===Gunpowder=== [[File:FireLanceAndGrenade10thCenturyDunhuang.jpg|thumb|The earliest artistic depiction of a [[fire lance]] gunpowder weapon, a painting at [[Dunhuang]], dated [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period]] (907–960 AD)]] Evidence of gunpowder's first use in China comes from the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period]] (618–907).<ref>Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 8–9, 80–82.</ref> The earliest known recorded recipes for gunpowder were written by Zeng Gongliang, Ding Du and Yang Weide in the ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]'', a military manuscript compiled in 1044 during the Song Dynasty (960–1279). Its gunpowder formulas describe the use of [[Incendiary device|incendiary bombs]] lobbed from [[catapult]]s, thrown down from [[Chinese city wall|defensive walls]], or lowered down the wall by use of iron chains operated by a swape lever.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 70–73, 120–124.</ref><ref name="gernet 1996 311">Gernet (1996), 311.</ref><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 785.</ref> Bombs launched from [[trebuchet]] catapults mounted on [[forecastle]]s of naval ships ensured the victory of Song over [[Jin Dynasty (1115-1234)|Jin forces]] at the [[Battle of Caishi]] in 1161, while the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) [[:Image:Mooko-Suenaga.jpg|used gunpowder bombs]] during their [[Mongol invasions of Japan|failed invasion of Japan]] in 1274 and 1281.<ref name="gernet 1996 311"/> 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 (14th century)|Liu Ji]] (1311–1375). It was completed in 1412, before Liu's death, with a preface added by the Jiao in its [[Nanyang, Henan|Nanyang]] publication.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 24–25, 345–346.</ref> ===Compass=== [[File:Antic chinese Compass.jpg|thumb|A model in [[Kaifeng]] of a Chinese ladle-and-bowl type [[compass]] used for [[geomancy]] in the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD); the historical authenticity of the model has been questioned by [[Li Shu-hua]] (1954).<ref name="Li Shu-hua 176, 180">Li Shu-hua (1954), 176, 180.</ref>]] Although an ancient [[hematite]] artifact from the [[Olmec]] era in [[Mexico]] dating roughly 1000 BC indicates the possible use of the [[lodestone]] compass long before it was described in China, the Olmecs did not have [[iron]] which the Chinese would discover could be magnetised by contact with lodestone.<ref>Carlson (1975), 753–760.</ref> Descriptions of lodestone attracting iron were made in the ''Guanzi'', ''[[Lushi Chunqiu|Master Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals]]'' and ''[[Huainanzi]]''.<ref>Blanc (1985), 125, 128, 132–133, 136.</ref><ref>Knoblock (2001), 218.</ref><ref>Rickett (1998), 426.</ref> The Chinese by the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) began using north-south oriented lodestone ladle-and-bowl shaped [[compass]]es for [[divination]] and [[geomancy]] and not yet for [[navigation]].<ref>Carlson (1975), 755.</ref><ref name="gernet 1962 77">Gernet (1962), 77.</ref><ref>Tom (1989), 98–99.</ref> The ''[[Lunheng]]'', written by [[Wang Chong]] (27&nbsp;– 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".<ref>Lacheisserie (2005), 5</ref><ref>Aczel (2002), 80.</ref> There are, however, another two references under chapter 47 of the same text to the attractive power of a magnet according to Needham (1986),<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, see 261 footnote. f for ch. 52 on ladle and 232 footnote. d for ch. 47 on magnet (c.f. ''Lunheng'' [[:zh:s:论衡/52|ch. 52]] & [[:zh:s:论衡/47|ch. 47]]).</ref> but Li Shu-hua (1954) considers it to be lodestone, and states that there is no explicit mention of a magnet in ''Lunheng''.<ref name="Li Shu-hua 176, 180"/> [[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 (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.<ref name="bowman 2000 599"/><ref name="gernet 1962 77"/><ref>Sivin (1995), III, 21–22.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 279.</ref><ref>Elisseeff (2000), 296.</ref><ref>Gernet (1996), 328.</ref><ref name="day mcneil 1996 636"/> 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]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 252.</ref><ref>Sivin (1995), III, 21.</ref> ==Pre-Shang== Inventions which originated in [[List of Neolithic cultures of China|what is now China during the Neolithic age]] and prehistoric [[List of Bronze Age sites in China|Bronze Age]] are listed in alphabetical order below. <!-- Unreferenced additions will be removed --> [[File:Bronze ritual bell, Western Zhou Dynasty.jpg|thumb|right|A [[bronze]] ritual bell, Zhou Dynasty, 10th to 9th century BC]] * '''[[Alcoholic beverage]]''' and the process of '''[[Fermentation in food processing|fermentation]]''': The earliest archaeological evidence of the consumption of alcoholic beverages was discovered in neolithic China dating from 7000–6600 BC. Examination and analysis of ancient pottery jars from the neolithic village of [[Jiahu]] in [[Henan]] province in northern [[China]] revealed residue left behind by the alcoholic beverages they once contained. According to a study published in the ''[[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]]'', chemical analysis of the residue revealed that the fermented drink was made from fruit, rice and honey.<ref name="mcgovern">{{Cite doi|10.1073/pnas.0407921102}}</ref><ref name="penn">{{cite web |url=http://www.penn.museum/research/research-asian-section/783-the-earliest-alcoholic-beverage-in-the-world.html |title=The Earliest Alcoholic Beverage in the World |work=Penn Museum |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology |accessdate=9 June 2013}}</ref> Elsewhere in the world, fermented beverages have been found dating from 6000 BC in Georgia,<ref name="mcgoverng">{{Cite doi|10.1079/PGR2006114}}</ref> 3150 BC in [[ancient Egypt]],<ref name=Cavalieri>{{cite journal |quotes= |last=Cavalieri |first=D |authorlink= |coauthors=McGovern P.E., Hartl D.L., Mortimer R., Polsinelli M. |year=2003 |month= |title=Evidence for S. cerevisiae fermentation in ancient wine. |journal=Journal of Molecular Evolution |volume=57 Suppl 1 |issue= |pages=S226–32 |id=15008419 |url=http://www.oeb.harvard.edu/hartl/lab/publications/pdfs/Cavalieri-03-JME.pdf|format=|accessdate=2007-01-28|doi=10.1007/s00239-003-0031-2 |pmid= 15008419 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070417174619/http%3A//www.oeb.harvard.edu/hartl/lab/publications/pdfs/Cavalieri-03-JME.pdf |archivedate = April 17, 2007|deadurl=yes}}</ref> 3000 BC in [[Babylon]],<ref name=FAO>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/x0560e/x0560e05.htm |title=Fermented fruits and vegetables. A global perspective |accessdate=2007-01-28 |work=FAO Agricultural Services Bulletins - 134|archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070119162605/http%3A//www.fao.org/docrep/x0560e/x0560e05.htm |archivedate = January 19, 2007|deadurl=yes}}</ref> 2000 BC in pre-Hispanic Mexico,<ref name=FAO/> and 1500 BC in [[Sudan]].<ref name=Dirar>Dirar, H., (1993), The Indigenous Fermented Foods of the Sudan: A Study in African Food and Nutrition, CAB International, UK</ref> * '''[[Bell (instrument)|Bell]]''': Clapper-bells made of pottery have been found in several archaeological sites.<ref name="huang 2002 20 27">Huang (2002), 20–27.</ref> 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.<ref>Falkenhausen (1994), 132, Appendix I 329, 342.</ref> 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&nbsp;– c. 1050 BC), they were relegated to subservient functions; at Shang and [[Zhou Dynasty|Zhou]] sites, they are also found as part of the horse-and-chariot gear and as collar-bells of dogs.<ref>Falkenhausen (1994), 134.</ref> * '''[[Coffin|Coffin, wooden]]''': The earliest evidence of wooden coffin remains, dated at 5000 BC, was found in the Tomb 4 at Beishouling, [[Shaanxi]]. Clear evidence of a wooden coffin in the form of a rectangular shape was found in Tomb 152 in an early [[Banpo]] site. The Banpo coffin belongs to a four-year-old girl, measuring 1.4&nbsp;m (4.5&nbsp;ft) by 0.55&nbsp;m (1.8&nbsp;ft) and 3–9&nbsp;cm thick. As many as 10 wooden coffins have been found from the [[Dawenkou culture]] (4100–2600 BC) site at Chengzi, [[Shandong]].<ref name="wang 1997 93 96">Wang (1997), 93–96.</ref><ref>Underhill (2002), 106.</ref> The thickness of the coffin, as determined by the number of timber frames in its composition, also emphasized the level of [[Chinese nobility|nobility]], as mentioned in the ''[[Classic of Rites]]'',<ref>Legge (2004), 525.</ref> ''[[Xunzi]]''<ref>Watson (2003), 101.</ref> and ''[[Zhuangzi]]''.<ref>Mair (1997), 336.</ref> Examples of this have been found in several Neolithic sites; the double coffin, the earliest of which was found in the [[Liangzhu culture]] (3400–2250 BC) site at Puanqiao, Zhejiang, consists of an outer and an inner coffin, while the triple coffin, with its earliest finds from the [[Longshan culture]] (3000–2000 BC) sites at Xizhufeng and Yinjiacheng in Shandong, consists of two outer and one inner coffins.<ref name="luan 2006 49 55">Luan (2006), 49–55.</ref> [[File:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - bronze dagger-axe.jpg|thumb|A bronze [[dagger-axe]] from the [[Han (state)|State of Han]], [[Warring States period]] (403–221 BC); this type of weapon has existed in China since the Neolithic period]] [[File:Chinesericewine.jpg|thumb|Chinese [[rice wine]] containers]] * '''[[Cookware]]''' and '''[[pottery|pottery vessel]]''': The earliest pottery, used as vessels, was discovered in 2012, found in [[Xianren Cave|Xianrendong Cave]] located in the Jiangxi province of China.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/science/oldest-known-pottery-found-in-china.html "Remnants of an Ancient Kitchen Are Found in China"]. ''The New York Times''.</ref> The pottery dates to 20,000 to 19,000 BP.<ref>[http://articles.boston.com/2012-06-28/science/32452370_1_bone-fragments-sediment-pottery "Harvard, BU researchers find evidence of 20,000-year-old pottery"]. Boston.com.</ref><ref name="wux"/> The vessels may have been used as cookware, manufactured by [[hunter-gatherer]]s.<ref name="wux">{{Cite journal | last1 = Wu | first1 = X. | last2 = Zhang | first2 = C. | last3 = Goldberg | first3 = P. | last4 = Cohen | first4 = D. | last5 = Pan | first5 = Y. | last6 = Arpin | first6 = T. | last7 = Bar-Yosef | first7 = O. | doi = 10.1126/science.1218643 | title = Early Pottery at 20,000 Years Ago in Xianrendong Cave, China | journal = Science | volume = 336 | issue = 6089 | pages = 1696–1700 | year = 2012 | pmid = 22745428| pmc = }}</ref> Harvard University archaeologist Ofer Bar-Yosef reported that "When you look at the pots, you can see that they were in a fire."<ref name=npr1>{{cite news|last=Zielinski|title=Stone Age Stew? Soup Making May Be Older Than We'd Thought|url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/02/06/171104410/stone-age-stew-soup-making-may-be-older-than-wed-thought|accessdate=8 February 2013|newspaper=NPR|date=6 February 2013}}</ref> * '''[[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]].<ref name="lu 2006 123 124">Lu (2006), 123–124.</ref> The first bronze ''ge'' appeared at the early Bronze Age [[Erlitou]] site,<ref name="lu 2006 123 124"/> where two were being found among the over 200 bronze artifacts (as of 2002) at the site,<ref>Liang (2004),35&38</ref> three jade ''ge'' were also discovered from the same site.<ref>Chen (2003), 24.</ref> Total of 72 bronze ''ge'' in Tomb 1004 at Houjiazhuang, [[Anyang]],<ref>Ma (1987), 122.</ref> 39 jade ''ge'' in [[tomb of Fu Hao]] and over 50 jade ''ge'' at [[Jinsha (archaeological site)|Jinsha]] site were found alone.<ref name="lu 2006 123 124"/> It was the basic weapon of [[Shang]] (c. 1600&nbsp;– 1050 BC) and [[Zhou Dynasty|Zhou]] (c.1050–256 BC) [[infantry]], although it was sometimes used by the "striker" of [[chariot]]eer 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.<ref name="gabriel 143">Gabriel, 143.</ref> By the early Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD), military use of the bronze ''ge'' had become limited (mostly ceremonial); they were slowly phased out during the Han Dynasty by iron [[spear]]s and iron [[Ji (halberd)|''ji'' halberds]].<ref>Wang(1982),123</ref> * '''[[Lacquer]]''': Lacquer was used in China since the Neolithic period and came from a substance extracted from the [[Toxicodendron vernicifluum|lac tree]] found in China.<ref>Loewe (1968), 170–171.</ref> A red wooden bowl, which is believed to be the earliest known lacquer container,<ref>Stark (2005),30</ref> was unearthed at a [[Hemudu culture|Hemudu]] (c. 5000 BC&nbsp;– c. 4500 BC) site.<ref name="wang 1982 80">Wang (1982),80</ref> 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&nbsp;– 256 BC) sites.<ref>Loewe (1999),178.</ref> However, [[Wang Zhongshu]] disagrees, stating that the oldest well-preserved lacquerware items come from a [[Lower Xiajiadian culture|Xiajiadian]] (c.2000&nbsp;– c.1600 BC) site in [[Liaoning]] excavated in 1977, the items being red lacquered vessels in the shape of [[:Image:Gu wine vessel from the Shang Dynasty (2nd version).jpg|Shang Dynasty bronze gu vessels]].<ref name="wang 1982 80"/> Wang states that many lacquerware items from the Shang Dynasty (c.1600&nbsp;– 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.<ref name="wang 1982 80"/> Queen [[Fu Hao]] (died c. 1200 BC) [[Tomb of Fu Hao|was buried]] in a lacquered wooden coffin.<ref name="washUni3">{{cite web |url = http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/archae/2fuhjade.htm |title = Jade from Fu Hao's Tomb |accessdate = August 4, 2007 |last = Buckley Ebrey|first = Patricia |authorlink = |coauthors = |date = |year = |month = |work = A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization |publisher = [[University of Washington]] |pages = |doi = |archiveurl = |archivedate = |quote = }}</ref> There were three imperial workshops during the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) established solely for the purpose of crafting [[lacquerware]]s; 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 [[Lelang commandery|Han colony]] in northwestern Korea with the inscription stating it was made in a workshop near [[Chengdu]], [[Sichuan]] and dated precisely to 55 AD.<ref>Loewe (1968), 186–187.</ref> [[File:Chinese noodles.JPG|thumb|''[[Lamian]]'' noodles, similar to the 4,000-year-old [[noodle]]s made from [[millet]] found at [[Lajia]]]] * '''[[Millet|Millet cultivation]]''': The discovery in northern China of domesticated varieties of [[Proso millet|broomcorn]] and [[foxtail millet]] from 8500 BC, or earlier, suggests that millet cultivation might have predated that of rice in parts of Asia.<ref>Murphy (2007), 114, 184.</ref> Clear evidence of millet began to cultivate by 6500 BC at sites of [[Cishan culture|Cishan]], [[Peiligang culture|Peiligang]] and [[Jiahu]].<ref>Sagart (2005), 21.</ref> Archaeological remains from Cishan sum up to over 300 [[storage pit (archaeology)|storage pits]], 80 with millet remains, with a total millet storage capacity estimated for the site of about 100,000&nbsp;kg of grain.<ref>Bellwood (2004), 121.</ref> By 4000 BC, most [[Yangshao culture|Yangshao]] areas were using an intensive form of foxtail millet cultivation, complete with [[storage pit (archaeology)|storage pits]] and finely prepared tools for digging and harvesting the crop. The success of the early Chinese millet farmers is still reflected today in the [[DNA]] of many east Asian populations, such studies have shown that the ancestors of those farmers probably arrived in the area between 30,000 and 20,000 [[Before Present|BP]], and their bacterial haplotypes are still found in today populations throughout eastern Asia.<ref>Murphy (2007), 186–187.</ref> * '''[[Noodle]]''': In 2002,<ref name=casc>{{cite web|last=Ye|first=Maolin|last2=Lu|first2=Houyua|title=The earliest Chinese noodles from Lajia|url=http://www.kaogu.cn/en/detail.asp?ProductID=986|work=The Institute of Archaeology|publisher=Chinese Academy of Social Sciences|accessdate=12 October 2011}}</ref> 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 an airtight space 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.<ref>[[BBC News]]. (12 October 2005). [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4335160.stm Oldest noodles unearthed in China]. News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-08-02.</ref> * '''[[Oar|Rowing oar]]''': Rowing oars have been used since the [[List of Neolithic cultures of China|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]].<ref>Deng (1997), 22.</ref><ref>Nelson (1995), 85.</ref> In 1999, an oar measuring 63.4&nbsp;cm (2&nbsp;ft) in length, dating from 4000 BC, has also been unearthed at [[Ishikawa Prefecture]], Japan.<ref>[[The Japan Times]]. (10 February 1999). [http://www.trussel.com/prehist/news110.htm Oldest oar unearthed from Ishikawa ruins]. Retrieved on 2008-08-13.</ref> * '''[[Plastromancy]]''': The earliest use of turtle shells comes from the archaeological site in [[Jiahu]] site. The shells, containing small pebbles of various size, colour 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 culture|Dawenkou]] burial sites of about 4000–3000 BC, as well as in Henan, [[Sichuan]], [[Jiangsu]] and [[Shaanxi]].<ref>Liu (2007), 65.</ref> The turtle-shell shakers for the most part are made of the shell of land turtles,<ref>Wu (1990), 349–365</ref> identified as ''[[Cuora flavomarginata]]''.<ref>Liu (2007), 126.</ref> Archaeologists believe that these shells were used either as rattles in ceremonial dances, shamantic healing tools or ritual paraphernalia for divinational purposes.<ref>Liu (2007), 66.</ref> * '''[[Plowshare|Ploughshare, triangular-shaped]]''': Triangular-shaped stone ploughshares are found at the sites of [[Majiabang culture]] dated to 3500 BC around [[Lake Taihu]]. Ploughshares have also been discovered at the nearby [[Liangzhu culture|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 plough assumed many kinds and were the departure from the Hemudu and Luojiajiao spade, with the Songze small plough in mid-process. The post-Liangzhu ploughs used draft animals.<ref>Harris (1996), 427–428.</ref><ref>[http://http-server.carleton.ca/~bgordon/Rice/papers/YouXiuling99c.rtf You] (1999), 1–8.</ref> [[File:LongjiTerraces.jpg|thumb|[[Rice]] terrace farming in Longji, [[Guangxi]], China]] * '''[[Rammed earth]]''': The archaeological evidence of the use of rammed earth has been discovered in [[Neolithic]] archaeological sites of the [[Yangshao culture|Yangshao]] and [[Longshan culture|Longshan]] cultures along the [[Yellow River]] in [[China]], dating back to 5000 BC. By 2000 BC, rammed-earth architectural techniques were commonly used for walls and foundations in China.<ref name="Xujie Liu">{{cite book |last=Xujie |first=Liu |editor1-first=Nancy Shatzman |editor1-last=Steinhardt |coauthors=''et al'' |title=Chinese Architecture |publisher=New Haven, CT, USA:Yale University Press ; Beijing, China: New World Press |year=2002 |pages = 12–14, 21–22 |oclc=186413872 |isbn=978-0-300-09559-3 }}</ref> * '''[[Steamer (appliance)|Pottery steamer]]''': Archaeological excavations show that using steam to cook began with the pottery cooking vessels known as ''yan'' steamers; a ''yan'' composed of two vessel, 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.<ref>Chen (1995), 198.</ref> 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]].<ref>Cheng (2005), 102–107.</ref> In the [[Longshan culture]] (3000–2000 BC) site at Tianwang in western [[Shandong]], 3 large ''yan'' steamers were discovered.<ref>Underhill (2002), 156 & 174.</ref> * '''[[Urn|Pottery urn]]''': 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,<ref>Hu (2005), 159.</ref> another early finds are in Laoguantai, [[Shaanxi]].<ref name="luan 2006 49 55"/> There are about 700 burial urns unearthed over the [[Yangshao culture|Yangshao]] (5000–3000 BC) areas and consisting more than 50 varieties of form and shape. The burial urns were used mainly for children, but also sporadically for adults, as shown in the finds at Yichuan, Lushan and [[Zhengzhou]] in [[Henan]].<ref name="wang 1997 93 96"/> A secondary burials containing bones from child or adult are found in the urns in Hongshanmiao, Henan.<ref>Liu (2007), 132.</ref> Small hole was drilled in most of the child and adult burial urns, and is believe to enable the spirit to access.<ref>[http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/History617bye1969.html Red Pottery Urn Coffin]. cultural-china.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-03</ref> It is recorded in the ''[[Classic of Rites]]'' that the earthenware coffins were used in the time of legendary period,<ref>Legge (2004), 108.</ref> the tradition of burying in pottery urns lasted until the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) when it gradually disappeared.<ref name="luan 2006 49 55"/> * '''[[Rice|Rice cultivation]]''': In 2002, a Chinese and Japanese group reported the discovery in eastern China of fossilised 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.<ref>Murphy (2007), 187.</ref> 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.<ref>Murphy (2007), 187–188.</ref> 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.<ref>Brook (2004), 81–85.</ref> * '''[[Sericulture]]''': Sericulture is the production of [[silk]] from [[silkworm]]s. The oldest silk found in China comes from the [[List of Neolithic cultures of China|Chinese Neolithic period]] and is dated to about 3630 BC, found in [[Henan]] province.<ref name="schoeser 2007 17">Schoeser (2007), 17.</ref> 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.<ref name="schoeser 2007 17"/> A bronze fragment found at the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600&nbsp;– c. 1050 BC) site at [[Anyang]] (or [[Yinxu]]) contains the first known [[Oracle bone script|written reference]] to silk.<ref>Simmons (1950), 87.</ref> * '''[[Soybean|Soybean cultivation]]''': The cultivation of soybeans began in the eastern half of northern China by 2000 BC, but is almost certainly much older.<ref>Murphy (2007), 121.</ref> Liu et al. (1997) stated that soybean originated in China and was domesticated about 3500 BC.<ref>Siddiqi (2001), 389</ref> 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.<ref>Murphy (2007), 122–123.</ref> Written records of the cultivation and use of the soybean in China date back at least as far as the [[Western Zhou Dynasty]].<ref>Murphy (2007), 135.</ref> * '''[[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.<ref name="luan 2006 49 55"/> * '''[[Wet field cultivation]]''' and '''[[Paddy field]]''': Wet field cultivation, or the paddy field, was developed in China. The earliest paddy field dates to 6280 BP, based on carbon dating of the grains of rice and [[soil organic matter]] found at the Chaodun site in Kushan County.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Cao | first1 = Zhihong | last2 = Fu | first2 = Jianrong | last3 = Zou | first3 = Ping | last4 = Huang | first4 = Jing Fa | last5 = Lu | first5 = Hong | last6 = Weng| first6 = Jieping | last7 = Ding | first7 = Jinlong|title=Origin and chronosequence of paddy soils in China.|journal=Proceedings of the 19th World Congress of Soil Science|date=August 2010|pages=39–42|url=http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20123011310.html|accessdate=8 February 2013}}</ref> Paddy fields have also been excavated by archaeologists at Caoxieshan, a site of the Neolithic [[Majiabang culture]].<ref>Fujiwara, H. (ed.). ''Search for the Origin of Rice Cultivation: The Ancient Rice Cultivation in Paddy Fields at the Cao Xie Shan Site in China''. Miyazaki: Society for Scientific Studies on Cultural Property, 1996. (In Japanese and Chinese)</ref> [[File:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - painted basin (1).jpg|thumb|A basin cover for a "coffin urn" from the Neolithic [[Yangshao culture]] (c. 5000&nbsp;– c. 3000 BC), used for the burial of a child, from [[Shaanxi]]]] ==Shang and later== Inventions which made their first appearance in China after the Neolithic age, specifically during and after the Shang Dynasty (''c''. 1600–1050 BC), are listed in alphabetical order below. <!-- Unreferenced additions will be removed --> ===A=== * '''[[Acupuncture]]''': Acupuncture, the [[Traditional Chinese medicine|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).<ref name="omura 15">Omura (2003), 15.</ref> The oldest known acupuncture sticks made of [[gold]], found in the tomb of [[Liu Sheng]] (d. 113 BC), date to the Western Han (203 BC&nbsp;– 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).<ref>Omura (2003), 19 & 22.</ref> [[File:Zodiaco Chino.jpg|thumb|[[Bronze mirror]] of the [[Sui Dynasty]] (581–618) showing the twelve divisions of the [[Chinese astrology|Chinese zodiac]], the latter of which goes back to the [[Warring States period]] (403–221 BC) in China]] * '''[[Chinese astrology|Animal zodiac]]''': The earliest and most complete version of the animal zodiac mentions twelve animals which differ slightly from the modern version (for instance, the dragon is absent, represented by a worm).<ref>Zhao (2000), 6–9.</ref> Each animal matches the [[earthly branches]] and were written on bamboo slips from [[Shuihudi Qin bamboo texts|Shuihudi]], dated to the late 4th century BC,<ref name="loewe 1999 847">Loewe (1999), 847.</ref> as well as from Fangmatan, dating to the late 3rd century BC.<ref name="loewe 1999 847"/> Before these archaeological finds, the ''[[Lunheng]]'' written by [[Wang Chong]] (27&nbsp;– c. 100 AD) during the 1st century provided the earliest transmitted example of a complete duodenary animal cycle.<ref>Sterckx (2002), 66–67.</ref> * '''[[Armillary sphere|Armillary sphere, hydraulic-powered]]''': [[Hipparchus]] (c. 190&nbsp;– c. 120 BC)<ref>Williams (2004), 131.</ref> (probably in ''[[Geographica]]'' from 1st century AD)<ref>Lasater (2008), 193 & 202.</ref> 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&nbsp;– 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 [[Water clock|clepsydra clock]], the latter of which he improved with an extra compensating tank between the reservoir and the inflow vessel.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 30 & 479 footnote e.</ref><ref name="crespigny 2007 1050">Crespigny (2007), 1050.</ref><ref>Morton & Lewis (2005), 70.</ref><ref>Loewe (1968), 107.</ref><ref name="bowman 2000 595">Bowman (2000), 595.</ref> ===B=== [[File:Hui zi.jpg|thumb|[[Huizi (currency)|Huizi currency]], issued in 1160]] [[File:Yuan Dynasty - waterwheels and smelting.png|thumb|[[Bellows]] operated by [[waterwheel]]s, from a book published by [[Wang Zhen (official)|Wang Zhen]] in 1313, Yuan Dynasty]] [[File:Wang Juzheng's Spinning Wheel, Close Up 2.jpg|thumb|''The Spinning Wheel'', by [[Song Dynasty|Northern Song]] (960–1127) artist Wang Juzheng. The Chinese invented the [[Belt (mechanical)|belt drive]] by the 1st century BC for silk [[quilling]] devices.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 9 207208">Needham (1988), Volume 5, Part 9, 207–208.</ref>]] [[File:Chinese Puddle and Blast Furnace.jpg|thumb|A print illustration from an encyclopedia published in 1637 by [[Song Yingxing]] (1587–1666), showing two men working a [[blast furnace]] on the right and the [[Puddling (metallurgy)|puddling process]] on the left.]] * '''[[Banknote]]''': Paper currency was [[Economy of the Song Dynasty#Paper currency|first developed in China]]. Its roots were in merchant [[receipt]]s of deposit during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), as [[Four occupations#The shang (商)|merchants]] and [[wholesaler]]s desired to avoid the heavy bulk of [[Chinese coins|copper coinage]] in large commercial transactions.<ref>Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 156.</ref><ref name="Bowman">Bowman (2000), 105.</ref><ref name="gernet 1962 80">Gernet (1962), 80.</ref> During the Song Dynasty (960–1279), the central government adopted this system for their [[Salt in Chinese history|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 Asia]]n, [[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.<ref>Ch'en (1965), 615–621.</ref> In the early 11th century, the Song Dynasty government authorised sixteen private [[bank]]s 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.<ref name="temple 1986 117">Temple (1986), 117.</ref> 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, between 1265 and 1274.<ref name="gernet 1962 80"/> The concurrent [[Jin Dynasty (1115-1234)|Jin Dynasty]] (1115–1234) also printed paper banknotes by at least 1214.<ref>Gernet (1962), 80–81.</ref> * '''[[Bellows|Bellows, hydraulic-powered]]''': Although it is unknown if metallurgic bellows (i.e. air-blowing device) in the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 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 [[waterwheel]]s to power the bellows of his [[blast furnace]] smelting [[Cast iron|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]].<ref name="bowman 2000 595"/><ref>Wagner (2001), 77–80.</ref><ref>Crespigny (2007), 184.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 370–376.</ref><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 225.</ref> * '''[[Belt (mechanical)|Belt drive]]''': The mechanical belt drive, using a [[pulley]] machine, was first mentioned in the text the ''Dictionary of Local Expressions'' by the Han Dynasty author [[Yang Xiong (author)|Yang Xiong]] (53–18 BC) in 15 BC, used for a [[quilling]] machine that wound [[silk]] fibers on to [[bobbin]]s for [[Weaving|weavers']] shuttles.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 9 207208"/> The belt drive is an essential component to the invention of the [[spinning wheel]].<ref name="Needham 1986">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 108.</ref><ref name="needham volume 5 part 9 160163">Needham (1988), Volume 5, Part 9, 160–163.</ref> The belt drive was not only used in textile technologies, it was also applied to hydraulic powered bellows dated from the 1st century AD.<ref name="Needham 1986"/> * '''[[Belt hook]]''': The belt hook was a fastener used in China. Belt hooks date to the 7th century BC in China,<ref name="Kipfer">{{cite book|author=Barbara Ann Kipfer|title=Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology|accessdate=5 October 2012|date=30 April 2000|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-306-46158-3|page=64}}</ref> and were made with bronze, iron, gold, and jade.<ref name="Kipfer"/> Texts claim that the belt hook arrived in China from Central Asia during the [[Warring States period]], but archaeological evidence of belt hooks in China predate the Warring States Period.<ref name="Wagner1993">{{cite book|author=Donald B. Wagner|title=Iron and Steel in Ancient China|accessdate=5 October 2012|year=1993|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-09632-5|page=169}}</ref> * '''[[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&nbsp;– 220 AD) period [[History of the Han Dynasty|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&nbsp;– 87 BC); most ironwork sites discovered dating before 117 BC acted merely as [[Foundry|foundries]] which made castings for iron that had been smelted in blast furnaces elsewhere in remote areas far from population centres.<ref name="wagner 7 36 37 64 68"/><ref>Pigott (1999), 183–184.</ref> * '''[[Bomb|Bomb, cast iron]]''': The first accounts of bombs made of cast iron shells packed with explosive gunpowder—as opposed to earlier types of casings—were written in the 13th century in China.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 170–174.</ref> The term was coined for this bomb (i.e. "thunder-crash bomb") during a [[Jin Dynasty, 1115-1234|Jin Dynasty]] (1115–1234) naval battle of 1231 against the [[Mongols]].<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 171">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 171.</ref> The ''History of Jin'' 《金史》 (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&nbsp;... 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 (unit)|li]]'', and the vegetation was scorched and blasted by the heat over an area of more than [[Chinese units of measurement#Area|half a ''mou'']]. When hit, even [[Chinese armour|iron armour]] was quite pierced through."<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 171"/> The Song Dynasty (960–1279) official Li Zengbo wrote in 1257 that [[arsenal]]s 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 District, Xiangfan|Xiangyang]] and Yingzhou.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 173–174.</ref> 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."<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 170">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 170.</ref> * '''[[Borehole|Borehole drilling]]''': By at least the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD), the Chinese used deep borehole drilling for mining and other projects; Loewe states that borehole sites could reach as deep as 600&nbsp;m (2000&nbsp;ft).<ref name="loewe 1968 194">Loewe (1968), 194.</ref> 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."<ref name="tom 1989 103">Tom (1989), 103.</ref> This was the same method used for extracting [[petroleum]] in [[California]] during the 1860s (i.e. "Kicking Her Down").<ref name="tom 1989 103"/> A Western Han Dynasty bronze foundry discovered in Xinglong, [[Hebei]] had nearby [[shaft mining|mining shafts]] which reached depths of 100&nbsp;m (328&nbsp;ft) with spacious mining areas; the shafts and rooms were complete with a timber frame, ladders and iron tools.<ref name="loewe 1968 191">Loewe (1968), 191.</ref><ref name="wang 1982 105">Wang (1982), 105.</ref> * '''[[Toothbrush|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 [[Clerkenwell]], London, England.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=The Library of Congress|date=2007-04-04|url=http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/tooth.html|title=Who invented the toothbrush and when was it invented?|accessdate=2008-04-12}}</ref> 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.<ref name="bowman 2000 601">Bowman (2000), 601.</ref> 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.<ref>Kendall (2006), 2.</ref> [[File:Qingming Festival 2.jpg|right|thumb|450px|Chinese river ships from ''[[Along the River During Qingming Festival]]'', by [[Zhang Zeduan]] (1085–1145), Song Dynasty]] * '''[[Bulkhead (partition)|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 author [[Zhu Yu (author)|Zhu Yu]] (fl. 12th century) wrote in his book of 1119 that the [[Hull (watercraft)|hulls]] of [[Junk (ship)|Chinese ships]] had a bulkhead build; these pieces of literary evidence for bulkhead partitions are confirmed by archaeological evidence of a 24&nbsp;m (78&nbsp;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 [[Waterproofing|watertight]], dated to about 1277.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 391, 422, 462–463.</ref><ref>Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 159.</ref> Western writers from [[Marco Polo]] (1254–1324), to [[Niccolò 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.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 420–422.</ref><ref>Gernet (1996), 327.</ref> ===C=== [[File:Verseuse phénix Musée Guimet 2418.jpg|thumb|A late 10th century grey [[sandstone]] and [[celadon]]-glazed pitcher from the Song Dynasty (960–1279); the spout is in the form of a ''[[fenghuang]]'' head.]] [[File:Wooden and plastic chopsticks.jpeg|thumb|Wooden and plastic chopsticks]] [[File:Ming Emperor Xuande playing Golf.jpg|thumb|The [[Xuande Emperor]] (r. 1425–1435) playing ''[[chuiwan]]'' with his [[Eunuch (court official)|eunuch]]s]] [[File:ChineseCrossbow.JPG|thumb|A hand-held, trigger-operated [[crossbow]] from the 2nd century BC, Han Dynasty<ref name="you 1994 80"/>]] [[File:Shuihu5.PNG|thumb|A 15th-century Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) woodblock print of the ''[[Water Margin]]'' novel showing a game of ''[[cuju]]'' football being played]] [[File:Earthenware architecture models, Eastern Han Dynasty, 6.JPG|thumb|An earthenware model of a stove furnace from the [[Eastern Han Dynasty]] (25–220 AD); the Chinese have been using the [[cupola furnace]] since antiquity.]] * '''[[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 furnace]]s and [[cupola furnace]]s discovered in China date after the state iron monopoly under [[Emperor Wu of Han|Emperor Wu]] (r. 141–87 BC) was established in 117 BC, during the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 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.<ref name="wagner 7 36 37 64 68">Wagner (2001), 7, 36–37, 64–68.</ref><ref>Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 30.</ref><ref>Gernet (1996), 69.</ref><ref>Wagner (1993), 335.</ref><ref name="pigott 1999 177">Pigott (1999), 177.</ref> 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 [[Military history of China (pre-1911)|iron military weapons]] were made of more costly [[wrought iron]] and [[steel]], signifying that "high performance was essential" and preferred for the latter.<ref>Wagner (1993), 336.</ref> * '''[[Celadon]]''': [[Variations of green|Named after a pale-tinted spring green colour]], [[Wang Zhongshu]] (1982) asserts that shards having this type of [[Chinese ceramics|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).<ref>Wang (1982), 1982.</ref> 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).<ref name="dewar 2002 42">Dewar (2002), 42.</ref> 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.<ref name="dewar 2002 42"/> [[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 [[stoneware]]s.<ref name="wood 1999 75 76">Wood (1999), 75–76.</ref> * '''[[Chain drive|Chain drive, endless power-transmitting]]''': The Greek [[Philon of Byzantium]] (3rd or 2nd century BC)<ref>Ceccarelli (2004), 69.</ref> described a [[chain drive]] and [[windlass]] used in the operation of a [[polybolos]] (a repeating [[ballista]]),<ref>Campbell (2003), 7.</ref><ref>[http://www.thehurl.org/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=37 Soedel & Foley] (1979), 124–125.</ref> but the chain drive did not continuously transmit power from shaft to shaft.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 109–111.</ref> A continuously driven chain drive first appeared in 11th century China. Perhaps inspired by [[chain pump]]s which had been known in China since at least the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) when they were mentioned by the Chinese philosopher [[Wang Chong]] (27&nbsp;– c. 100 AD),<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 344.</ref> 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).<ref>Fry (2001), 11.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 111, 165, 456–457.</ref><ref name="gernet 1996 341">Gernet (1996), 341.</ref> * '''[[Chain stitch]]''': The earliest archaeological evidence of chain stitch [[embroidery]] dates from 1100 BC in China. Excavated from royal tombs, the embroidery was made using threads of [[silk]].<ref name="Schoeser">{{cite book|author=Mary Schoeser|title=Silk|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=LpVdUddNkGUC&pg=PA18|accessdate=15 January 2013|year=2007|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-11741-7|page=18|quote=from the same dates comes the earliest evidence of chain stitch embroidery, worked with silk threads}}</ref> Chain stitch embroidery has also been found dating to the [[Warring States period]]. Chain stitch designs spread to [[Iran]] through the [[Silk Road]].<ref name="Leslie">{{cite book|author=Catherine Amoroso Leslie|title=Needlework Through History: An Encyclopedia|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lEiGeSLKLjMC&pg=PA41|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-33548-8|page=41}}</ref> * '''[[Chemical warfare|Chemical warfare using bellows, mustard smoke, and lime]]''': As written in the 4th century BC by the [[Mohism|Mohists]], followers of the philosophy of [[Mozi]] (c. 470&nbsp;– 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.<ref name="temple 1986 215">Temple (1986), 215.</ref> During a [[siege]], the besieging force would often [[Mining (military)|dig mines under the walls]] to breach the fortifications of the defenders.<ref name="temple 1986 215"/> 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.<ref name="temple 1986 215"/> [[History of the Han Dynasty|To fight off a peasant revolt]] in 178 AD during the late Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD), riding [[chariot]]eers of the Imperial forces used portable bellows to pump [[Lime (mineral)|lime smoke]] at the enemy, who were ultimately defeated.<ref name="temple 1986 217">Temple (1986), 217.</ref> 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.<ref name="temple 1986 217"/> * '''[[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 City|Dali]]),<ref>Lu (2004), 209–216.</ref><ref>[http://italian.cri.cn/441/2008/06/19/43@104984.htm Le due leggende sulle bacchette cinesi] cri.cn. Retrieved on 2008-7-20</ref> and [[Töv Province]] by 1st century.<ref>[http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/museums/ubhist/xiongnu.html The National Museum of Mongolian History]. washington.edu. Retrieved on 2008-7-20.</ref> The earliest known textual reference to the use of chopsticks comes from the ''[[Han Feizi (book)|Han Feizi]]'', a philosophical text written by [[Han Fei]] (c. 280–233 BC) in the 3rd century BC.<ref name="needham volume 6 part 5 104 footnote">Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 5, 104, footnote 161.</ref> * '''[[Chromium|Chromium, use of]]''': The use of chromium was invented in China no later than 210 BC 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 they had been coated in chromium. Chromium was not used anywhere else until the experiments of [[Louis Nicolas Vauquelin]] (1763–1829) in 1797–1798.<ref>Cotterell (2004), 102.</ref> * '''[[Chuiwan]]''': ''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'' (東軒錄);<ref>[http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/ASSH%20Bulletins/No%2014/ASSHBulletin14c.pdf Ling] (1991), 12–23.</ref> 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 [[Early Modern Europe|Europeans]] during the [[Renaissance]] (according to Andrew Leibs).<ref name="leibs 2004 30">Leibs (2004), 30.</ref> 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.<ref name="leibs 2004 30"/> 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.<ref>Leibs (2004), 31.</ref> * '''[[Churn drill]]''': Churn drills date back to as early as [[Qin Dynasty]] China, 221 BC,<ref name="geng">{{cite book|author=Geng Ruilun|editor=Guo Huadong|title=New Technology for Geosciences: Proceedings of the 30th International Geological Congress|accessdate=28 September 2012|date=1 October 1997|publisher=VSP|isbn=978-90-6764-265-1|page=225}}</ref> capable of reaching a depth of 1500 m.<ref name="Delleur"/> Churn drills in ancient China were built of wood and labour-intensive, but were able to go through solid rock.<ref name="Landmeyer">{{cite book|author=James E. Landmeyer|title=Introduction to Phytoremediation of Contaminated Groundwater: Historical Foundation, Hydrologic Control, and Contaminant Remediation|accessdate=28 September 2012|date=15 September 2011|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-94-007-1956-9|page=112}}</ref> The churn drill appears in Europe during the 12th century.<ref name="Delleur">{{cite book|author=Jacques W. Delleur|title=The Handbook of Groundwater Engineering, Second Edition|date=12 December 2010|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-8493-4316-2|page=7 in chapter 2}}</ref> A churn drill using [[steam power]], based on "the ancient Chinese method of lifting and dropping a rod tipped with a bit," was first built in 1835 by Isaac Singer in the United States.<ref name="LynchRowland">{{cite book|author1=Alban J. Lynch|author2=Chester A. Rowland|title=The History of Grinding|accessdate=28 September 2012|year=2005|publisher=SME|isbn=978-0-87335-238-3|page=173}}</ref> * '''[[Imperial examination|Civil service examinations]]''': In the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD), the ''[[xiaolian]]'' system of recruiting government officials through formal recommendations was the chief method of filling bureaucratic posts, although there was an [[Taixue|Imperial Academy]] to train potential candidates for office and some offices required its candidates to pass formal written tests before appointment.<ref>Crespigny (2007), 1222 & 1232.</ref><ref>Bielenstein (1980), 9 & 19.</ref><ref>Wang (1949), 152.</ref><ref>Loewe (1968), 45.</ref> However, it was not until the [[Sui Dynasty]] (581–618) that [[civil service]] examinations became open to all adult males not belonging to the [[Four occupations|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.<ref name="ebrey 2006 97">Ebrey (2006), 97.</ref><ref>Gasciogne and Gasciogne (2003), 95.</ref> The civil service system was implemented on a much larger scale 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 (China)|gentry families]] from throughout the country.<ref>Hartwell (1982), 416–420.</ref><ref>Ebrey (1999), 145–146.</ref> * '''[[Steelmaking|Co-fusion steel process]]''': Although [[Joseph Needham]] speculates 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 [[Taoism|Daoist]] swordsmith Qiwu Huaiwen, who was put in charge of the arsenal of [[Northern Wei]] general [[Gao Huan]] from 543 to 550 AD.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 34">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 34.</ref> 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 [[sickle]]s and [[Dao (sword)|Chinese sabers]].<ref name="temple 1986 68">Temple (1986), 68.</ref> In regards to the latter text, [[Su Song]] (1020–1101) made a similar description and noted the steel's use for [[Chinese swords|making swords]].<ref name="temple 1986 68"/> * '''[[Coke (fuel)|Coke as fuel]]''': By the 11th century, during the Song Dynasty (960–1279), the demands for [[charcoal]] used in the [[blast furnace|blast]] and [[cupola furnace]]s 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.<ref name="ebrey walthall palais 158">Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 158.</ref><ref name="ebrey 1999 144">Ebrey (1999), 144.</ref><ref name="hobson 2004 53">Hobson (2004), 53.</ref> * '''[[Contour canal]]''': After numerous conquests and consolidation of [[Qin Dynasty|his empire]], China's first emperor [[Qin Shi Huang]] (r. 221–210 BC) commissioned the engineer Shi Lu to build a new waterway canal which would pass through a mountain range and connect the [[Xiang River|Xiang]] and [[Lijiang River|Lijiang]] rivers.<ref name="day mcneil 1996 636"/> The result of this project was the [[Lingqu Canal]], complete with thirty-six [[Lock (water transport)|lock gates]], and since it closely follows a [[contour line]] (i.e. following the contours of the [[Mountain pass|natural saddle in the hills]]), it is the oldest known contour canal in the world.<ref name="day mcneil 1996 636">Day & McNeil (1996), 636.</ref> * '''[[Crank (mechanism)|Crank handle]]''': The earliest known depicted crank handle in art comes from a 1st-century BC Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 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 [[Mechanical fan|operate the fan]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 118 & PLATE CLVI.</ref> 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.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 116–119.</ref> * '''[[Crossbow]]''' and '''[[repeating crossbow]]''': In China bronze [[History of crossbows|crossbow]] bolts dating as early as the mid 5th century BC were found at a [[Chu (state)|State of Chu]] burial site in Yutaishan, [[Hubei]].<ref>Wagner (1993), 153, 157–158.</ref> 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 [[Lu (state)|State of Lu]].<ref name="you 1994 80">You (1994), 80.</ref><ref>[http://www.atarn.org/chinese/bjng_xbow/bjng_xbow.htm A Crossbow Mechanism with Some Unique Features from Shandong, China]. Asian Traditional Archery Research Network. Retrieved on 2008-08-20.</ref> Other early finds of crossbows were discovered in Tomb 138 at Saobatang, [[Hunan]] dated to mid 4th century BC.<ref>Mao (1998), 109–110.</ref><ref>Wright (2001), 159.</ref> [[Repeating crossbow]]s, 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.<ref>Lin (1993), 36.</ref> The earliest textual evidence of the handheld crossbow [[Battle of Maling|used in battle]] dates to the 4th century BC.<ref name="wright 2001 42">Wright (2001), 42.</ref> 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&nbsp;– 220 AD), while crossbowmen described in the Han Dynasty learned drill formations, some were even mounted as [[Cavalry#East Asia|cavalry units]], and Han Dynasty writers attributed the success of numerous [[Sino-Xiongnu War|battles against the Xiongnu]] to massed crossbow fire.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 6, 124–128.</ref><ref>Lewis (2000a), 45.</ref> In comparison, 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), also invented in the 5th century BC,<ref>Gurstelle, William (2004).''The Art of the Catapult''. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 1-55652-526-5, p. 49</ref> and the katapeltikon (399 BC), a siege weapon using similar mechanisms.<ref>Diod. Sic. 14.42.1</ref><ref name="Duncan Campbell, p.3">Duncan Campbell: ''Greek and Roman Artillery 399 BC-AD 363'', Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2003, ISBN 1-84176-634-8, p.3</ref> Unlike the Chinese crossbow, the heavy weight and bulk of these weapons necessitated a prop to keep them standing<ref>Campbell (2003), 4.</ref> * '''[[Cuju|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).<ref name="speak 1999 32">Speak (1999), 32.</ref> Both texts recorded that during the [[Warring States period]] (403–221 BC) the people of [[Ancient Linzi|Linzi]] city, capital of the [[Qi (state)|State of Qi]], enjoyed playing ''cuju'' along with partaking in many other pastimes such as [[cockfighting]].<ref name="speak 1999 32"/> Besides being a recreational sport, playing ''cuju'' was also considered a military training exercise and means for soldiers to keep fit.<ref name="speak 1999 32"/> * '''[[Cupola furnace]]''': Vincent C. Pigott states that the cupola furnace existed in China at least by the [[Warring States period]] (403–221 BC),<ref name="pigott 1999 191">Pigott (1999), 191.</ref> while Donald B. Wagner writes that some [[iron ore]] melted in the [[blast furnace]] may have been [[cast iron|cast directly into molds]], but most, if not all, iron smelted in the blast furnace during the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 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.<ref>Wagner (2001), 75–76.</ref> ===D=== [[File:Earthenware architecture models, Eastern Han Dynasty, 11.JPG|thumb|Ceramic models of watchtowers from the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) showing use of ''[[dougong]]'' brackets]] [[File:Tiangong Kaiwu Drawloom.jpg|thumb|right|A giant [[loom|drawloom]] for figure [[weaving]], from the Chinese ''Tiangong Kaiwu'' [[encyclopedia]] published by [[Song Yingxing]] in 1637]] * '''[[Amalgam (dentistry)|Dental amalgam]]''': Dental amalgam were used in the first part of the Tang Dynasty in China (618-907 A.D.), and in Germany by Dr. Strockerus in about 1528.<ref name="Bjørklund1">{{cite journal |author=Bjørklund G |title=The history of dental amalgam (in Norwegian) |journal=Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen |volume=109 |issue=34-36 |pages=3582–3585 |year=1989 |pmid=2694433 |doi= |url=}}</ref> Evidence of a dental amalgam first appears in the Tang Dynasty medical text ''Hsin Hsiu Pen Tsao'' written by Su Kung in 659, manufactured from tin and silver.<ref name=czarnetzki/> Historical records hint that the use of amalgams may date even earlier in the Tang Dynasty.<ref name=czarnetzki/> It was during the [[Ming Dynasty]] that the composition of an early dental amalgam was first published, and a text written by Liu Wen Taiin 1505 states that it consists of "100 shares of mercury, 45 shares of silver and 900 shares of tin."<ref name=czarnetzki>{{cite journal|last=Czarnetzki|first=A.|coauthors=Ehrhardt S.|title=Re-dating the Chinese amalgam-filling of teeth in Europe|journal=International Journal of Anthropology|year=1990|volume=5|issue=4|pages=325–332}}</ref> * '''[[Chinese dominoes|Dominoes]]''': The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) author Xie Zhaozhe (1567–1624) initiated the legend that [[dominoes]] were first presented to the imperial court in 1112.<ref name="lo 2000 401">Lo (2000), 401.</ref> 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).<ref name="lo 2000 401"/> 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).<ref name="lo 2000 401"/> The earliest known manual written about dominoes is the ''Manual of the Xuanhe Period'' (1119–1125) written by Qu You (1347–1433).<ref name="lo 2000 401"/> 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).<ref name="lo 2000 401"/> Traditional Chinese domino games include [[Tien Gow]], [[Pai Gow]], [[Che Deng]], and others. 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 [[Western world|in the West]] during the mid 18th century (in France and Italy).<ref>Pickover (2002), 141.</ref> Dominoes first appeared in Italy during the 18th century, and although it is unknown how [[Chinese dominoes]] developed into the modern game, it is speculated that Italian missionaries in China may have brought the game to Europe.<ref name="Carl">{{cite book|author=Rodney P. Carlisle|title=Encyclopedia of Play|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=jLqXM3U_pzEC&pg=PA181|accessdate=5 October 2012|date=2 April 2009|publisher=SAGE|isbn=978-1-4129-6670-2|page=181}}</ref> * '''[[Dougong]]''': A ''dougong'' is a [[Bracket (architecture)|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.<ref name="fletcher 693">Fletcher (1996), 693.</ref> Each dougong is formed by double bow-shaped arms (拱, ''gong'') supported by a wooden block (斗, ''dou'') on each side.<ref name="fletcher 693"/> ''Dougong'' were also used for decorative and ceremonial rather than entirely pragmatic purposes of support, such as on solid brick [[Chinese pagoda|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 [[:Image:Yingzao Fashi 3.JPG|featured illustrations and descriptions of ''dougong'']].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 100.</ref> * '''[[Loom|Drawloom]]''': The earliest confirmed drawloom fabrics come from the [[Chu (state)|State of Chu]] and date c. 400 BC.<ref name="broudy 1979 124">Broudy (1979), 124.</ref> 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.<ref name="broudy 1979 124"/><ref>Forbes (1987), 218 & 220.</ref> Dieter Kuhn states that an analysis of texts and textiles from the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) proves that the figured fabrics of that era were also crafted with the use of a drawloom.<ref name="beaudry 2006 146">Beaudry (2006), 146.</ref> The drawloom was certainly known in [[Persia]] by the 6th century AD.<ref name="broudy 1979 124"/> 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.<ref>Broudy (1979), 130–133.</ref> Mary Carolyn Beaudry disagrees, stating that it was used in the medieval Italian silk industry.<ref name="beaudry 2006 146"/> ===E=== * '''[[Ephedrine]]''': Ephedrine, known as ''ma huang'' in [[traditional Chinese medicine]], has been documented in China since the [[Han Dynasty]] (206 BC – 220 AD) as an [[Asthma|antiasthmatic]] and stimulant.<ref name="principles">{{cite book|author=Woodburne O. Levy|author2=Kavita Kalidas|editor=Norman S. Miller|title=Principles of Addictions and the Law: Applications in Forensic, Mental Health, and Medical Practice|date=26 February 2010|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-0-12-496736-6|pages=307–308}}</ref> The industrial manufacture of ephedrine in China began in the 1920s, when [[Merck & Co.|Merck]] began marketing and selling the drug as ephetonin. Ephedrine exports between China and the West grew from 4 tonnes to 216 tonnes between 1926 and 1928.<ref name="Dikotter">{{cite book|author1=Frank Dikotter|author2=Lars Peter Laamann|title=Narcotic Culture: A History of Drugs in China|accessdate=5 October 2012|date=16 April 2004|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-14905-9|page=199}}</ref> * '''[[Escapement]] (use in clockworks)''': Although the escapement mechanism was first invented by the Greek [[Philon of Byzantium]] for a mechanical [[washstand]],<ref>Lewis (2000b), 343–369 (356f.)</ref> an escapement mechanism for clockworks 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 tower]]s of both [[Zhang Sixun]] (fl. late 10th century) and [[Su Song]] (1020–1101).<ref name="Bowman"/><ref name="gernet 1996 341"/><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 89, 445–456, 473–475.</ref><ref>Fry (2001), 10.</ref><ref>Bodde (1991), 140.</ref><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 781, 786–787.</ref> Yi Xing's escapement allowed for a bell to be rung automatically every hour, and a drum beaten automatically every quarter hour, essentially a [[striking clock]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 473–474.</ref> Unlike the modern escapement which employs a suspended oscillating [[pendulum]] resting and releasing its hooks on a small rotating gear wheel, the early Chinese escapement employed the use of [[gravity]] and [[hydraulics]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 460 462">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 460–462.</ref> In Su Song's clock tower, scoop containers fixed to the spokes of a vertical [[waterwheel]] (which acted like a gear wheel) would be filled one by one with siphoned water from a [[Water clock|clepsydra tank]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 460">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 460.</ref> When the weight of the water in the scoop filled to an excess, it overcame a counterweight that in turn tripped a lever allowing the scoop to rotate on a pivot and drain its water.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 460"/> However, as the scoop fell, it tripped a coupling tongue that temporarily pulled down on a long vertical chain, the latter yanking down on a balancing lever which would pull upward on a small chain connected to a locking arm, the latter lifting momentarily to release the top arrested spoke before coming back down to repeat the entire process over again.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 460"/> It should be pointed out that the Chinese intermittently working liquid-driven escapement had "only the name in common" with the true mechanical escapement of later medieval mechanical clocks which worked instead with weights, producing continuous but discrete beats.<ref name="David Landes 18f.">David Landes: “Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World”, rev. and enlarged edition, Harvard University Press, Cambridge 2000, ISBN 0-674-00282-2, p.18f.</ref></blockquote><ref name="Ricardo Duchesne 77f.">Ricardo Duchesne: “Asia First?”, ''The Journal of the Historical Society'', Vol. 6, No. 1 (March 2006), pp. 69–91 (77f.)</ref> * '''[[Shell (projectile)|Exploding cannonballs]]''': The ''[[Huolongjing]]'' military manual compiled by [[Jiao Yu]] (fl. 14th to early 15th century) and [[Liu Ji (14th century)|Liu Ji]] (1311–1375) in the mid 14th century described the earliest known exploding cannonballs, which were made of cast iron with a hollow core packed with gunpowder. Jiao and Liu wrote that when fired, they could set enemy camps ablaze. The earliest evidence for exploding cannonballs in Europe date to the 16th century.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 264.</ref><ref>Cowley (1996), 49.</ref> The ''Huolongjing'' also specified the use of poison and blinding gunpowder filled into exploding shells; the effects of this [[chemical warfare]] was described as such: "Enemy soldiers will get their faces and eyes burnt, and the smoke will attack their noses, mouths, and eyes."<ref>Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 267.</ref> ===F=== [[File:Field mill in the Chinese Qiqi tushuo, 1627.jpg|thumb|The [[Field mill (carriage)|field mill]] in the Chinese book ''Yuanxi Qiqi Tushuk Luzui'' (Collected Diagrams and Explanations of the Wonderful Machines of the Far West), by [[Johann Schreck]] and Wang Zheng, 1627]] [[File:Chinesenewyearfireworkman.jpg|thumb|Local man setting off [[fireworks]] during [[Chinese New Year]] in Shanghai]] [[File:Angler on a Wintry Lake, by Ma Yuan, 1195.jpg|thumb|"Angler on a Wintry Lake", painted in 1195 by [[Ma Yuan (painter)|Ma Yuan]], featuring the oldest known depiction of a [[fishing reel]]]] [[File:Chinese Flamethrower.JPG|thumb|Chinese [[flamethrower]] from the ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]'' manuscript of 1044, Song Dynasty]] [[File:sheng.london.arp.jpg|thumb|right|[[Sheng (instrument)|Sheng player]] Guo Yi beside the River Thames, London, England]] [[File:Ming Dynasty fragmentation bomb.jpg|thumb|right|An illustration of a fragmentation bomb from the 14th century Ming Dynasty text ''Huolongjing''. The black dots represent iron pellets.]] * '''[[Field mill (carriage)|Field mill]]''': In the ''Yezhongji'' ('Record of Affairs at the Capital Ye of the Later Zhao Dynasty') written by Lu Hui (fl. 350 AD), various mechanical devices are described which were invented by two [[Later Zhao]] (319–351) engineers known as Xie Fei, a Palace Officer, and Wei Mengbian, the Director of the Imperial Workshops.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 159–160, 256–257.</ref> One of these is the field mill, which was essentially a cart with [[millstone]]s placed onto the frame; these were mechanically rotated by the movement of the cart's terrain wheels in order to grind wheat and other cereal crops.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 256">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 256.</ref> A similar vehicle these two invented was the "pounding cart", which had wooden statues mounted on the top which were actually mechanical figures who operated real [[Trip hammer|tilt hammers]] in order to [[Husk|hull]] rice; again, the device only functioned when the cart was moved forward and the wheels turned.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 256"/> The field mill lost its use in China sometime after the Later Zhao, but it was invented separately in Europe in 1580 by the Italian military engineer [[Pompeo Targone]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 255">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 255.</ref> It was featured in a treatise by [[Vittorio Zonca]] in 1607, and then in a [[Diagrams and explanations of the wonderful machines of the Far West|Chinese book]] of 1627 (concerning [[Western world|Western]] technology) that was compiled and translated by the [[Germans|German]] [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[Johann Schreck]] (1576–1630) and the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) Chinese author Wang Zheng (王徵 1571–1644), although by then it was considered by the Chinese to be an original Western contraption.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 255 256">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 255–256.</ref> * '''[[Finery forge]]''': In addition to accidental lumps of low-carbon [[wrought iron]] produced by excessive injected air in Chinese [[cupola furnace]]s, the ancient Chinese also created wrought iron by using the finery forge at least by the 2nd century BC, the earliest specimens of [[Cast iron|cast]] and [[pig iron]] fined into wrought iron and [[steel]] found at the early Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) site at Tieshengguo.<ref name="pigott 1999 186">Pigott (1999), 186.</ref> Pigott speculates that the finery forge existed in the previous [[Warring States period]] (403–221 BC), due to the fact that there are wrought iron items from China dating to that period and there is no documented evidence of the [[bloomery]] ever being used in China.<ref name="pigott 1999 186 187">Pigott (1999), 186–187.</ref> The fining process involved liquifying cast iron in a fining hearth and [[decarburization|removing carbon]] from the molten cast iron through [[Redox|oxidation]].<ref name="pigott 1999 186"/> Wagner writes that in addition to the Han Dynasty hearths believed to be fining hearths, there is also pictoral evidence of the fining hearth from a [[Shandong]] tomb mural dated 1st to 2nd century AD, as well as a hint of written evidence in the 4th century AD Daoist text ''[[Taiping Jing]]''.<ref>Wagner (2001), 80–83.</ref> * '''[[Fire lance]]''': The fire lance was a proto-gun developed in the 10th century with a tube of first bamboo and later on metal that shot a weak [[gunpowder]] blast of flame and shrapnel; its earliest representation comes from [[:image:FireLanceAndGrenade10thCenturyDunhuang.jpg|a painting found]] at [[Dunhuang]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 224–225, 232–233, 241–244.</ref><ref>Embree (1997), 185.</ref><ref>Cowley (1996), 38.</ref> * '''[[Fireworks]]''': Fireworks first appeared in China during the Song Dynasty (960–1279), in the early age of [[gunpowder]]. The common people in the Song era could purchase simple fireworks from market vendors; these were made of sticks of [[bamboo]] packed with gunpowder,<ref>Gernet (1962), 186.</ref> although grander displays were known to be held.<ref>Kelly (2004), 2.</ref> Rocket propulsion was soon applied to warfare, and by the time of the mid 14th century there were many types of rocket launchers available.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 485–489.</ref> * '''[[Firecracker]]''': The predecessor of the firecracker was a type of heated bamboo, used as early as 200 BC, that exploded when heated continuously. The Chinese name for firecrackers, ''baozhu'', literally means "exploding bamboo."<ref name="mtmenc">{{cite book|author=David Curtis Wright|editor=Thomas F. Glick|editor2=Steven J. Livesey|editor3=Faith Wallis|title=Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia2|date=29 September 2005|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-96930-7|page=211}}</ref> After the invention of gunpowder, gunpowder firecrackers had a shape that resembled bamboo and produced a similar sound, so the name "exploding bamboo" was retained.<ref name="Baker"/> In traditional Chinese culture, firecrackers were used to scare off evil spirits.<ref name="Baker">{{cite book|author=Hugh Baker|title=Ancestral Images: A Hong Kong Collection|accessdate=5 October 2012|date=1 June 2011|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|isbn=978-988-8083-09-1|page=184}}</ref> * '''[[Fishing reel]]''': In literary records, the earliest evidence of the fishing reel comes from a 4th-century AD<ref>Birrell (1993), 185.</ref><ref>Hucker (1975), 206.</ref> work entitled ''Lives of Famous Immortals''.<ref>Ronan (1994), 41.</ref> The earliest known depiction of a fishing reel comes from a [[Southern Song]] (1127–1279) painting done in 1195 by [[Ma Yuan (painter)|Ma Yuan]] (c. 1160–1225) called "Angler on a Wintry Lake," showing a man sitting on a small [[sampan]] boat while casting out his [[fishing line]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 100">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 100 & PLATE CXLVII.</ref> Another fishing reel was featured in a painting by [[Wu Zhen]] (1280–1354).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 100"/> The book ''Tianzhu lingqian'' (Holy Lections from Indian Sources), printed between 1208 and 1224, features two different [[Woodcut|woodblock print illustrations]] of fishing reels being used.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 100"/> An [[Armenia]]n parchment Gospel of the 13th century shows a reel (though not as clearly depicted as the Chinese ones).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 100"/> The ''[[Sancai Tuhui]]'', a [[Chinese encyclopedias|Chinese encyclopedia]] published in 1609, features the next known picture of a fishing reel and vividly shows the [[windlass]] pulley of the device.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 100"/> These five pictures mentioned are the only ones which feature fishing reels before the year 1651 (when the first English illustration was made); after that year they became commonly depicted in world art.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 100"/> * '''[[Flamethrower|Flamethrower, double piston and gunpowder-activated]]''': Although the single piston flamethrower was first developed in the [[Byzantine Empire]] during the 7th century,<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 77–78.</ref> the 10th-century Chinese flamethrower, or ''[[Pen Huo Qi]]'', boasted a continuous stream of flame by employing double [[piston]] [[syringe]]s (which had been known since the Han Dynasty) spouting [[Greek fire]] which had been imported from China's maritime trade contacts in the Middle East. It was first used in battle 932 during the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period]] (907–960), and the earliest illustration is found in the early Song Dynasty military manuscript ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]'' of 1044, which also described the device in full.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 7 81 84">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 81–84.</ref><ref>Gernet (1996), 310.</ref> Unlike the Greek model which employed a furnace, the ''Pen Huo Qi'' was ignited by an incendiary [[gunpowder]] fuse.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 7 81 84"/> * '''[[Flare]]''': The earliest recorded use of gunpowder for signalling purposes was the 'signal bomb' used by the Song Dynasty Chinese as the [[Mongol]]-led Yuan Dynasty besieged [[Yangzhou]] in 1276.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 7 169">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 169.</ref> These soft-shelled bombs, timed to explode in mid-air, were used to send messages to a detachment of troops far in the distance. Another mention of the signal bomb appears in a text dating from 1293 requesting their collection from those still stored in [[Zhejiang]].<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 7 169"/> A signal gun appears in Korea by 1600. The ''Wu I Thu Phu Thung Chih'' or ''Illustrated Military Encyclopedia'' written in 1791 depicts a signal gun in an illustration.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 5 part 7 331">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 331.</ref> *'''[[Folding screen]]''': The folding screen is a type of furniture consisting of several frames or panels. Screens date back to China during the Eastern [[Zhou Dynasty]] period (771–256 BC).<ref name="handler268">{{cite book|last=Handler|first=Sarah|title=Austere luminosity of Chinese classical furniture|year=2007|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-21484-2|pages=268–271, 275, 277|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=-EKkblrm6sUC}}</ref><ref name="mazurkewich">{{cite book|last1=Mazurkewich|first1=Karen|first2=A. Chester|last2=Ong|title=Chinese Furniture: A Guide to Collecting Antiques|year=2006|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=978-0-8048-3573-2|pages=144–146|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=xswA02E02KwC}}</ref> These were initially one-panel screens in contrast to folding screens.<ref name="needham-v5">{{cite book|last1=Needham|first1=Joseph|last2=Tsien|first2=Tsuen-hsuin|title=Paper and printing, Volume 5|year=1985|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-08690-5|page=120|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC}}</ref> Folding screens were invented during the [[Han Dynasty]] (206 BC - AD 220).<ref name="lee">{{cite book|last=Lee|first=O-Young|title=Things Korean|year=1999|publisher=Tuttle Publishing|isbn=978-0-8048-2129-2|page=135|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=9SZtiaK7-0YC|coauthors=Yi, Ŏ-ryŏng; Holstein, John}}</ref> Depictions of those folding screens have been found in Han Dynasty era tombs, such as one in Zhucheng, Shandong Province.<ref name="handler268"/> During the [[Tang Dynasty]], folding screens were considered ideal ornaments for many painters to display their [[Chinese painting|paintings]] and [[Chinese calligraphy|calligraphy]] on.<ref name="mazurkewich"/><ref name="needham-v5"/> Many artists painted on paper or silk and applied it onto the folding screen.<ref name="mazurkewich"/> The landscape paintings on folding screens reached its height during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960–1279).<ref name="handler268"/> * '''[[Forensic entomology]]''': The Song Dynasty (960–1279) [[forensic science]] work ''[[Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified]]'' published by [[Song Ci]] in 1247 contains the oldest known case of forensic entomology.<ref name="haskell 2006 432">Haskell (2006), 432.</ref> In a murder case of 1235, a villager was stabbed to death and authorities determined that his wounds were inflicted by a [[sickle]]; this was a tool used for cutting rice at harvest time, a fact which led them to suspect a fellow peasant worker was involved.<ref name="haskell 2006 432"/> The local magistrate had the villagers assemble in the town square where they would temporarily relinquish their sickles.<ref name="haskell 2006 432"/> Within minutes, a mass of [[Blow-fly|blow flies]] gathered around one sickle and none other, attracted to the scent of traces of [[blood]] unseen by the naked eye.<ref name="haskell 2006 432"/> It became apparent to all that the owner of that sickle was the culprit, the latter pleading for mercy as he was detained by authorities.<ref name="haskell 2006 432"/> * '''[[Fragmentation (weaponry)|Fragmentation bomb]]''': The use of fragmentation in bombs dates to the 14th century, and first appears in the [[Ming Dynasty]] text ''[[Huolongjing]]''. The fragmentation bombs were filled with iron pellets and pieces of broken porcelain. A heated mixture of [[salammoniac]], [[tung oil]], chin chih, scallion juice, and yin hsiu is poured into the bomb, coating the pellets. Once the bomb explodes, the resulting shrapnel is capable of piercing the skin and blinding enemy soldiers.<ref name="Needhammiltech">{{cite book|author=Joseph Needham|title=Military Technology: The Gunpowder Epic|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=hNcZJ35dIyUC&pg=PR180|year=1986|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-30358-3|pages=180–181|quote=Then fill in (with a gunpowder core) to a case of cast iron making a fragmentation bomb. When it bursts it breaks into pieces which wound the skin and break the bones (of enemy soldiers) and blinds their eyes}}</ref> * '''[[Free reed aerophone]]''': The musical [[pipe organ]] employing metal [[piston]] [[bellows]] had a long history [[Western world|in the West]], dating back to the [[Hellenistic period]]. However, the Western pipe organ did not make use of [[reed (instrument)|the reed]], which the ancient Chinese [[mouth organ]] employed. The latter instrument, called a [[Sheng (instrument)|sheng]] and made traditionally of [[bamboo]] pipes, was first mentioned in the ''[[Shi Jing]]'' of the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050–256 BC). The Chinese sheng is considered the ancestor of the [[harmonica]], [[Pump organ|harmonium]], [[concertina]], [[accordion]], and [[:Category:Free reed aerophones|all other reed organ instruments]]. A free [[reed organ]] was invented in the [[Muslim world|Arab world]] in the 13th century, while the German [[Heinrich Traxdorf]] (fl. 15th century) of [[Nuremberg]] built one around 1460 AD. It is thought that the classical Chinese sheng travelled west through Russia during the 19th century, as it was described then in [[Saint Petersburg]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 211–212.</ref> ===G=== [[File:Gas bottles for portable stove.jpg|thumb|Modern [[gas cylinder]]s; the Chinese used a bamboo version of this by at least the Tang Dynasty (618–907).]] [[File:Rotating gimbal-xyz.gif|thumb|A set of three rotating [[gimbal]]s]] [[File:Go board.jpg|thumb|The [[Go (board game)|''go'' board game]]]] [[File:Bodhisattva musicien Musée Guimet 2418.jpg|thumb|Rock carving of a [[bodhisattva]] playing a ''[[guqin]]'', [[Northern Wei Dynasty]] (386–534 AD)]] * '''[[Gas cylinder]]''': From deep [[borehole]]s drilled during the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD), the Chinese had used [[Pipeline transport|bamboo pipelines]] to transport [[natural gas]] to [[stove]]s where [[cast iron]] pans were used to boil [[brine]] and extract [[salt]].<ref name="temple 1986 78 79">Temple (1986), 78–79.</ref> A [[gazetteer]] written before the 10th century during the Tang Dynasty (618–907) stated that a 'fire well' of Linqiong in what is now [[Sichuan]] reached depths of 182&nbsp;m (600&nbsp;ft) and spouted flames at the top.<ref name="temple 1986 79 80">Temple (1986), 79–80.</ref> It stated that people used the gas from this 'fire well' to fill portable tubes which could be carried around over a hundred ''[[Li (unit)|li]]'' (dozens of km or mi) and still be lit at the end to produce a flame.<ref name="temple 1986 79 80"/> A 17th or 18th century gazetteer from the [[Qing Dynasty]] (1644–1912) states that a leather bag could be filled with natural gas, punctured with a tiny hole, touched by fire, and instantly give heat and light.<ref name="temple 1986 80 81">Temple (1986), 80–81.</ref> A Song Dynasty (960–1279) book of 980 also records the use of [[petroleum]] (which the Chinese called "stone lacquer") in portable bamboo tubes which could be used for lighting at night "in the same manner as ordinary people carry torches."<ref name="temple 1986 80">Temple (1986), 80.</ref> A 16th-century book from the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) also states that petroleum was used as fuel in [[oil lamp|lamp]]s which could substitute for [[candle]]s.<ref name="temple 1986 80"/> * '''[[Gimbal|Gimbal ('Cardan' suspension)]]''': The gimbal is known as the 'Cardan' suspension after [[Gerolamo Cardano]] (1501–1576), yet it was known long before him.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 228–229.</ref> [[Joseph Needham]] writes that the earliest confirmed use of gimbals in Europe is the 9th century [[recipe]] book ''Little Key of Painting'' [[Mappae clavicula]]), which mentioned a vase surrounded by rings which allowed it to be undisturbed when in a rolling motion.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 229 & 231.</ref> Needham and [[George Sarton]] both write that an [[Arabic]] translation—dated to roughly the era of [[Al-Ma'mun]] (r. 813–833)—of an [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] work now lost (i.e. ''Pneumatica'') by [[Philo of Byzantium]] (c. 280&nbsp;– c. 220 BC) contains a description of gimbals used to support an inkpot that could wet a pen on any of its sides, yet Needham suspects Arabic [[Interpolation (manuscripts)|interpolation]] and doubts total authenticity, while Sarton asserts that for the most part the Arabic translation is faithful to Philo's lost original, hence Philo should be credited with the invention of the gimbal.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 236.</ref><ref>Sarton (1959), 349–350.</ref> Around 180 AD, the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) inventor [[Ding Huan]] (丁緩)—who also created a [[Fan (mechanical)|rotary fan]] and [[zoetrope]] lamp—invented a 'Perfume Burner for use among Cushions', or 'Bedclothes Censer'.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 233">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 233.</ref> This [[Censer|incense burner]] had a series of metal rings which could be moved in any direction while the burner in the middle remained constantly level.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 233"/> This is the first clear reference in China of the gimbal, although there is a hint in the writing of [[Sima Xiangru]] (179–117 BC) that this device existed in the 2nd century BC (i.e., 'the metal rings burning perfume').<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 233–234.</ref> The gimbal incense burner is mentioned in subsequent dynasties, while silverwork specimens of gimbal incense burners from the Tang Dynasty (618–907) still exist.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 234 235">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 234–235.</ref> In the [[Liang Dynasty]] (502–557) there is mention of gimbals used in hinges for doors and windows, while an unnamed artisan presented a warming [[stove]] to [[Wu Zetian]] (r. 690–705) in 692 which employed gimbals to keep it constantly balanced.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 234">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 234.</ref> * '''[[Go (board game)]]''' (''Weiqi'' in Chinese): Although ancient Chinese legend (perhaps contrived during the Han Dynasty) has it that the [[Yao (ruler)|mythological ruler Yao]] came down to earth [[Tian|from the Heavens]] around 2200 BC carrying with him a ''go''. Board and stone player's pieces, it is known from existing literature that the ''go'' board. Game existed since at least the 10th century BC during the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050–256 BC) and was even mentioned in writing by the philosophers [[Confucius]] (551–479 BC) and [[Mencius]] (371–289 BC), although the latter two had a slightly negative opinion of it.<ref>Lasker (1960), xiii.</ref><ref>Shotwell, Yang, and Chatterjee (2003), 133.</ref> * '''[[Guqin]]''': The ''guqin'' is one of the oldest stringed [[zither]] instruments from China and has existed since at least the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600&nbsp;– c. 1050 BC), as a Shang [[oracle bone]] contains [[Oracle bone script|the oldest known inscription]] of the Chinese character for [[Wiktionary:琴|''qin'' (琴)]].<ref name="san diego museum">San Diego Chinese Historical Museum. (May–August 2001). [http://www.sdchm.org/exhibit_template.php?exhibit=Gu%20Qin:%20Traditional%20Chinese%20Zithers Gu Qin: Traditional Chinese Zithers]. Sdchm.org. Retrieved on 2008-08-03.</ref> The oldest example of a guqin comes from the [[tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng]] (433 BC); [[Bo Lawergren]] argues they may have developed from Middle Eastern [[harp]]s like ''[[konghou]]'', which was also found in [[Qiemo County|Qiemo]], [[Xinjiang]] dating to 400–200 BC.<ref>[http://www.silkqin.com/09hist/origins.htm Origins of the Qin]. silkqin.com Retrieved on 2008-08-22.</ref> It was said to be popular in the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050&nbsp;– 256 BC), while the oldest known written [[tablature]] for the ''guqin'' dates to the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD).<ref name="san diego museum"/> The ''guqin'' became a musical instrument highly associated with [[Gentry (China)|China's gentry class]] when it was exalted as one of the [[Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar]] as well as one of the gentry's "nine guests" described by [[Shen Kuo]] (1031–1095);<ref>Lian (2001), 20.</ref> it was even featured in painted artwork, [[:Image:Songhuizong8.jpg|such as in a 12th-century piece by Emperor Huizong himself]]. * '''[[Goldfish]], domestication of''': In ancient [[China]], various species of [[carp]] (collectively known as [[Asian carps]]) were [[domestication|domesticated]] and have been reared as [[aquaculture|food fish]] for thousands of years. Some of these normally gray or silver species have a tendency to produce red, orange or yellow color [[mutation]]s; this was first recorded in the [[Jin Dynasty (265–420)]].<ref name="Ocean Park">{{cite web|url=http://www.oceanpark.com.hk/html/en/learning/facts/goldfish.html |title=Goldfish |publisher=Ocean Park |accessdate=2009-11-16}}</ref> During the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618–907), it was popular to raise carp in ornamental ponds and [[Water garden|watergardens]]. A natural genetic mutation produced gold (actually yellowish orange) rather than silver coloration. People began to breed the gold variety instead of the silver variety, keeping them in ponds or other bodies of water.<ref name="bristol">{{cite web | url=http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/info/info.htm | title=Background information about goldfish | accessdate=2006-07-28}}</ref><ref> [http://www.hagen.com/pdf/aquatic/Nutrafin_No4_English.pdf Nutrafin Aquatic News, Issue #4], 2004, Rolf C. Hagen, Inc. (USA) and Rolf C. Hagen Corp. (Montreal, Canada)</ref> Goldfish were introduced into Europe during the 17th century, and into North America in the 19th century.<ref name=Brunner>{{cite book | last = Brunner | first = Bernd | title = The Ocean at Home | publisher = Princeton Architectural Press | year= 2003| location = New York | isbn = 1-56898-502-9 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Mulertt |first=Hugo |title=The Goldfish And Its Systematic Culture With A View To Profit |year=1883|url=http://www.archive.org/details/goldfishitssyste00mule |accessdate=2009-07-07}}</ref> ===H=== [[File:Yuan chinese gun.jpg|thumb|A bronze [[hand cannon]] from the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), one of the oldest in the world; the oldest specimen dates to about 1288, when the first textual reference to the hand cannon appears in Chinese literature.]] [[File:Cernuschi Museum 20060812 147.jpg|thumb|A [[Sui Dynasty]] (581–618 AD) [[cart]] figurine pulled by a [[bull]]]] * '''[[Hand grenade]], explosive''': Before explosive grenades, [[incendiary device|incendiary grenades]] were used by the [[Eastern Roman Empire]], incorporating [[Greek fire]].<ref name="Robert James Forbes 107">Robert James Forbes: "Studies in Ancient Technology," Leiden 1993, ISBN 978-90-04-00621-8, p.107</ref> Early prototypes to the modern explosive grenade, according to Needham, appear in the military book, ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]'' ("Compilation of Military Classics"), by 1044. During the Song Dynasty, weapons known as [[Zhen Tian Lei]] were created when Chinese soldiers packed [[gunpowder]] into ceramic or metal containers and thrown at the enemy. Further descriptions and illustrations of early Chinese hand grenades are provided in the ''Huolongjing''.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 179 180">Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 179–180.</ref> * '''[[Hand cannon]]''': The earliest metal-barrel hand cannons dating to the 13th century are attested to by archaeological evidence from a [[Heilongjiang]] excavation as well as written evidence in the ''Yuanshi'' (1370) concerning Li Tang, an [[Jurchens|ethnic Jurchen]] commander under the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) who in 1288 suppressed the rebellion of the Christian prince Nayan with his "gun-soldiers" or ''chongzu'', this being the earliest known event where this phrase was used.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 293–294.</ref> The bronze Yuan Dynasty gun from Heilongjiang which dates to about 1288 is a little over 0.3&nbsp;m (1&nbsp;ft) in length and weighs 3.6&nbsp;kg (8&nbsp;lbs). It has a small [[touch hole]] for ignition and an even bore except for the bulbous enlargement around the explosion chamber. It was excavated with a bronze pan, mirror and vase.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 293.</ref> * '''[[Plough#Heavy ploughs|Heavy moldboard iron plow]]''': Although use of the simple [[Ard (plough)|wooden ard]] in China must have preceded it, the earliest discovered Chinese iron plows date to roughly 500 BC, during the Zhou Dynasty (1122–256 BC) and were flat, V-shaped, and mounted on wooden poles and handles.<ref name="greenberger 2006 11">Greenberger (2006), 11.</ref><ref>Bray (1978), 9 & 19–21.</ref> By the 3rd century BC, improved iron casting techniques led to the development of the heavy moldboard plow, seen in Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) artwork such as tomb carved bricks.<ref name="greenberger 2006 11"/> The moldboard allowed the Chinese to turn farm soil without clogging the [[plowshare]] with dirt, which was flung off the wheelbarrow via slanted wings on both sides.<ref>Greenberger (2006), 11–12.</ref> While the frame of excavated plowshares dating to the [[Warring States period]] (403–221 BC) were made mostly of perishable wood except for the iron blade, the frame of excavated plowshares dating to the Han Dynasty were made entirely of solid iron with the moldboard attached to the top to turn the soil.<ref>Wang (1982), 53–54.</ref> *'''[[Helicopter rotor]]''' and '''[[bamboo-copter]]''': The use of a helicopter rotor for vertical [[flight]] has existed since 400 BC in the form of the [[bamboo-copter]], an ancient Chinese toy.<ref name="Gordon">Leishman, J. Gordon. ''Principles of Helicopter Aerodynamics''. Cambridge aerospace series, 18. Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]], 2006. ISBN 978-0-521-85860-1. pp. 7–9. [http://terpconnect.umd.edu/~leishman/Aero/history.html Web extract]</ref> The bamboo-copter is spun by rolling a stick attached to a rotor. The spinning creates lift, and the toy flies when released.<ref name="Gordon"/> The philosopher [[Ge Hong]]'s book the ''[[Baopuzi]]'' (Master Who Embraces Simplicity), written around 317, describes the apocryphal use of a possible rotor in aircraft: "Some have made flying cars (feiche) with wood from the inner part of the jujube tree, using ox-leather (straps) fastened to returning blades so as to set the machine in motion." Needham concludes that this is a description of a helicopter top, because "'returning (or revolving) blades' can hardly mean anything else, especially in close association with a belt or strap."<ref>Joseph Needham (1965), ''Science and civilisation in China: Physics and physical technology, mechanical engineering'' Volume 4, Part 2, page 583-587.</ref> [[Leonardo da Vinci]] designed a machine known as an "aerial screw" with a rotor based on a [[water screw]]. The Russian polymath [[Mikhail Lomonosov]] developed a rotor based on the Chinese toy. The French naturalist Christian de Launoy constructed his rotor out of turkey feathers.<ref name="Gordon"/> [[Sir George Cayley]], inspired by the Chinese top in his childhood, created multiple vertical flight machines with rotors made of tin sheets.<ref name="Gordon"/> [[Alphonse Pénaud]] would later develop coaxial rotor model helicopter toys in 1870, powered by rubber bands. One of these toys, given as a gift by their father, would inspire the [[Wright brothers]] to pursue the dream of flight.<ref name="Anderson">{{cite book|author=John D. Anderson|title=Inventing Flight: The Wright Brothers & Their Predecessors|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=IYnl_XPggZYC&pg=PA353|year=2004|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-6875-7|page=35}}</ref> *'''[[Hill censer]]''': The hill censer, a vessel used for burning incense, dates to the [[Han Dynasty]] (206 BC – 220 AD). The censers are shaped like mountains and were used for religious rituals. The shape of the hill censer acts as a visual aid for envisioning the sacred mountains that were said to have been inhabited by [[Taoism|Taoist]] immortals.<ref name="taoistart">{{cite book|author=Kristofer Schipper|editor=Stephen Little|editor2=Shawn Eichman|title=Taoism and the Arts of China|year=2000|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-22785-9|page=37}}</ref> Hill censers were originally designed for Taoist rituals, but were later used by Chinese Buddhists.<ref name="Ronan">{{cite book|author=Colin A. Ronan|title=The Shorter Science and Civilisation in China|date=20 June 1985|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-31536-4|page=281}}</ref> Hill censers often include carvings of wilds animals and birds. Some censers depict waves at the foundation of the vessel, said to be the waves of the [[East China Sea]].<ref name="Sullivan">{{cite book|author=Michael Sullivan|title=The Arts of China|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=CzdICSqnELkC&pg=PA73|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-04918-5|page=73}}</ref> A hole at the top of the censer releases the smoke of the incense.<ref name="Sullivan"/> * '''[[Horse collar]]''': A significant improvement of the [[Horse harness|ancient breast harness]] was the horse collar. The horse collar was depicted in a [[Northern Wei]] (386–534) mural at [[Dunhuang]], China, dated 477–499; the latter artwork does not feature the essential collar cushion behind the cross bar, though, while a later Tang Dynasty (618–907) mural of about 851 accurately displays the cushioned collar behind the cross bar.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 319 323">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 319–323.</ref><ref>Schur (1998), 66.</ref> An earlier painting of the [[Sui Dynasty]] (581–618) accurately depicted the horse collar as it is seen today, yet the illustration shows its use on a [[camel]] instead of a horse.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 326">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 326 & Plate CCXXI.</ref> * '''[[Horse harness|Horse harness, ("trace" or "breast")]]''': Throughout the ancient world, the 'throat-and-girth' harness was used for harnessing horses that pulled [[cart]]s; this greatly limited a horse's ability to exert itself as it was constantly choked at the neck.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 305">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 305.</ref> A painting on a [[lacquerware]] box from the [[Chu (state)|State of Chu]], dated to the 4th century BC, shows the first known use of a yoke placed across a horses's chest, with traces connecting to the chariot shaft.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 310">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 310.</ref> The hard yoke across the horse's chest was gradually replaced by a breast strap, which was often depicted in carved reliefs and stamped bricks of tombs from the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 308 312">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 308–312.</ref> Eventually, the [[horse collar]] was invented in China, at least by the 5th century.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 319 323"/><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 22–23.</ref> ===I=== [[File:Ma Lin 001.jpg|thumb|A [[Song Dynasty|Song]] painting by Ma Lin, dated 1246, using [[India ink]] on [[silk]]]] * '''[[Incense]]''': According to David Michael Stoddart, "the earliest recorded use of incense comes from the Chinese who burned various herbs and plant products."<ref name="Stoddart">{{cite book|author=David Michael Stoddart|title=The Scented Ape: The Biology and Culture of Human Odour|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=NYBux6MdmbIC&pg=PA169|date=29 November 1990|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-39561-8|page=169}}</ref> [[Sandalwood]], [[casia]], [[styrax]], and [[cinnamon]] were used by the Chinese.<ref name="Stoddart"/> * '''[[India ink]]''': Although named after [[carbon]]aceous pigment materials originating from India, Indian ink first appeared in China; some scholars say it was made as far back as the 3rd millennium BC, while others state it was perhaps not invented until the [[Cao Wei|Wei Dynasty]] (220–265 AD).<ref>Gottsegen (2006), 30.</ref><ref>Smith (1992), 23.</ref><ref>Sun & Sun (1997), 288.</ref><ref>Woods & Woods (2000), 51–52.</ref> * '''[[Inkstone]]''': The inkstone is a stone [[Mortar and pestle|mortar]] used in [[Chinese calligraphy]] for grinding and mixing ink. Other than stone, inkstones are also manufactured from clay, bronze, iron, and porcelain. The device evolved from a rubbing tool used for rubbing dyes dating around 6000 to 7000 years ago.<ref name="Chenting">{{cite book|author=Tingyou Chen|title=Chinese Calligraphy|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=1VaoSE8FQfMC&pg=PA43|date=3 March 2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-18645-2|page=43}}</ref> The earliest excavated inkstone is dated from the 3rd century BC, and was discovered in a tomb located in modern Yunmeng, Hubei. Usage of the inkstone was popularized during the Han Dynasty.<ref name="Metropolitan">{{cite book|title=China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200–750 AD|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=JbdS-R3y72MC&pg=PA108|year=2004|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|isbn=978-1-58839-126-1|page=108}}</ref> * '''[[Inoculation|Inoculation, treatment of smallpox]]''': Joseph Needham states that a case of inoculation for smallpox may have existed in the late 10th century during the Song Dynasty (960–1279), yet they rely on a book ''Zhongdou xinfa'' (種痘心法) written in 1808 by Zhu Yiliang for this evidence.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 6, 154.</ref> Wan Quan (1499–1582) wrote the first clear reference to smallpox inoculation in his ''Douzhen xinfa'' (痘疹心法) of 1549.<ref name="needham volume 6 part 6 134"/> The process of inoculation was also vividly described by Yu Chang in his ''Yuyi cao'' (寓意草), or ''Notes on My Judgment'' published in 1643, and Zhang Yan in his ''Zhongdou xinshu'' (種痘新書), or ''New book on smallpox inoculation'' in 1741.<ref>Temple (1986), 136–137.</ref> As written by Yu Tianchi in his ''Shadou jijie'' (痧痘集解) of 1727, which was based on Wang Zhangren's ''Douzhen jinjing lu'' (痘疹金鏡錄) of 1579, the technique of inoculation to avoid smallpox was not widespread in China until the reign of the [[Longqing Emperor]] (r. 1567&nbsp;– 1572) during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).<ref name="needham volume 6 part 6 134">Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 6, 134.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 137">Temple (1986), 137.</ref> The Chinese method was to avoid using smallpox material of those who had the full-blown disease (i.e. ''Variola major'') due to the risk of transmitting it; instead they used a cotton plug inserted into the nose of an already inoculated person with minor scabbing (i.e. ''Variola minor'') to obtain their material.<ref name="temple 1986 136">Temple (1986), 136.</ref> Once someone's [[Immune system|body builds up an immunity]] to the minor case of smallpox, that person will never contract the disease again.<ref>Temple (1986), 135–137.</ref> ===J=== * '''[[Jacob's staff]]''': The Song Dynasty (960–1279) official [[Shen Kuo]] (1031–1095), an [[antiquarian]] who pursued studies of [[Archaeology|archaeological]] finds, unearthed an ancient crossbow-like mechanism from a garden in [[Jiangsu]] which had on its stock a graduated sighting scale in minute measurements.<ref name="needham volume 3 574">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 574.</ref> He wrote that while viewing the whole of a mountain, the distance on the instrument was long, but while viewing a small part of the mountainside the distance was short due to the device's cross piece that had to be pushed further away from the observer's eye, with the graduation starting on the further end.<ref name="needham volume 3 574"/> He wrote that if one placed an arrow on the device and looked past its end, the degree of the mountain could be measured and thus its height could be calculated.<ref name="needham volume 3 574"/> Shen wrote that this was similar to mathematicians who used right-angled triangles to measure height.<ref name="needham volume 3 574"/> Joseph Needham writes that what Shen had discovered was Jacob's staff, a [[surveying]] tool which was not known in Europe until the [[Jew]]ish mathematician [[Levi ben Gerson]] (1288–1344) of [[Provence]], France described it in 1321.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 3, 573.</ref> [[File:JadeBurialSuit.JPG|thumb|A [[jade burial suit]] from the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD), at the [[National Museum of China|Museum of Chinese History, Beijing]]]] [[File:Tiangong Kaiwu Ship.jpg|thumb|Two-masted Chinese junk from the ''Tiangong Kaiwu'' published by [[Song Yingxing]], 1637]] * '''[[Jade burial suit]]''': Burial suits [[Chinese jade|made of jade]] existed in China during the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD). Confirming ancient records about Han royalty and nobility buried in jade burial suits, archaeologists discovered in June 1968 the tombs and jade burial suits of Prince [[Liu Sheng]] (d. 113 BC) and his wife [[Dou Wan]] in Hebei province.<ref name="tom 1989 112">Tom (1989), 112.</ref> Liu's suit, in twelve flexible sections, comprised 2,690 square pieces of green jade with holes punctured in the four corners of each piece so that they could be sewn together with gold thread.<ref name="tom 1989 112 113">Tom (1989), 112–113.</ref> The total weight of the gold thread used in his suit was 1,110 g (39&nbsp;oz).<ref name="tom 1989 113">Tom (1989), 113.</ref> Princess Dou Wan's suit had 2,156 pieces of jade stitched together with 703 g (24.7&nbsp;oz) of gold thread.<ref name="tom 1989 113"/> Although jade burial outer wears and head masks appear in tombs of the early Han Dynasty, burial suits did not appear until the reign of [[Emperor Wen of Han]] (r. 180–157 BC), with the earliest being found in the [[Xuzhou|Shizishan]] site. A total of 22 Western Han (202 BC&nbsp;– 9 AD) and 27 Eastern Han (25–220 AD) complete and partial jade burial suits were uncovered between 1954 and 1996. They are found mainly in [[Hebei]], [[Shandong]], [[Jiangsu]] and [[Henan]], as well as at [[Xianyang|Yangjiawan]], [[Bozhou|Dongyuan]], [[Guangzhou]], [[Mawangdui]], [[Mianyang]] and [[Qujing|Shizhaishan]]. The jade burial suit gradually disappeared when it was forbidden in 222 by [[Emperor Wen of Wei]].<ref>Shi (2003), 63–65.</ref> * '''[[Junk (ship)]]''': The Chinese ''junk'', derived from the Portuguese term ''junco'' (which in turn was adapted from the [[Javanese language|Javanese]] ''djong'' meaning "ship"),<ref>Block (2003), 123.</ref> was a ship design unique to China, although many other ship types in China (such as the towered ''[[lou chuan]]'') preceded it.<ref>Turnbull (2002), 4, 15–16.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 678.</ref> Its origins could be seen in the latter half of the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD), when ship designs began to have square-ended [[Bow (ship)|bows]] and [[stern]]s with flat bottom [[Hull (watercraft)|hulls]].<ref>Turnbull (2002), 14.</ref> Unlike the earliest shipbuilding traditions of the [[Western world]] and [[South Asia]], the junk had a (flat or slightly rounded) [[Carvel (boat building)|carvel-shaped hull]] which lacked a [[keel]] and [[sternpost]] (necessitating [[block and tackle]] or socket-and-jaw attachment of the Chinese [[rudder]]).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 390–391.</ref> Since there is no keel in the design, [[Bulkhead (partition)|solid transverse bulkheads]] take the place of structural ribs.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 3 391">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 391.</ref> There are many theories about the evolution of the junk. One suggests that it developed from the double canoe, another claims that the bamboo raft used by Taiwanese aboriginals was the source of the junk.<ref>Ronan (1994), 67.</ref> Records by Western travelers in China during the Song Dynasty mention that junks could support 130 sailors. The size of junks grew during the Ming Dynasty. By the 14th century, junks could carry 2,000 tons. Archaeological evidence of the large size of the junk has been proven by a sunken junk discovered in 1973 near the coast of Southeastern China.<ref name="Denny">{{cite book|author=Mark Denny|title=Float Your Boat!: The Evolution and Science of Sailing|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Rtg6T9kMZkUC&pg=PT27|date=1 November 2009|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-0-8018-9568-5|pages=27}}</ref> ===K=== [[File:Chinese Kite.jpg|thumb|right|A Chinese kite in flight]] * '''[[Kite]]''': As written in the ''[[Mozi]]'', the philosopher, artisan, and engineer [[Lu Ban]] (fl. 5th century BC) from the [[Lu (state)|State of Lu]] created a wooden bird that remained flying in the air for three days, essentially a kite; there is written evidence that kites were used as rescue signals when the city of [[Nanjing]] was besieged by [[Hou Jing]] (died 552) during the reign of [[Emperor Wu of Liang]] (r. 502–549), while similar accounts of kites used for military signalling are found in the [[Tang Dynasty|Tang]] (618–907) and [[Jin Dynasty (1115-1234)|Jin]] (1115–1234) dynasties; kite flying as a pastime can be seen in painted murals of [[Dunhuang]] dating to the [[Northern Wei]] (386–534) period, while descriptions of flying kites as a pastime have been found in [[Song Dynasty|Song]] (960–1279) and [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] (1368–1644) texts.<ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 295.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), 577–578.</ref> ===L=== [[File:Self-tripped trespass land mine, Huolongjing.jpg|thumb|The 'self-tripped trespass [[land mine]]', from the ''[[Huolongjing]]'', 14th century]] [[File:Met, Earthenware figures playing liubo, Han Dynasty.JPG|right|thumb|A pair of [[Eastern Han Dynasty]] (25–220 AD) tomb statuettes playing the game ''[[liubo]]'']] [[File:MahjongSetup.JPG|thumb|The [[:Category:Chinese games|Chinese game]] of ''majiang'' (麻將), commonly referred to as [[mahjong]] in English, has been played since at least the 19th century and has its roots in earlier Chinese [[card game]]s]] [[File:Map of Fengshan County, Taiwan Prefectural Gazetteer, 1696.jpg|thumb|Example of a Chinese printed map in a [[gazetteer]], showing Fengshan County of [[Taiwan]] Prefecture, published in 1696; the first known printed map from China comes from a Song Dynasty (960–1279) encyclopedia of the 12th century]] [[File:Guardian figures, earthenware with pigment, Tang Dynasty.JPG|thumb|Wooden statues of tomb guardians from the Tang Dynasty (618–907); mechanical-driven wooden statues served as cup-bearers, wine-pourers, and others in this age]] [[File:Yingzao Fashi 1.JPG|thumb|A [[Cross section (geometry)|cross section]] of a [[Chinese architecture|Chinese hall]], from the ''[[Yingzao Fashi]]'' architectural treatise published by Li Jie in 1103, during the Song Dynasty (960–1279); this book explicitly laid out an eight-graded modular system of architecture for timber halls and pavilions of different sizes]] [[File:Chinese Multistage Rocket.JPG|thumb|A [[multistage rocket]] from the 14th-century military manuscript ''[[Huolongjing]]'', Ming Dynasty]] [[File:Chinese Naval Mine.JPG|thumb|A [[naval mine]] from the ''[[Huolongjing]]'', mid-14th century]] [[File:九章算術.gif|right|thumb|A page from ''[[The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art]]'', commented on by [[Liu Hui]] in 263]] [[File:Ming Dynasty playing card, c. 1400.jpg|thumb|Chinese [[playing card]] dated ''c''. 1400 AD, Ming Dynasty]] [[File:Plat rond Dynastie Tang Musée Guimet 2418.jpg|thumb|A ''[[sancai]]'' porcelain dish from the Tang Dynasty, 8th century]] [[File:Canallock.png|thumb|A plan and side view of a canal [[pound lock]], essentially a double-gate canal lock used to regulate water levels in segmented canal chambers for the safe passage of ships, first invented by the 10th century engineer Qiao Weiyo for a section of [[Grand Canal (China)|China's Grand Canal]]]] [[File:FFM-HanWeingefäß.JPG|thumb|[[Joseph Needham]] writes that the development of the [[raised-relief map]] in China may have been influenced by Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) incense burners and jars such as this, showing artificial mountains as a lid decoration; these were often used to depict the mythical [[Mount Penglai|Penglai Island]].<ref name="needham volume 3 580 581">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 580–581.</ref>]] [[File:Yungkee-menu.jpg|thumb|A restaurant [[menu]] from Hong Kong; the first menus appeared in China during the Song Dynasty (960–1279).]] [[File:'Flying Crow With Magic Fire', a winged rocket bomb.jpg|thumb|The 'flying crow with magic fire' winged rocket bomb from the ''[[Huolongjing]]'', mid 14th century, compiled by [[Liu Ji (14th century)|Liu Ji]] and [[Jiao Yu]]]] [[File:Chinese cargo ships, Song Dynasty.jpg|thumb|right|A Song Dynasty painting on silk of two [[Junk (ship)|Chinese cargo ships]] accompanied by [[Sampan|a smaller boat]]; notice the large stern-mounted [[rudder]] on the ship shown in the foreground]] * '''[[Land mine]]''': Textual evidence suggests that the first use of a land mine in history was by a Song Dynasty brigadier general known as Lou Qianxia, who used an 'enormous bomb' (''huo pao'') to kill [[History of the Song Dynasty#Mongol invasion and end of the Song Dynasty|Mongol soldiers]] invading [[Guangxi]] in 1277.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 175–176, 192.</ref> However, the first detailed description of the land mine was given in the ''[[Huolongjing]]'' text written by [[Jiao Yu]] (fl. 14th to early 15th century) and [[Liu Ji (14th century)|Liu Ji]] (1311–1375) during the late Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) and early Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 24–25, 176, 192.</ref> Jiao and Liu wrote that land mines were spherical, made of [[cast iron]], and their fuses ignited by a mechanism tripped by enemy movement; although Jiao and Liu did not describe this trip mechanism in full detail, a later text of 1606 revealed that enemy movement released a pin that allowed hidden underground weights to fall and spin a chord around an axle that rotated a spinning wheel acting as a [[flint]] to spark a train of fuses.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 193 & 199.</ref> * '''[[Leeboard]]''': To avoid [[leeward]] drift caused by the force of wind while sailing, the leeboard was invented; it was a board lowered onto the side of the ship opposite to the direction of the wind, helping the ship to stay upright and on course.<ref name="temple 1986 188">Temple (1986), 188.</ref> Paul Johnstone and Sean McGrail state that an odd-looking second paddle on [[Dong Son drum|a bronze drum]] of the [[Dong Son culture]] (centered in the [[Red River Delta]] of northern [[Vietnam]]) may depict a leeboard in use as early as 300 BC.<ref name="johnstone mcgrail 2001 218">Johnstone & McGrail (2001), 218.</ref> Robert Temple points out that the first written evidence for the leeboard dates to 759 AD, found in the Tang Dynasty book ''Manual of the White and Gloomy Planet of War'' by Li Quan.<ref name="temple 1986 188 189">Temple (1986), 188–189.</ref> Li stated that boards for warships "held the ships, so that even when wind and wave arise in fury, they are neither driven sideways, nor overturn."<ref name="temple 1986 188 189"/> Leeboards are featured shortly after in 9th century engraved artwork found at the [[Borobudur]] monument built during the [[Sailendra]] dynasty of [[Central Java]] ([[Indonesia]]).<ref name="johnstone mcgrail 2001 218"/> Leeboards were first used [[Western world|in the West]] by the [[Dutch (ethnic group)|Dutch]], during the 15th to 16th centuries (possibly used on early Dutch [[Cog (ship)|cogs]], or perhaps influenced by a Chinese origin).<ref name="block 2003">Block (2003), 119–120.</ref><ref name="mcgrail">McGrail (2004), 237.</ref> * '''[[Liubo]]''': The now defunct board game ''liubo'' for the most part remains an enigma for modern scholars still deciphering exactly how it was played; its association with both [[gambling]] and [[divination]] make it a unique game.<ref name="Loewe">Loewe (1986), 141.</ref><ref name="loewe 1968 144 145">Loewe (1968), 144–145.</ref> The earliest two ''liubo'' game boards are found in the [[Zhongshan (state)|Zhongshan]] Tomb 3 at [[Shijiazhuang]], [[Hebei]].<ref name="li 2004 8 9 13">Li (2004), 8–9 & 13.</ref><ref>Handler (2001), 181.</ref> Similar finds, dating from the mid 4th century BC, are also found in the [[Chu (state)|Chu]] Tomb 197 and 314 at [[Jiangling County|Jiangling]], [[Hubei]].<ref name="li 2004 8 9 13"/><ref>Loewe (1999), 839.</ref> ''Liubo'' game boards have been found in several [[Western Han]] (202 BC&nbsp;– 9 AD) tombs; 1 wooden board at Jiangdu in [[Jiangsu]]; 1 wooden board in Tomb 8 at Fenghuangshan in Hubei; 1 lacquered set of ''liubo'' in Tomb 3 at [[Mawangdui]] in [[Hunan]]; 1 lacquered board in Tomb 1 at Dafentou in [[Yunnan]]; 1 bronze board at Xilin in [[Guangxi]].<ref>Li (2005), 66–68.</ref> During the Han Dynasty, an argument over the divination portents of the game as a result of a playing session led to a fight between [[Emperor Jing of Han|a Western Han crown prince]] and Liu Xian (劉賢), where the latter was killed in the scuffle which (in part) prompted his father Liu Pi (劉濞), the King of Wu, to rebel against central Han authority in the [[Rebellion of the Seven States]] (154 BC).<ref name="Loewe"/> The historian Michael Loewe asserts that the set pieces of ''liubo'' were symbolic of the forces of the Chinese Five Elements, ''[[wu xing]]''.<ref name="loewe 1968 144 145"/> ===M=== * '''[[Chinese magic mirror|Magic mirrors]]''': In about 800 AD, during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), a book entitled ''Record of Ancient Mirrors'' described the method of crafting solid [[bronze mirror]]s with decorations, written characters, or patterns on the reverse side that could cast these in a reflection on a nearby surface as light struck the front, polished side of the mirror; due to this seemingly [[Transparency (optics)|transparent effect]], they were called 'light-penetration mirrors' by the Chinese.<ref name="temple 1986 66">Temple (1986), 66.</ref> Unfortunately, this Tang era book was lost over the centuries, but magic mirrors were described in the ''[[Dream Pool Essays]]'' by [[Shen Kuo]] (1031–1095), who owned three of them as a family [[heirloom]].<ref name="temple 1986 66 67">Temple (1986), 66–67.</ref> Perplexed as to how solid metal could be transparent, Shen guessed that some sort of [[quench]]ing technique was used to produce tiny wrinkles on the face of the mirror too small to be observed by the eye.<ref name="temple 1986 66 67"/> Although his explanation of different cooling rates was incorrect, he was right to suggest the surface contained minute variations which the naked eye could not detect; these mirrors also had no transparent quality at all, as discovered by [[William Henry Bragg|William Bragg]] in 1932 (after an entire century of them baffling Western scientists).<ref name="temple 1986 66 67"/> Robert Temple describes their construction: "The basic mirror shape, with the design on the back, was cast flat, and the convexity of the surface produced afterwards by elaborate scraping and scratching. The surface was then polished to become shiny. The stresses set up by these processes caused the thinner parts of the surface to bulge outwards and become more convex than the thicker portions. Finally, a [[Mercury (element)|mercury]] amalgam was laid over the surface; this created further stresses and preferential buckling. The result was that imperfections of the mirror surface matched the patterns on the back, although they were too minute to be seen by the eye. But when the mirror reflected bright sunlight against a wall, with the resultant magnification of the whole image, the effect was to reproduce the patterns ''as if'' they were passing through the solid bronze by way of light beams."<ref name="temple 1986 66 67"/> * '''[[Mahjong]]''': Jelte Rep writes that the [[gambling]] game of mahjong ([[Traditional Chinese]]: 麻將; [[Pinyin]]: májiàng), which employs [[Mahjong tiles|a set of over a hundred tiles]], was first invented in 1846 by Zhen Yumen, a [[Qing Dynasty]] (1644–1912) diplomatic official from [[Ningbo]].<ref name="rep 2007 52">Rep (2007), 52.</ref> However, Rep traces the origins of the game to a [[card game]] of the Tang Dynasty (618–907) which used thirty-two wood or ivory pieces in the shape of cards.<ref name="rep 2007 51">Rep (2007), 51.</ref> This evolved into the forty-card game of ''madiao'' (馬吊) during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), which had four [[Suit (cards)|suits of cards]] instead of the three found in modern mahjong.<ref name="rep 2007 51"/> * '''[[Man-lifting kite]]''': Although [[Ge Hong]] (284–364 AD) hinted in his writing about manned flights using kites, the first solid proof dates to the [[Northern Qi]] (550–577) era.<ref name="temple 1986 175 176">Temple (1986), 175–176.</ref> The notoriously cruel [[Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi]] (r. 550–559) executed the entire [[Tuoba]] family which had ruled the previous dynasty of [[Eastern Wei]] (534–550) by launching them from the top of the 30&nbsp;m (100&nbsp;ft) tall Golden Phoenix Tower (near [[Ye, China]]) as test pilots for his manned flying kites.<ref name="temple 1986 175 176"/> According to the account, Emperor Wenxuan first had the prisoners "harnessed with great bamboo mats as wings, and ordered them to fly to the ground from the top of the tower;" all of these men died.<ref name="temple 1986 175">Temple (1986), 175.</ref> However, Wenxuan wanted a greater spectacle, and by the last year of his reign had the prisoners harnessed into large kites shaped as owls; the former Eastern Wei prince [[Yuan Huangtou]] (died 559) reportedly flew about 3.2&nbsp;km (2&nbsp;mi) before landing, yet was captured and handed over to Bi Yiyun, head official of the [[censorate]], who shortly after had him executed.<ref name="temple 1986 176">Temple (1986), 176.</ref> Records of this account were preserved in the historical work ''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'' compiled by Chancellor [[Sima Guang]] (1019–1086) in 1084.<ref name="temple 1986 176"/> * '''[[Match|Match, non-friction]]''': The earliest type of match for lighting fire was made in China by 577 AD, invented by [[Northern Qi]] (550–577) court ladies as they desperately looked for materials to light fires for cooking and heating as enemy troops of [[Northern Zhou]] (557–581) and the [[Chen Dynasty]] (557–589) besieged their city from outside. Early matches in China were designed to be lit by an existing flame and carried to light another fire. They were pinewood sticks impregnated with [[sulfur]] and needed only a slight touch from a flame to light. This was written in the ''Records of the Unwordly and Strange'' by Tao Gu in 950 ([[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period]]), who also wrote that they were once called "light-bringing slaves" before they were commercially marketed as the 'fire inch-stick'.<ref>Temple (1986), 98.</ref> * '''[[Field mill (carriage)|Mechanical theater]] (driven by carriage wheels)''': The inventors of the [[Field mill (carriage)|field mill]] mentioned above, Xie Fei and Wei Mengbian of the [[Later Zhao]] (319–351 AD), also invented an intricate mechanical theater mounted on a carriage, its figures operated by motive power (i.e. simply advancing the carriage forward).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 159">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 159.</ref> From 335 to 345 AD, they worked at the court of the ethnic-[[Jie (ethnic group)|Jie]] emperor [[Shi Hu]] (334–349).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 159"/> The vehicle they crafted was a four-wheeled and 6&nbsp;m (20&nbsp;ft) long carriage that was about 3&nbsp;m (10&nbsp;ft) wide.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 159"/> On it rested a large [[Chinese Buddhism|golden Buddha statue]] with a [[Daoism|Daoist]] statue continually rubbing his front with his mechanical hand.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 159"/> The Buddha was also surrounded by ten wooden Daoists who rotated around him in a circuit, periodically bowing to him, saluting him, and throwing [[incense]] into a [[censer]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 159"/> Above the Buddha were nine dragon-headed faucets which spouted water.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 159"/> Like the field mill and the pounding cart of these two inventors, when the carriage halted, so did all of its moving components of mechanical statues and spouting faucets.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 160.</ref> * '''[[Automaton|Mechanical cup-bearers and wine-pourers on automatic-traveling boats]]''': The mechanical engineer Huang Gun served the court of [[Emperor Yang of Sui]] (r. 604–617) and wrote the book ''Shuishi Tujing'' on his inventions, which his colleague Du Bao enlarged and commented on.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 160">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 160.</ref> He constructed seven small boats, called 'wine boats', that were as large as 3&nbsp;m (10&nbsp;ft) long and 1.8&nbsp;m (6&nbsp;ft) wide which supported a number of mechanical figures of wooden statues called 'hydraulic elegances', each about 0.6&nbsp;m (2&nbsp;ft) tall, some of them animals but most in human form consisting of singing girls, musicians playing actual instruments, dancers and tumblers, oarsmen busy rowing, cup-bearers, and wine-pourers all moving simultaneously as if alive.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 160"/> These boats were set to travel at timed intervals along circuits made of winding stone channels and canals in palace courtyards and gardens (designed by Tang Haogui), where guests would gather for special occasions.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 160"/> The cup-bearer stood at the bow of each ship and beside him the wine-pourer; when the ship made automatically timed periodic stops where guests were seated, the cup-bearer automatically stretched out his arm with a full cup of wine.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 160"/> When the guest was done emptying his cup, he placed the cup back into the figure's hands; the latter then waited as the wine-pourer filled a second cup to be emptied.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 160"/> When this guest had been served, the wine boat automatically moved onwards to the next stop.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 160"/> Joseph Needham speculates that the 'wine boats' may have been [[Paddle steamer|paddle-wheel-driven]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 161 & 417.</ref> Another paddle wheel ship was commanded by Wang Zhene and described in his biographies dated from the [[Liu Song Dynasty]] (420–479).<ref>Ronan (1994), 308.</ref> side from the partial remains of the ''Shuishi Tujing'', an account of these 'wine boats' was also preserved by Huang Gun's contemporary [[Yan Shigu]] (581–645).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 160 (footnote c and d)</ref> * '''[[Merit system]]''': The earliest example of a merit system dates back to the Qin and Han dynasties. In order to maintain power over a large, sprawling empire, it became necessary for the government to maintain a complex network of officials.<ref name="BC" /> Prospective officials could come from a rural background and government positions were not restricted to the nobility. Rank was determined by merit, through the [[civil service examination]]s, and education became the key for social mobility.<ref name="BC">Burbank and Cooper (2010), 51.</ref> After the fall of the Han Dynasty, the [[nine-rank system]] was established during the [[Three Kingdoms]] period. The concept of a merit system spread from China to British India during the 17th century, and then into continental Europe and the United States.<ref name="APH">Kazin, Edwards, and Rothman (2010), 142.</ref> * '''[[Millet wine]]''': Ordinary [[beer]] in the ancient world, from [[Babylonia]] to [[Ancient Egypt]], had an alcoholic content of 4% to 5%, while no beer [[Western world|in the West]] reached an alcohol content above 11% until the 12th century, when [[Distilled beverage|distilled alcohol]] was made in Italy.<ref>Temple (1986), 77 & 103.</ref> Ordinary beer was consumed in China during the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600&nbsp;– c. 1050 BC) and was even mentioned on Shang [[oracle bone]] inscriptions as offerings to spirits during sacrifices.<ref name="temple 1986 77">Temple (1986), 77.</ref> Robert Temple writes: "The major problem with ordinary beer is that the [[starch]] in grain cannot be [[Brewing#Fermenting|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."<ref name="temple 1986 77"/> Yet, around 1000 BC the Chinese created an alcoholic beverage which was stronger than 11%, a new drink which was [[Chinese poetry|mentioned in poetry]] throughout the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050–256 BC).<ref name="temple 1986 77"/> The new process created ''xiao mi jiu'' (小米酒), which Temple describes: "This consisted of ground, partially cooked wheat (or occasionally millet) grains which had been allowed to go mouldy. 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 sugar and the yeast fermented this into alcohol."<ref name="temple 1986 77"/> The Chinese discovered that adding more cooked grain in water during fermentation increased alcohol content.<ref name="temple 1986 78">Temple (1986), 78.</ref> This process is the same one that later Japanese utilized to make ''[[sake]]'', or ''Nihonshu'' 日本酒.<ref>Temple (1986), 77–78.</ref> * '''[[Chinese architecture|Modular system of architecture, eight standard grades]]''': Although other texts preceded it, such as the 'National Building Law' of the Tang Dynasty (618–907) which was partially preserved in other texts, the ''[[Yingzao Fashi]]'' published in 1103 by the Song Dynasty (960–1279) scholar-official [[Architecture of the Song Dynasty#Literature|Li Jie]] (1065–1110) is the oldest known Chinese architectural treatise that has survived fully intact.<ref name="guo 1998 1 3">Guo (1998), 1–3.</ref> It contains descriptions and illustrations detailing the ''cai fen'' system (材份制) of eight standard dimensions for [[module]] components of timber architecture and structural [[carpentry]].<ref name="guo 1998 6 7">Guo (1998), 6–7.</ref> The eight standard grades of module timber components in the ''Yingzao Fashi'', with grade <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">I</font> being the largest and grade <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">VIII</font> the smallest, were used to determine the ultimate proportions and scale of a building as a whole, as all timber hall types—[[Chinese Palaces|palaces]], [[mansion]]s, [[House|ordinary houses]], and [[Chinese pavilion|pavilions]]—were hierarchically categorized along the lines of which ''cai fen'' grade was employed.<ref name="guo 1998 7 8">Guo (1998), 7–8.</ref> For example, palace type buildings used only grades <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">I</font> through <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">V</font>, while mansion type buildings never used components larger than grade <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">III</font> and no less than grade <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">VI</font>.<ref name="guo 1998 7">Guo (1998), 7.</ref> In this system of structural carpentry, the smallest grade of <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">VIII</font> is represented by one ''cai''; one ''cai'' is equal to the modern equivalent of 15&nbsp;cm (5.9&nbsp;in), while one ''cai'' is also divided into fifteen ''fen'' (hence the title of this modular system).<ref name="guo 1999 97">Guo (1999), 97.</ref> * '''[[Seed drill|Multiple-tube seed drill]]''': The wooden seed drill existed in China by the 3rd century BC, while the multiple-tube iron seed drill was first invented in China by the 2nd century BC, during the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD).<ref name="greenberger 2006 12">Greenberger (2006), 12.</ref><ref>Cotterell (2004), 46.</ref> The seed drill allowed for greater speed and regulation of [[Crop rotation|distributing seeds in lined rows of crops]] instead of casting them out onto the farm field.<ref name="greenberger 2006 12"/> * '''[[Multistage rocket]]''': Although there is still some ambiguity as to whether the earliest [[rocket]]s of the 13th century were first developed in Europe (i.e. 'ignis volantis in aere' in the work of Marcus Graecus around 1232, although Needham and Davis assert it was most likely a [[fire lance]]), the Middle East (i.e. 'sahm al-Khitāi' or 'arrows of China' as referred to by Hasan al-Rhammāh in 1280) or China (i.e. 'di lao shu' or 'ground rat' mentioned in 1264 or the 'chong' [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] used by the armies of the Song Dynasty and invading [[Mongols]] during the 1270s), during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) the term '[[fire arrow]]' once implied to mean incendiary arrows during the Tang Dynasty was then used to describe the true rocket, producing a headache, as Needham says, for historians;<ref name="gernet 1996 311" /><ref>Crosby (2002), 100–103.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 472–474.</ref> the ''[[Huolongjing]]'' written by [[Jiao Yu]] (fl. 14th to early 15th century) and [[Liu Ji (14th century)|Liu Ji]] (1311–1375) during the early Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) described several types of rockets,<ref>Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 473–505.</ref> one of them being a multistage rocket known as the 'huo long chu shui' or 'fire dragon issuing from the water' which, despite its name, was not launched from beneath the water from a primitive submarine but rather at near water-level maintaining a flat trajectory; defined as a two-stage rocket, it employed [[booster rocket]]s that, when about to burn out of use, ignited a swarm of smaller rocket arrows fired from the front end of the missile shaped as a dragon's mouth.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 505–510.</ref> ===N=== * '''[[Nail polish]]''': According to the book ''Chemical Composition Of Everyday Products'', nail polish dates from 3000 BC and originates from China. Nail polish used during the Ming Dynasty was made from a mixture of egg whites, beeswax, dyes, gum arabic, and geletin.<ref name="Toedt">{{cite book|author1=John Toedt|author2=Darrell Koza|author3=Kathleen Van Cleef-Toedt|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|title=Chemical Composition Of Everyday Products|year=2005|isbn=978-0-313-32579-3|page=49|quote=Nail polish can be historically traced back approximately 5000 years to at least 3000 BC, where it originated in China}}</ref> * '''[[Natural gas|Natural gas as fuel]]''': Robert Temple asserts that the 4th century BC ([[Warring States period]]) is a conservative estimate for the time in which the Chinese began using natural gas as fuel and light.<ref name="temple 1986 78"/> He states that systematic [[borehole]] drilling for [[brine]] extraction by the 1st century BC (Han Dynasty) led to the discovery of many "fire wells" in [[Sichuan]] which yielded natural gas.<ref name="temple 1986 78"/> As recorded in the 2nd century AD, this led to a systematic search for natural gas.<ref name="temple 1986 78"/> Both brine and natural gas were [[Pipeline transport|piped through bamboo tubes]]; from small boreholes the gas could be piped directly to burners where the brine was emptied into [[cast iron]] evaporation pans for boiling and producing [[salt]], but the pungent gas piped from depths of some {{convert|2000|ft|m|abbr=on}} had to be first mixed with air lest an explosion occur.<ref name="temple 1986 78 79"/> To remedy this, the Chinese piped the gas first into a large wooden, cone-shaped chamber placed 3&nbsp;m (10&nbsp;ft) below ground level where another pipe could convey air, thus turning the chamber into a large [[carburetor]].<ref name="temple 1986 78 79"/> To avoid fires from a sudden surplus of gas, an additional "sky thrusting pipe" was used as an [[exhaust system]].<ref name="temple 1986 79">Temple (1986), 79.</ref> * '''[[Naval mine]]''': The ''[[Huolongjing]]'' military manuscript written by [[Jiao Yu]] (fl. 14th to early 15th century) and [[Liu Ji (14th century)|Liu Ji]] (1311–1375) also describes naval mines used at sea or on rivers and lakes; made of [[wrought iron]] and enclosed in an ox bladder, it was a timed device in that a burning [[Incense#Joss sticks|joss sticks]] floating above the mine determined when the fuse was to be ignited; the text explicitly mentions that without air and doused in water the fuse would not burn, so the fuse was protected by a long [[waterproof]] tube made out of goat's intestine; a later model shown in [[Song Yingxing]]'s (1587–1666) encyclopedia of 1637 shows the ox bladder replaced with a [[Lacquerware|lacquered leather]] bag while the mine is ignited by a rip cord pulled from the shore to rotate a flint-and-steel firing mechanism.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 203–205.</ref> * '''[[Negative number|Negative numbers, symbols for and use of]]''': In the ''[[Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art]]'' compiled during the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) by 179 AD and commented on by [[Liu Hui]] (fl. 3rd century) in 263,<ref name="needham volume 3 24 25">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 24–25.</ref> negative numbers appear as black rods and positive numbers as red rods in the Chinese [[counting rods]] system.<ref name="temple 1986 141">Temple (1986), 141.</ref> Liu Hui also used slanted counting rods to denote negative numbers.<ref name="temple 1986 141"/> Negative numbers denoted by a "+" sign also appear in the ancient [[Bakhshali manuscript]] of India, yet scholars disagree as to when it was compiled, giving a collective range of 200 to 600 AD.<ref name="teresi 2002 65 66">Teresi (2002), 65–66.</ref> Negative numbers were known in India certainly by about 630 AD, when the mathematician [[Brahmagupta]] (598–668) used them.<ref name="temple 1986 141"/> Negative numbers were first used in Europe by the [[Roman Greece|Greek]] mathematician [[Diophantus]] (fl. 3rd century) in about 275 AD, yet were considered absurd [[Western world|in the West]] until [[Ars Magna (Gerolamo Cardano)|''The Great Art'']] written in 1545 by the Italian mathematician [[Girolamo Cardano]] (1501–1576).<ref name="temple 1986 141"/> * '''[[Nickel silver]]''': Nickel silver was first known and used in [[China]].<ref>{{cite book | title = Machinery's Encyclopedia | last = Oberg | first = Erik | last2= Jones | first2= Franklin Day | page = 412 | year = 1917 | quote = The alloy came originally from China, where its composition is said to have been known}}</ref> During the [[Qing Dynasty]], it was "smuggled into various parts of the [[East Indies]]", despite a government ban on the export of nickel silver.<ref>{{cite book | title = Manual of Mineralogy | last = Dwight Dana | first = James | page = 265 | year = 1869 | quote = smuggled into various parts of the East Indies... and is not allowed to be carried out of the empire}}</ref> ===O=== * '''[[Zhaozhou Bridge|Open-spandrel segmental arch bridge, fully stone]]''': The earliest known fully stone open-spandrel segmental arch bridge is the [[Zhaozhou Bridge]] in southern [[Hebei]] province, China, completed in 605 by the [[Sui Dynasty]] (581–618) engineer Li Chun.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 177–179.</ref><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 434.</ref> The bridge span is 37.5&nbsp;m (123&nbsp;ft) and the structure relatively light in weight due to the four semi-circular arch spandrels which allow for additional flood waters to pass through.<ref name="temple 1986 69">Temple (1986), 69.</ref> Other Chinese bridges would be influenced by this design, such as the open-spandrel Yongtong Bridge of Zhaoxian, Hebei built in 1130,<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, Plate CCCL</ref> and the simple segmental arch [[Lugou Bridge]] built in 1698 (originally in 1189).<ref name="temple 1986 70">Temple (1986), 70.</ref> The latter, located just west of Beijing, features eleven segmental arches, each with a span of 18.8&nbsp;m (62&nbsp;ft) in a total bridge span of 213&nbsp;m (700&nbsp;ft).<ref name="temple 1986 70 71">Temple (1986), 70–71.</ref> * '''[[Oil well]]''': The earliest record of an oil well dates from 347 AD in China.<ref name="Vogt">{{cite book|author=Kristiina A. Vogt|title=Sustainability Unpacked: Food, Energy and Water for Resilient Environments and Societies|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=oTI2rOXbEAwC&pg=PT47|date=25 June 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-136-53060-9|pages=47|quote=The first record of drilling for oil occurred in China in 347 CE}}</ref> Petroleum was used in ancient China for "lighting, as a lubricant for cart axles and the bearings of water-powered drop hammers, as a source of carbon for [[inkstick]]s, and as a medical remedy for sores on humans and [[mange]] in animals."<ref name="Golas">{{cite book|author=Peter J. Golas|title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 13, Mining|date=25 February 1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-58000-7|page=202}}</ref> The earliest illustrated depiction of an oil well dates to 1762 AD.<ref name="Golas"/> ===P=== * '''[[Paper cup]]''' and '''paper [[napkin]]''': Paper cups have been documented in [[History of China#Ancient China|imperial China]], alongside paper napkins. Paper cups were known as ''chih pei'' and were used for the serving of [[tea]].<ref name="Paper and Printing"/> They were constructed in different sizes and colors, and were adorned with decorative designs. Paper napkins, or ''chih pha'', accompanied tea cups and were folded into squares. Textual evidence of paper cups and napkins appears in a description of the possessions of the Yu family, from the city of [[Hangzhou]].<ref name="Paper and Printing">{{cite book|title=Science and Civilisation in China: Paper and Printing|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA122|year=1985|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-08690-5|author=Joseph Needham|page=122|quote=At this time tea was served from baskets made of rushes which held... a set of several tens of paper cups (chih pei) in different sizes and colors with delicate designs}}</ref> * '''[[Papercutting]]''': Papercutting is the art of cutting paper designs. The oldest surviving paper cut design dates from the 6th century [[Six Dynasties]] period and was found in present day [[Xinjiang]], China.<ref name="SullivanM">{{cite book|author1=Michael Sullivan|author2=Franklin D. Murphy|title=Art and Artists of Twentieth-Century China.|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=scYyWIY4Sv0C&pg=PA150|year=1996|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-07556-6|page=150}}</ref> Papercutting continued to be practiced during the [[Song Dynasty|Song]] and [[Tang Dynasty|Tang Dynasties]] as a popular form of decorative art.<ref name="SullivanM"/> Modern paper cutting has developed into a commercial industry. Papercutting remains popular as a folk art in contemporary China, especially during special events like weddings or the [[Chinese New Year]].<ref name="folklorepaper">{{cite book|title=Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Ea65pD9YyzkC&pg=PA285|chapter=Paper Cutting|year=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-241-8|page=285}}</ref> * '''[[Paper lantern]]''': The paper lantern is a lighting device made of paper. Early lanterns in China were constructed with [[silk]], paper, or animal skin with frames made of bamboo or wood.<ref name="NeedhamJPaper">{{cite book|title=Science and Civilisation in China: Paper and Printing|author=Joseph Needham|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA122|accessdate=16 April 2013|year=1985|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-08690-5|page=128}}</ref> One of the earliest descriptions of paper lanterns is found in records from [[Khotan]], which describe a "mounting lantern" made of white paper.<ref name="NeedhamJPaper"/> * '''[[Pig iron]]''': The earliest pig iron dates to the Zhou Dynasty. By the 5th century, archaeological evidence indicates that pig iron was melted to produce cast iron.<ref name="wagner 7 36 37 64 68"/> In [[Europe]], the process was not invented until the late [[medieval ages]].<ref>Several papers in ''The importance of ironmaking: technical innovation and social change: papers presented at the Norberg Conference, May 1995'' ed. Gert Magnusson (Jernkontorets Berghistoriska Utskott H58, 1995), 143–179.</ref> * '''[[Pinhole camera]]''': The [[Greek philosophy|Greek]] philosopher [[Aristotle]] (384–322 BC) observed that the spaces between the leaves of trees acted as tiny pinholes which cast the image of a partial [[solar eclipse]] onto the ground.<ref name="clee 2005 6">Clee (2005), 6.</ref> He also used a metal plate with a small pinhole to project an image of a solar eclipse onto the ground.<ref name="clee 2005 6"/> The ancient [[Chinese philosophy|Chinese]] philosopher [[Mozi]] (c. 470 BC&nbsp;– c. 391 BC)—founder of [[Mohism]] during the establishment of the [[Hundred Schools of Thought]]—lived just before the time of Aristotle and it was in his ''Mojing'' (perhaps compiled by his disciples) that a pinhole camera was described.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 82">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 82.</ref> The ''Mojing'' stated that the "collecting place" (pinhole) was an empty hole "like the sun and moon depicted on the imperial flags," where an image could be inverted at an intersecting point which "affects the size of the image."<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 82"/> The ''Mojing'' seems to be in line with the [[Epicureanism|Epicurean theory]] of light traveling into the eye (and not vice versa like in [[Pythagoreanism]]),<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 85">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 85.</ref> since the ''Mojing'' states that the reflected light shining forth from an "illuminated person" becomes inverted when passing through the pinhole, i.e. "The bottom part of the man becomes the top part (of the image) and the top part of the man becomes the bottom part (of the image)."<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 82"/> In his ''[[Book of Optics]]'' (1021), [[Ibn al-Haytham]] (965–1039) wrote of his experimentation with [[camera obscura]], which was followed by [[Shen Kuo]] (1031–1095), the latter who alluded that the Tang Dynasty (618–907) author [[Duan Chengshi]] (died 863)—in his ''[[Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang]]''—described inverted images of [[Chinese pagoda]]s.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 97–98.</ref> * '''[[Playing card]]s''': The first reference to the card game in world history dates no later than the 9th century, when the ''Collection of Miscellanea at Duyang'', written by Su E (fl. 880), described the Wei clan (family of Princess Tongchang's husband) of the Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) enjoying the "leaf game" in 868.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 131 132">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 131–132.</ref><ref name="zhou 1997 34">Zhou (1997), 34.</ref><ref>Lo (2000), 390.</ref> The ''Yezi Gexi'' was a book on the card came which was allegedly written by a Tang woman and commented on by Chinese scholars in subsequent dynasties.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 132">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 132.</ref> In his ''Notes After Retirement'', the Song Dynasty (960–1279) scholar [[Ouyang Xiu]] (1007–1072) asserted that playing card games existed since the mid Tang Dynasty and associated this invention with the simultaneous evolution of the common Chinese writing medium from paper rolls to sheets of paper that could be printed.<ref name="zhou 1997 34"/><ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 132"/> During the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), characters from popular [[novel]]s such as the ''[[Water Margin]]'' were widely featured on the faces of playing cards.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 132"/> By the 11th century playing cards could be found throughout the Asian continent.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 309">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 309.</ref> Playing cards were some of the first printed materials in Europe, appearing by the 14th century (i.e. in Spain and Germany in 1377, in Italy and Belgium in 1379, and in France in 1381) and produced by European [[woodblock printing]] before the innovation of the [[printing press]] by [[Johannes Gutenberg]] (c. 1400–1468).<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 309"/> * '''[[Pontoon bridge]]''': In [[History of China#Ancient China|ancient China]], the [[Zhou Dynasty]] Chinese text of the ''[[Shi Jing]]'' (''Book of Odes'') records that [[King Wen of Zhou]] was the first to create a pontoon bridge in the 11th century BC. However, the historian [[Joseph Needham]] has pointed out that in all likely scenarios, the temporary pontoon bridge was invented during the 9th or 8th century BC in China, as this part was perhaps a later addition to the book (considering how the book had been edited up until the [[Han Dynasty]], 202 BC&ndash;220 AD). Although earlier temporary pontoon bridges had been made in China, the first secure and permanent ones (and linked with iron chains) in China came first during the [[Qin Dynasty]] (221 BC&ndash;207 BC). The later [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279 AD) Chinese statesman [[Cao Cheng]] once wrote a description of the early pontoon bridges in China.<ref>Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 160.</ref> During the Eastern Han Dynasty (25&ndash;220 AD), the Chinese created a very large pontoon bridge that spanned across the width of the [[Yellow River]]. There was also the [[Naval history of China#Early literature|rebellion of Gongsun Shu]] in 33 AD, where a large pontoon bridge with fortified posts was constructed across the [[Yangtze]] River, eventually broken through with [[ramming]] ships by official Han troops under Commander Cen Peng. During the late Eastern Han into the [[Three Kingdoms]] period, during the [[Battle of Chibi]] in 208 AD, the Prime Minister [[Cao Cao]] once linked the majority of his fleet together with iron chains, which proved to be a fatal mistake once he was thwarted with a fire attack by [[Sun Quan]]'s fleet. The armies of [[Emperor Taizu of Song]] had a large pontoon bridge built across the Yangtze River in 974 in order to secure supply lines during the [[Song Dynasty]]'s conquest of the [[Southern Tang]].<ref>Graff, 87.</ref> * '''[[Porcelain]]''': [[Chinese ceramics|Although glazed ceramics existed beforehand]], S.A.M. Adshead writes that the earliest type of vitrified, translucent ceramics that could be classified as true porcelain was not made until the Tang Dynasty (618–907).<ref>Adshead (2004), 80.</ref> Nigel Wood states that true porcelain was manufactured in northern China from roughly the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century, while true porcelain was not manufactured in southern China until about 300 years later, during the early 10th century.<ref>Wood (1999), 49.</ref> Prof. [[Robert K.G. Temple]] has written that archaeological finds has pushed the dates back to as early as the [[Han Dynasty]] (206 BC&nbsp;- AD 220).<ref name="temple">Temple, Robert K.G. (2007). ''The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention'' (3rd edition). London: André Deutsch, page 104. ISBN 978-0-233-00202-6</ref> * '''[[Pound lock]]''': Indirect evidence suggests that pound locks may have been used in antiquity by the [[Ptolemaic Egypt|Ptolemaic Greeks]] and the [[Roman Empire|Roman]]s.<ref>Moore, Frank Gardner: "Three Canal Projects, Roman and Byzantine", ''[[American Journal of Archaeology]]'', Vol. 54, No. 2 (1950), pp. 97–111 (99)</ref> In China, although the one gate canal [[flash lock]] existed beforehand, the two-gate pound lock was invented in 984 by an official of [[Huainan]] and engineer named Qiao Weiyo, during the early Song Dynasty (960–1279), so that ships could safely travel along canal waterways having gated and segmented chambers where water levels could be regulated.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 3 350 352">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 350–352.</ref><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 582.</ref> The economic and transport benefits of this innovation were described by the polymath official and inventor [[Shen Kuo]] (1031–1095) in his ''[[Dream Pool Essays]]''.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 3 350 352"/> * '''[[Ma Jun|Puppet theater, waterwheel-powered]]''': The mechanical toys of [[Roman Egypt]], especially the weight-driven [[puppet]] theater of [[Heron of Alexandria]] (c. 10–70 AD), are well known and discussed by historians such as Beck, Prou, and de Rochas d'Aiglun.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 156">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 156.</ref> In China, [[Zhang Heng]] (78–139) wrote of plays with artificial fish and dragons, while a 6th-century text ''Xijing Zaji'' states that when Liu Bang (reigned as [[Emperor Gaozu of Han]] from 202–195 BC) came upon the treasury of the deceased [[Qin Shihuang]] (r. 221–210) in 206 BC, he found an entire mechanical [[orchestra]] of 1&nbsp;m (3&nbsp;ft) tall puppets dressed in [[silk]] and playing [[Free reed aerophone|mouth organs]], all powered by pulling ropes and blowing into tubes.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 158">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 158.</ref> As written in the ''[[Records of the Three Kingdoms]]'', the engineer [[Ma Jun]] (fl. 220–265)—already associated with the [[Differential (mechanical device)|differential gear system]] of the [[South Pointing Chariot]]—invented a mechanical theater powered by a rotating wooden [[waterwheel]] for the entertainment of [[Cao Rui|Emperor Ming's]] (r. 226–239 AD) court.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 158"/> With the waterwheel in motion, a number of mechanical puppets performed tricks, such as singing girls who played music and danced, other puppets who would beat drums and sound flutes when one puppet entered the scene, puppets dancing on balls, throwing swords, hanging upside down on rope ladders, etc.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 158"/> Other mechanical puppets dressed as government officials did tasks in their offices, puppets dressed as laborers did jobs of pounding and grinding ([[trip hammer]] and [[millstone]]), while others watched [[cockfighting]], all moving simultaneously.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 158"/> Water-powered puppet theaters in the tradition of Ma Jun were created in later dynasties as well.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 164">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 164.</ref> ===R=== * '''[[Raised-relief map]]''': The raised-relief map may have existed in China since the 3rd century BC, if the accounts in the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' (by [[Sima Qian]], 91 BC) about [[Qin Shi Huang]]'s (r. 221–210 BC) tomb prove correct (when it is excavated).<ref name="temple 1986 179">Temple (1986), 179.</ref> It is known that [[Ma Yuan (Han Dynasty)|Ma Yuan]] (14 BC&nbsp;– 49 AD) created a raised-relief map in 32 AD made out of rice, a type of map described in detail during the Tang Dynasty (618–907) by Jiang Fang in his ''Essay on the Art of Constructing Mountains with Rice'' (c. 845).<ref name="temple 1986 179"/> Xie Zhuang (421–466) of the [[Liu Song Dynasty]] (420–479) created a 0.93 m² (10&nbsp;ft²) wooden raised-relief map of the empire (showing mountains and rivers) which could be taken apart and pieced together like a giant [[jigsaw puzzle]].<ref name="temple 1986 179"/> * '''[[Menu|Restaurant menu]]''': During the early Song Dynasty (960–1279), urban shopkeepers of the [[Four occupations|merchant middle class]] often had little time to eat at home, so they ventured out to eat at a variety of places such as temples, taverns, tea houses, food stalls, and [[restaurant]]s which provided business for nearby brothels, singing-girl houses, and [[Culture of the Song Dynasty#Performing arts|drama theatres]]; this along with [[Society of the Song Dynasty#Ethnic, foreign and religious minorities|traveling foreigners]] and Chinese who migrated to urban centers from regions with different cooking styles encouraged a demand for a variety of flavors served at urban restaurants, giving rise to the menu.<ref>West (1997), 70–76.</ref><ref>Gernet (1962), 133–134, 137.</ref> * '''[[Bookcase|Revolving bookcase]]''': Revolving bookcases, known as ''zhuanluntang'', have been documented in ancient China, and its invention is credited to Fu Xi in 544.<ref name="Chinese Classical Furniture"/> Descriptions of revolving bookcases have been found in 8th- and 9th-century Chinese texts. Revolving bookcases were popularized in Buddhist monasteries during the [[Song Dynasty]] under the reign of [[Emperor Taizu of Song|Emperor Taizu]], who ordered the mass printing of the Buddhist [[Tripiṭaka]] scriptures.<ref name="Chinese Classical Furniture"/> An illustration of a revolving bookcase is depicted in Li Jie's architectural treatise the ''[[Yingzao Fashi]]''.<ref name="Chinese Classical Furniture">{{cite book|title=Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture.|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=-EKkblrm6sUC&pg=PA247|year=2001|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-21484-2|pages=246–247}}</ref> * '''[[Huolongjing#Fire arrows and rockets|Rocket bombs, aerodynamic wings and explosive payloads]]''': The first known rockets fitted with aerodynamic wings are described as the 'flying crows with magic fire' in the oldest strata of the ''[[Huolongjing]]'' (early-to-mid 14th century), compiled by [[Jiao Yu]] and [[Liu Ji (14th century)|Liu Ji]] during the early Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 498 501">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 498–501.</ref> The body of the rocket was shaped like a bird (specifically a [[crow]]), packed with [[gunpowder]], and made of [[bamboo]] [[lath]]s forming a long basketwork frame that was reinforced with [[glue]]d paper.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 500">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 500.</ref> A decorative head and tail were attached to the front and back ends, while the wings were nailed to the sides.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 500"/> Under each wing were two slanting rockets to propel the weapon; a main fuse was lit that ignited a fourfold fuse connected to each rocket and running through a drilled hole in the back of the bird.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 500"/> The book then claims that the rocket, after being launched high into the air and aimed at encampments or enemy boats, automatically produced an explosion upon impact that could be seen from considerably long distances.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 502">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 2, 502.</ref> *'''[[Rocket launcher]]''': The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China launched [[fire arrow]]s with launchers constructed of wood, basketry, and bamboo tubes.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 488">Needham (1974), Volume 5, Part 7, 488.</ref> The rocket launchers divided the fire arrows with frames meant to keep the arrows separated, and were capable of firing multiple arrow rockets at once. Textual evidence and illustrations of various early rocket launchers are found in the 11th-century [[Northern Song Dynasty]] text ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]''. The ''Wujing Zongyao'' describes the "long serpent" rocket launcher, a rocket launcher constructed of wood and carried with a wheelbarrow, and the "hundred tiger" rocket launcher, a rocket launcher made of wood and capable of firing 320 rocket arrows.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 493">Needham (1974), Volume 5, Part 7, 493.</ref> The text also describes a portable rocket arrow carrier consisting of a sling and a bamboo tube.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 495">Needham (1974), Volume 5, Part 7, 495.</ref> * '''[[Rope dart]]''': The rope dart is a weapon used in [[Chinese martial arts]]. It consists of a long [[rope]] with a metal [[dart]] attached at the end. The dart can be thrown as a long range weapon while the rope is used to pull the dart backwards. The first written description of the rope dart is dated from the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618 – 907 AD).<ref name="YangJM">{{cite book|author=Jwing-Ming Yang|title=Ancient Chinese Weapons: A Martial Artist's Guide|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=SBENHIwJshMC&pg=PA93|year=1999|publisher=YMAA Publication Center Inc|isbn=978-1-886969-67-4|page=93}}</ref> * '''[[Fan (mechanical)|Rotary fan, manual and water-powered]]''': For purposes of [[air conditioning]], the Han Dynasty craftsman and engineer Ding Huan (fl. 180 AD) invented a manually operated rotary fan with seven wheels that measured 3&nbsp;m (10&nbsp;ft) in diameter; in the 8th century, during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), the Chinese applied [[Hydraulics|hydraulic power]] to rotate the fan wheels for air conditioning, while the rotary fan became even more common during the Song Dynasty (960–1279).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 99, 134, 151, 233.</ref><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 210.</ref> The first rotary fan used in Europe was for mine ventilation during the 16th century, as illustrated by [[Georg Agricola]] (1494–1555).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 154">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 154.</ref> * '''[[Rudder|Rudder, stern-mounted and vertical axial]]''': Lawrence V. Mott, who defines a steering oar as a rudder, states the [[ancient Egypt]]ian use of stern-mounted rudders can be traced back to the [[Sixth dynasty of Egypt|6th dynasty]] (2350–2200 BC).<ref name="mott 2 3 92">Mott (1991), 2–3, 92, 84, 95f.</ref> Mott states that the method of attachment for rudders in the Arab, Chinese, and European worlds differed from each other, leading him to doubt the spread of the Chinese system of attachment by socket-and-jaws or [[block and tackle]] (versus European [[pintle]]-and-[[gudgeon]] invented by c. 1180 AD).<ref name="mott 2 3 92"/><ref name="adshead 2000 156"/> In regards to Mott's definition of a steering oar as a rudder, [[Joseph Needham]], [[Richard Lefebvre des Noëttes]], K.S. Tom, Chung Chee Kit, S.A.M. Adshead, Paul Johnstone and Sean McGrail state that a steering oar is not a rudder; the steering oar has the capacity to interfere with handling of the sails (limiting any potential for long ocean-going voyages) while it was fit more for small vessels on narrow, rapid-water transport; the rudder did not disturb the handling of the sails, took less energy to operate by its [[helmsman]], was better fit for larger vessels on ocean-going travel, and first appeared in China.<ref name="tom 1989 103"/><ref name="adshead 2000 156">Adshead (2000), 156.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 627–628.</ref><ref>Chung (2005), 152.</ref><ref>Johnstone & McGrail (1988), 191.</ref> Leo Block writes of the use of the steering oar in the ancient [[History of the Mediterranean region|Mediterranean world]] (specifically in regards to the [[Phoenicia]]ns, 1550–300 BC): "A single sail tends to turn a vessel in an upwind or downwind direction, and rudder action is required to steer a straight course. A steering oar was used at this time because the rudder had not yet been invented. With a single sail, a frequent movement of the steering oar was required to steer a straight course; this slowed down the vessel because a steering oar (or rudder) course correction acts like a break."<ref>Block (2003), 8–9.</ref> The oldest depicted rudders at the back of a ship, without the use of [[oar]]s or a steering oar, comes from several ceramic models of Chinese ships made during both the Western and Eastern eras of the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD).<ref name="tom 1989 103"/><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 649–650.</ref><ref>Fairbank (2006), 192.</ref><ref name="deng 1997 42">Deng (1997), 42.</ref> According to the scholars Zhang Zunyan and Vassilios Christides, there is literary evidence to suggest that the axial stern rudder existed in China since the 1st century BC,<ref>Christides (1996), 66–67.</ref> while Gang Deng asserts the first reference was made in the ''[[Huainanzi]]'' of the 2nd century BC,<ref name="deng 1997 42"/> and K.S. Tom says the first clear reference dates to the 5th century AD.<ref name="tom 1989 103"/> However, K.S. Tom points to the fact that all Chinese pottery models of ships before this Guangzhou tomb model show steering oars instead of a rudder, which he states is strong evidence for the rudder's invention only by the 1st century AD.<ref>Tom (1989), 103–104.</ref> Jacques Gernet states that while the Chinese had invented the rudder in the 1st century AD, it was not completely fixed to the sternpost of Chinese ships until the end of the 4th century.<ref>Gernet (1996), 378.</ref> The bulkhead ship design of the ''[[junk (ship)|junk]]'', which appeared roughly the same time as the rudder, provided the essential vertical components for the hinged axial rudder.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 3 391"/> Deng points out that an Eastern Han (25–220) model distinctly shows a rudder located in its own separate cabin, suggesting that helmsmanship had already become an established profession.<ref name="deng 1997 42"/> Following the invention of the balanced rudder pivoted on an axis, Tom and Deng state that the Chinese then innovated the fenestrated rudder by the Song Dynasty (960–1279), with deliberate puncturing and boring out of holes in shapes such as diamonds, which, according to Tom, made the rudder "easier to steer, reduced turbulence drag, did not affect efficiency and was hydrodynamically sound."<ref name="deng 1997 42"/><ref name="tom 1989 104">Tom (1989), 104.</ref> ===S=== [[File:EastHanSeismograph.JPG|thumb|A replica of [[Zhang Heng]]'s (78–139 AD) [[seismometer]] that employed a pendulum sensitive to [[inertia]] of ground tremors; while placed in [[Luoyang]] in 133, it detected an [[earthquake]] 400 to 500 km (250 to 310 mi) away in [[Gansu]]]] [[File:SancaiHorseTang7-8thCentury.JPG|thumb|A [[sancai]]-glazed horse statue from the Tang Dynasty (618–907) showing a rider's [[stirrup]] connected to the [[saddle]]]] [[File:Luding bridge.jpg|thumb|The [[Luding Bridge]] in [[Sichuan]], an iron-chain suspension bridge]] [[File:Chajing.jpeg|thumb|right|A page of ''[[The Classic of Tea]]'' by the [[Tang Dynasty|Tang]] connoisseur of tea, [[Lu Yu]] (733–804)]] [[File:Tofu in miso soup by cathykid in Taipei.jpg|thumb|[[Tofu]] in [[miso soup]]; the Chinese invented tofu as early as the 2nd century BC during the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) if the traditional accounts about [[Liu An]] are correct.]] [[File:Figures in a cortege, tomb of Li Xian, Tang Dynasty.jpg|thumb|right|A wall mural of [[Emperor Zhongzong of Tang|Li Xian]]'s tomb at [[Qianling Mausoleum]] (dated 706 AD), where the tomb murals and structural designs corresponded with the appearances and layouts, respectively, of actual residences where the tomb occupants had once lived during the Tang Dynasty]] [[File:Songrivership3.jpg|thumb|right|A Chinese Song Dynasty naval river ship with a Xuanfeng traction trebuchet catapult, taken from the ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]'', 1044 AD]] [[File:Hydraulic-Powdered Trip Hammers.jpg|thumb|Hydraulic-powered [[trip hammer]]s, from a Ming Dynasty encyclopedia published in 1637 by [[Song Yingxing]] (1587–1666)]] [[File:Bo of Duke of Qin.jpg|thumb|An ornate bronze bell belonging to [[Duke Mu of Qin]] (d. 621 BC) from the [[Spring and Autumn Period]] (722–481 BC)]] * '''[[Seismometer]]''': The official, astronomer, and mathematician [[Zhang Heng]] (78–139) of the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) invented the first seismometer in 132, a large metal urn-shaped instrument which employed either a suspended [[pendulum]] or [[inverted pendulum]] acting on inertia (i.e. ground tremors from [[earthquake]]s) to dislodge a metal ball by a lever trip device; this ball would fall out of dragon-shaped metal mouth into the corresponding metal toad mouth indicating the exact cardinal direction of where a distant earthquake had occurred in order for the state to send swift aid and relief to the affected regions; several subsequent recreations of his device were employed by Chinese states up until the Tang Dynasty (618–907), when use of the device fell into obscurity, a fact noted even by the writer Zhou Mi around 1290, during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).<ref name="tom 1989 104"/><ref>Minford & Lau (2002), 307.</ref><ref>Balchin (2003), 26–27.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 3, 627–635.</ref><ref>Krebs (2003), 31.</ref><ref>Wright (2001), 66.</ref><ref>Huang (1997), 64.</ref><ref>Yan (2007), 131–132.</ref> * '''[[South Pointing Chariot]]''': Although the claim of [[Cao Wei|Wei Dynasty]] statesman [[Ma Jun]] (fl. 220–265) that the South Pointing Chariot was first invented by the mythological [[Yellow Emperor]] are dubious, his South Pointing Chariot was successfully designed and tested in 255 AD with many later models recreated in subsequent dynasties; this device was a wheeled vehicle with [[Differential (mechanical device)|differential gears]] that ensured a mounted wooden figurine would always point in the southern direction no matter how the vehicle turned, in essence a non-magnetic [[compass]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 40, 286–298.</ref><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 461.</ref><ref>Tom (1989), 98.</ref> The ''[[Book of Song]]'' written in the 6th century states that the device was successfully reinvented by the mathematician and astronmer [[Zu Chongzhi]] (429–500) during the [[Liu Song Dynasty]] (420–479).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 287.</ref> The Japanese historical text ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'', compiled by 720, states that the device was crafted and presented as a gift to [[Emperor Tenji]] (661–672) on two different occasions (658 and 666) by the Tang Dynasty (618–907) [[Chinese Buddhism|Chinese Buddhist]] monks Zhi Yu and Zhi You.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 289.</ref> The wheeled vehicle device was described in intricate detail in the historical text covering the Song Dynasty (960–1279), i.e. the ''Song Shi'' (compiled 1345); for example, it revealed the number of gear teeth on each mechanical gear wheel, the diameter of each gear wheel, and how these gear wheels were properly positioned.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 291–292.</ref> * '''[[Steelmaking|Steel made from cast iron through oxygenation]]''': The earliest known production of steel is a piece of ironware excavated from an [[archaeological site]] in [[Anatolia]] ([[Kaman-Kalehoyuk]]) and is about 4,000 years old.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ironware piece unearthed from Turkey found to be oldest steel|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200903261611.htm|accessdate=2009-03-27 | location=Chennai, India|work=The Hindu|date=2009-03-26}}</ref> Other ancient steel comes from [[Eastern Africa|East Africa]], dating back to 1400 BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/CIVAFRCA/IRONAGE.HTM |title=Civilizations in Africa: The Iron Age South of the Sahara |publisher=Washington State University |accessdate=2007-08-14}}</ref> In the 4th century BC steel weapons like the [[Falcata]] were produced in the [[Iberian Peninsula]], while [[Noric steel]] was used by the [[Military of ancient Rome|Roman military]].<ref>"Noricus ensis," [[Horace]], Odes, i. 16.9</ref> The Chinese, who had been producing [[cast iron]] from the late [[Spring and Autumn Period]] (722–481 BC), produced [[steel]] by the 2nd century BC through a process of [[decarburization]], i.e. using [[bellows]] to pump large amounts of [[oxygen]] on to molten cast iron.<ref>Temple (1986), 49–50.</ref> This was first described in the Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) book ''[[Huainanzi]]'', compiled by scholars under Prince [[Liu An]] (179–122 BC).<ref name="temple 1986 50">Temple (1986), 50.</ref> The Chinese called this technique "the hundred refinings method," since the process was repeated over and over to incrementally strengthen the steel.<ref name="temple 1986 50"/> The back of [[Chinese swords|swords]] were often made of more elastic [[wrought iron]] while the cutting edge of the blade itself was made of strong steel.<ref name="temple 1986 50"/> For steel, they used both [[quench]]ing (i.e. rapid cooling) and [[tempering (metallurgy)|tempering]] (i.e. slow cooling) methods of [[heat treatment]].<ref name="temple 1986 50"/> Much later, the American inventor [[William Kelly (inventor)|William Kelly]] (1811–1888) brought four Chinese metallurgists to [[Eddyville, Kentucky]] in 1845, whose expertise in steelmaking influenced his ideas about air injection to reduce carbon content of iron; his invention anticipated the [[Bessemer process]] of [[Henry Bessemer]] (1813–1898).<ref name="temple 1986 49">Temple (1986), 49.</ref> * '''[[Stir frying]]''': Stir frying is a Chinese cooking technique used for preparing food in a wok. It originates from the [[Han Dynasty]], but did not fully develop until the [[Song Dynasty]].<ref name="Newman">{{cite book|author=Jacqueline M. Newman|title=Food Culture in China|date=1 January 2004|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32581-6|pages=90–91}}</ref> Although there are no surviving records of Han Dynasty stir frying, archaeological evidence of [[wok]]s and the tendency to slice food thinly indicate that the technique was likely used for cooking.<ref name="Anderson">{{cite book|author=E. N. Anderson|title=The Food of China|year=1988|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-04739-4|page=52}}</ref> It was not until the [[Ming Dynasty]] that stir frying was popularized as primary cooking method of Chinese cuisine.<ref>{{Harvnb|Newman|1945|p=5}}</ref> Stir frying was brought to America by early [[Chinese American|Chinese immigrants]], and has been used for non-Asian cuisines.<ref name="Smith">{{cite book|author=Merril D. Smith|title=History of American Cooking|date=9 January 2013|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-38712-8|pages=65}}</ref> * '''[[Stirrup]]''': There are authors who point out that it is unclear whether the stirrup was invented by northern nomads or the sedentary Chinese.<ref>[http://www.silk-road.com/artl/stirrup.shtml Dien] (1986), 33–56.</ref> Liu Han (1961) credited the invention of the stirrup to nomadic invaders of northern China.<ref>Dien (1981), 5–66.</ref> Archaeologial evidence shows that horse riders in India had a small loop for a single toe to be inserted by roughly the 1st century AD.<ref name="addington 45">Addington (1990), 45.</ref> However, the first true depiction of the stirrup is featured on a [[Jin Dynasty (265-420)|Jin Dynasty]] (265–420) Chinese tomb figurine dated 302 AD, yet this was a single stirrup and was perhaps used only for initially mounting the horse.<ref name="graff 2002 42">Graff (2002), 42.</ref> It should be noted that the latter was found in [[Changsha]], [[Hunan]], far from the northern border.<ref>Temple (1986), 89.</ref> The first validated depiction of a rider with a pair of saddle stirrups for both feet comes from a Jin Chinese tomb figurine dated 322.<ref name="graff 2002 42"/> The first actual specimens of stirrups comes from a Chinese tomb in southern Manchuria that is dated 415.<ref name="graff 2002 42"/> The stirrup was not widely used by Chinese cavalry until the 5th century.<ref name="addington 45"/><ref>Hobson (2004), 103.</ref> By the 6th century, the use of the stirrup had spread as far west as the [[Byzantine Empire]], where both the stirrup and [[Celts|Celtic]] [[horseshoe]] were adopted.<ref name="addington 45"/> * '''[[Suspension bridge|Suspension bridge using iron chains]]''': Although there is evidence that many early cultures employed the use of suspension bridges with cabled ropes, the first written evidence of iron chain suspension bridges comes from a local history and topography of [[Yunnan]] written in the 15th century, which describes the repair of an iron chain bridge during the reign of the [[Yongle Emperor]] (r. 1402–1424); although it is questionable if Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) Chinese claims that iron chain suspension bridges existed since the Han Dynasty, their existence in the 15th century predates that of anywhere else.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 196–197.</ref> K.S. Tom mentions this same repaired Ming suspension bridge described by Needham, but adds that recent research has revealed a document which lists the names of those who allegedly built an iron chain suspension bridge in Yunnan around the year 600 AD.<ref>Tom (1989), 105–106.</ref> ===T=== * '''[[Tangram]]''': The tangram is a [[dissection puzzle]] consisting of seven flat shapes, which are put together to form shapes. The objective of the puzzle is to form a specific shape using all seven pieces, which may not overlap. The game is reputed to have been invented in China during the [[Song Dynasty]],<ref name="inthandbook">{{cite book|author=Jiannong Shi|title=International Handbook of Intelligence|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=qbNLJl_L6MMC&pg=PA330|date=2 February 2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-00402-2|editor=Robert J. Sternberg|pages=330–331}}</ref> and was popularized in Europe and America during the 19th century.<ref name="Bolt">{{cite book|author=Brian Bolt|title=Mathematical activities: a resource book for teachers|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1982|isbn=978-0-521-28518-6|page=45}}</ref> The word tangram is likely derived from two words, the Chinese word ''tang'', referring to the Chinese [[Tang Dynasty]], and the Greek word ''gramma'', a synonym of [[graph]].<ref name="The Words of Mathematics">{{cite book|title=The Words of Mathematics: An Etymological Dictionary of Mathematical Terms Used in English|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=SRw4PevE4zUC&pg=PA218|year=1994|publisher=Mathematical Association of America|isbn=978-0-88385-511-9|page=218}}</ref> * '''[[Tea]]''': The tea plant is indigenous to western [[Yunnan]];<ref>Martin (2007), 8.</ref> by the mid 2nd millennium BC, tea was being consumed in Yunnan for medicinal purposes.<ref>Heiss (2007), 4–6.</ref> Tea drinking was already an established custom in the daily life in this area as shown by the ''Contract with a Slave'', written by Wang Bao in 59 BC.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 5, 513.</ref> This written record also reveals that [[tea processing | tea was processed]] and used as a drink instead of a medicinal herb, emerged no later than the 1st century BC.<ref>Wang (2005), 2–3, 11.</ref> Early [[Chinese tea culture]] began from the time of Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) to the [[Southern and Northern Dynasties]] (420–589) when tea was widely used by Chinese gentry, but only took its initial shape during the Tang Dynasty (618–907).<ref>Wang (2005), 17–20.</ref> * '''[[Teapot]]''': The teapot was invented during the [[Yuan Dynasty]], tea preparation in previous dynasties did not utilize a teapot.<ref name="Lo">{{cite book|author=Kuei-Hsiang Lo|title=The Stonewares of Yixing: From the Ming Period to the Present Day|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=3zAP3tBBPEcC&pg=PA18|accessdate=8 February 2013|year=1986|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|isbn=978-962-209-112-2|page=18}}</ref> In the Tang Dynasty, a cauldron was used to boil grounded tea, which was served in bowls. Song Dynasty tea was made by pouring water boiled using a kettle into a bowl with finely ground tea leaves. A brush was then used to stir the tea. The innovation of the teapot, a vessel that steeps tea leaves in boiling water, occurs during the late Yuan dynasty. Written evidence of a teapot appears in the Yuan Dynasty text, ''Jiyuan Conghua'', which describes a teapot that the author, Cai Shizhan, bought from the scholar [[Sun Daoming]]. By the Ming Dynasty, teapots were widespread in China.<ref name="Lo"/> * '''[[Thyroid|Thyroid hormones to treat goiters]]''': In 239 BC, ''[[Lushi Chunqiu|Master Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals]]'' stated that where water is too light, people suffer widespread [[baldness]] and [[goiter]].<ref name="temple 1986 135">Temple (1986), 135.</ref> It was not until the 1860 that [[Gaspard Adolphe Chatin]] (1813–1901) linked goiter with the lack of [[iodine]] in soil and water; iodine was discovered in the thyroid gland in 1896 by [[Eugen Baumann]], while thyroid extract was used to treat patients in 1890.<ref name="temple 1986 135"/> Long before this the Tang Dynasty (618–907) physician Zhen Quan (d. 643 AD), in his ''Old and New Tried and Tested Prescriptions'', stated that the thyroid glands taken from [[Gelding|gelded]] [[Domestic sheep|rams]] were used to treat patients with goiter; the thyroid hormones could be swallowed in pill form (the body of the pill made from crushed [[jujube]] pulp) or as a solid thyroid gland with the fat taken off.<ref name="temple 1986 133 134">Temple (1986), 133–134.</ref> Another prescription by Wang Xi used air-dried glands ground into powder and taken with [[wine]].<ref name="temple 1986 134"/> Zhen's contemporary Cui Zhiti (fl. 650 AD) distinguished in his written work between a [[tumor]], which he described as an incurable solid neck swelling, and a real goiter, which he described as curable and movable in the neck.<ref name="temple 1986 134">Temple (1986), 134.</ref> The Chinese also used the thyroid glands of [[pig]]s, [[Domestic buffalo|water buffalo]], and [[sika deer]] with success in treating goiter.<ref name="temple 1986 134"/> The ''Pharmacopoeia of the Heavenly Husbandman'' asserted that iodine-rich [[sargassum]] was used to treat goiter by the 1st century BC ([[Ge Hong]], 284–364, also suggested using a [[tincture]] derived from sargassum seaweed in about 340 AD),<ref name="medvei 1993 48">Medvei (1993), 48.</ref> a treatment unknown [[Western world|in the West]] until Roger of [[Palermo]] wrote his ''Practica Chirurgiae'' in 1180 AD.<ref name="temple 1986 134 135">Temple (1986), 134–135</ref> * '''[[Tofu]]''': Although both popular tradition and [[Song Dynasty|Song-dynasty]] scholars like [[Zhu Xi]] (1130–1200 AD) credit the invention of [[tofu]]—along with [[soymilk]]— to [[Liu An]] (179–122 BC), a [[Kings of the Han Dynasty|Han-Dynasty King]] of [[Huainan]], no mention of tofu is found in the extant ''[[Huainanzi]]'' (compiled under Liu An).<ref name="shurtleff aoyagi 2001 92">Shurtleff & Aoyagi (2001), 92.</ref><ref name="liu 1999 166">Liu (1999), 166.</ref><ref name="yang 2004 217 218">Yang (2004), 217–218.</ref> The earliest known mention of tofu was made in ''Records of the Extraordinary'' (''Qingyi lu'' 清異錄), which reported that tofu was sold at [[Qingyang County|Qingyang]] ([[Anhui]]).<ref>Shinoda (1963), 4.</ref> The earliest explanation of how to make tofu is found in the ''[[Bencao Gangmu]]'', written by [[Li Shizhen]] (1518–1593).<ref name="yang 2004 217 218"/> According to Liu Keshun (1999), Liu An's process for making tofu was essentially the same as today.<ref>Liu (1999), 166–167.</ref> * '''[[Toilet paper]]''': Toilet paper was first mentioned by the official [[Yan Zhitui]] (531–591) in the year 589 during the [[Sui Dynasty]], with full evidence of continual use in subsequent dynasties.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 123">Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 123.</ref><ref>Hunter (1978), 207.</ref> By the mid 14th century during the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368), it was written that ten million packages of 1,000 to 10,000 sheets of toilet paper were manufactured annually in [[Zhejiang]] province alone.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 123"/> * '''[[Trebuchet|Traction trebuchet]]''': The earliest type of trebuchet catapult was the traction trebuchet, developed first in China by the 5th or 4th century BC, the beginning of the [[Warring States period]] (403–221 BC); to operate the trebuchet, a team of men pulled on ropes attached to the butt of the shorter segment of a long wooden beam separated by a rotating axle fixed to a base framework, allowing the longer segment of the beam to lunge forward and use its sling to hurl a missile; by the 9th century a hybrid of the traction and [[Trebuchet#History|counterweight trebuchet]], employing manpower and a pivoting weight, was used in the Middle East, [[Mediterranean Basin]], and [[Northern Europe]]; by the 12th century, the full fledged counterweight trebuchet was developed under the [[Ayyubid dynasty]] of Islamic Syria and Egypt (described by [[Mardi bin Ali al-Tarsusi]]) and used in the [[Third Crusade]]; by the 13th century, the counterweight trebuchet found its way into Song Dynasty (960–1279) China via the [[Mongol invasion of China|Mongol invaders]] under [[Kublai Khan]] (r. 1260–1294) who used it in the [[Battle of Xiangyang|Siege of Xiangyang]] (1267–1273).<ref>Chevedden (1998), 179–222.</ref><ref>Turnbull (2001), 9, 45–46.</ref><ref>Chevedden (1999), 36.</ref> * '''[[Trip hammer]]''': The ancient Chinese used [[pestle and mortar]] to pound and decorticate grain, which was superseded by the treadle-operated tilt hammer (employing a simple [[lever]] and [[wikt:fulcrum|fulcrum]]) perhaps during the Zhou Dynasty (1122–256 BC) but first described in a Han Dynasty (202 BC&nbsp;– 220 AD) dictionary of 40 BC and soon after by [[Yang Xiong (author)|Yang Xiong]] (53 BC&nbsp;– 18 AD) in his ''[[Fangyan]]'' dictionary written in 15 BC; the next stage in this evolution of grain-pounding devices was to apply [[Hydraulics|hydraulic power]], which the author [[Huan Tan]] (43 BC&nbsp;– 28 AD) mentioned in his ''Xinlun'' of 20 AD, although he also described trip hammers powered by the labor of horses, oxen, donkeys, and mules.<ref>Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 183–184, 390–392.</ref> After Huan Tan's book was written, numerous references to trip hammers powered by [[waterwheel]]s were made in subsequent Chinese dynasties and in Medieval Europe by the 12th century.<ref>Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 379, 392–395.</ref> However, trip hammers were also attested by both literary ([[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], ''[[Natural History]]'' 18.97) and archaeological evidence in fairly widespread use in the [[Roman Empire]] by the 1st century AD.<ref>Wilson (2002), 1–32.</ref><ref>Burnham (1997) 333–335.</ref> * '''[[Bianzhong|Tuned bells]]''': The earliest complete set of tuned bells, sixteen in all, were found in Tomb 8 of [[Jin (Chinese state)|Marquis Su of Jin]] at Qucun, southern [[Shanxi]].<ref>Wang (2007), 8 & 26.</ref> The tomb has been dated by [[Accelerator mass spectrometry|AMS]] radiocarbon techniques to 815–786 BC.<ref>Guo et al. (1996), 1112–1114.</ref> Tuned [[Bell (instrument)|bells]] which could produce two precise [[Pitch (music)|musical pitches]] (if struck at the center or struck on one side near the edge) existed in China during the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050–256 BC).<ref name="temple 1986 199 200">Temple (1986), 199–200.</ref> Of the [[Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng|sixty-four bronze bells found]] in the [[tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng]] interred by 433 BC, forty-seven of them produce two notes with [[Interval (music)|minor third intervals]] while sixteen produce two notes with [[Interval (music)|major third intervals]].<ref name="temple 1986 199">Temple (1986), 199.</ref> Bells in ancient China served essentially as [[tuning forks]] in a standard set of twelve bells ([[Chromatic scale|one for each note]]), which were eventually replaced by twelve [[pitch pipe]]s (easier to manufacture).<ref name="temple 1986 199 200"/> In order to craft properly tuned bells, a set of conditions had to be met: specific proportions of different metals in the [[alloy]]; elasticity and thickness of material; the [[specific gravity]]; diameters at different points; the contours of the bells' curves; the temperature reached in casting the bell and the cooling rate, etc.<ref name="temple 1986 200 201">Temple (1986), 200–201.</ref> *'''[[Tung oil]]''': The tung oil tree originates in southern China and was cultivated there for tung oil, but the date of cultivation remains unknown.<ref name="Keightley">{{cite book|author=David N. Keightley|title=The Origins of Chinese Civilization|accessdate=5 October 2012|year=1983|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-04229-2|pages=50–}}</ref> During the Song Dynasty, tung oil was used for [[waterproofing]] on ships.<ref>Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 133.</ref> Tung oil is etymologically derived from the Chinese ''tongyou''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tung oil|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tung%20oil|publisher=Merriam Webster|accessdate=5 October 2012}}</ref> ===U=== * '''[[Marine salvage|Underwater salvage operation]]''': In 219 BC, [[Qin Shihuang]] (r. 221–210 BC) assembled an expedition consisting of a thousand people for the salvage of the [[Nine Tripod Cauldrons]]. The tripods were considered important artifacts, Chinese legends credit a Xia dynasty emperor with their construction. The tripods were lost in [[Sishui River]] in present day [[Anhui Province]]. The salvage attempt was ultimately unsuccessful. Carvings in Han Dynasty tombs depict the salvage attempt.<ref name="Li">{{cite book|author=Li Li|title=China's Cultural Relics|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=_sGoi1O1_nsC&pg=PA32|date=25 August 2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-18656-8|pages=32–33}}</ref> In the 11th century AD, a successful underwater salvage operation in [[Song Dynasty|Song China]] (960–1279) would employ the use of [[buoyancy]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 40.</ref> The Chinese understood the concept of buoyancy by at least the 3rd century AD; the short-lived child prodigy [[Cao Chong]] (196–208) weighed a large [[elephant]] by placing it on a boat in a pond and measuring the rise of the water level, then matching this weight with a boat loaded with numerous heavy objects which could be measured separately.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 39.</ref> Between 1064 and 1067, the Puchin Bridge near Puchow, a floating bridge built some 350 years earlier across the [[Yellow River]], was destroyed in a flood.<ref name="ReferenceA">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 40–41.</ref> This bridge was made of boats secured by iron chains which were attached to eight different [[cast iron]] statues located on each river bank, cast in the shape of recumbent [[ox]]en.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 41.</ref> The flood pulled the oxen from the sandy banks into the river, where they sunk to the bottom; after this loss, the local officials issued a proclamation for submission of ideas on how to recover the statues.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The plan of the Buddhist monk Huaibing was accepted, which is described in the text ''Liang Chi Man Chih'' of 1192, "he used two huge boats filled with earth, cables from them being made fast to the oxen in the river bed (by the drivers). Hooks and a huge counterweight lever were also used. Then the earth in the boats was gradually taken away so that the boats floated much higher and the oxen were lifted off the river bottom."<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 40-.</ref> * '''[[Sky lantern|Unmanned hot air balloons]]''': The [[sky lantern]] is an early unmanned [[hot air balloon]]. The general [[Zhuge Liang]] is credited with its invention, and reportedly used it during military campaigns. According to Needham, hot air balloons have been used in China since 3rd century BC.<ref name="Wittmer">{{cite book|author=Andreas Wittmer|title=Aviation Systems|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=jPThSsfgfFgC&pg=PA7|date=1 January 2011|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-3-642-20080-9|page=7|quote=It all began with hot air balloons and kites in China. The Kongming lantern (proto hot air balloon) was known in China from ancient times. Its invention is usually attributed to the general Zhuge Liang... According to Joseph Needham, hot air balloons in China were known since the third century BC}}</ref> In 1783, [[Montgolfier brothers|Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier]] took part in the first manned hot air balloon flight.<ref name="Shectman">{{cite book|author=Jonathan Shectman|title=Groundbreaking Scientific Experiments, Inventions, and Discoveries of the 18th Century|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=SsbChdIiflsC&pg=PA12|year=2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32015-6|page=12}}</ref> ===W=== [[File:Winnowing machine.jpg|thumb|right|Chinese rotary fan winnowing machine, from an encyclopedia published in 1637 by [[Song Yingxing]]]] [[File:Siangci.jpg|thumb|[[Xiangqi]] board game]] * '''[[Winnowing|Winnowing fan]]''': Contemporary to the rotary air conditioning fan invented by Ding Huan (fl. 180 AD) is a pottery tomb model of a [[Crank (mechanism)|crank-operated]] rotary winnowing fan from the Han Dynasty, used for separating [[chaff]] from [[grain]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 118, 153–154, PLATE CLVI.</ref><ref>Wang (1982), 57.</ref> The winnowing fan was first described during the Tang Dynasty by [[Yan Shigu]] (581–645), in his commentary on the ''Jijiupian'' dictionary written earlier in 40 BC by Shi Yu; it was also mentioned in a poem by the Song Dynasty artist Mei Yaochen in about 1060.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 153 154">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 153–154.</ref> The earliest known drawn illustration of the winnowing fan comes from the ''Book of Agriculture'' published in 1313 by [[Wang Zhen (official)|Wang Zhen]] (fl. 1290–1333).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 118, 151–153.</ref> * '''[[Wrapping paper]]''' and '''paper [[envelope]]''': The use of wrapping paper is first documented in ancient China, where paper was invented in 2nd century BC.<ref name="Tsienpaper">{{Cite journal|last=Tsien|first=Tsuen-Hsuin|series=Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, Chemistry and Chemical Technology |volume= 5 part 1|title=Paper and Printing|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1985|page=38}}</ref> In the [[Southern Song]] dynasty, monetary gifts were wrapped with paper, forming an [[envelope]] known as a ''chih pao''. The wrapped gifts were distributed by the Chinese court to government officials.<ref name="Needham">{{cite book|author=Joseph Needham|title=Science and Civilisation in China: Paper and Printing|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Lx-9mS6Aa4wC&pg=PA122|accessdate=16 April 2013|year=1985|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-08690-5|page=122|quote=In the Southern Sung dynasty, gift money for bestowing upon officials by the imperial court was wrapped in paper envelopes (chih pao)}}</ref> In the Chinese text ''Thien Kung Khai Wu'', Sung Ying-Hsing states that the coarsest wrapping paper is manufactured with rice straws and [[bamboo]] fiber.<ref name="Tsien123">{{harvnb|Tsien|1985|p=123}}</ref> Although the Hall brothers Rollie and Joyce Hall, founders of [[Hallmark Cards]], did not invent gift wrapping, their innovations led to the development of modern gift wrapping. They helped to popularize the idea of decorative gift wrapping in the 20th century, and according to [[Joyce Hall]], "the decorative gift-wrapping business was born the day Rollie placed those French envelope linings on top of that showcase."<ref name="Regan">{{cite book|author=Patrick Regan|title=Hallmark: A Century of Giving|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mwczWM4D9o4C&pg=PA45|date=15 December 2009|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|isbn=978-0-7407-9240-3|page=45}}</ref> ===X=== * '''[[Xiangqi]]''' (See also: [[List of Chinese inventions#L]] – [[Liubo]]): The exact origins of the Chinese chess board game known as ''xiangqi'' are ambiguous. Historian [[David H. Li]] asserts that it was first invented by [[Han Xin]] (d. 196 BC), a renowned military general of the early Han Dynasty who fell victim to a purge instigated by [[Empress Lü Zhi]] (d. 180 BC).<ref>Li (1998), 214.</ref> Li states that it was revived under a different, camouflaged name of ''xiangxi'' by [[Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou]] (r. 561–578), which to this day has made the two terms synonymous and interchangeable for the same game.<ref name="li 1998 215">Li (1998), 215.</ref> ===Z=== * '''[[Zoetrope]]''': There is some evidence that the zoetrope existed amongst the items of the treasury of the deceased [[Qin Shi Huang]] (r. 221–210 BC) of the [[Qin Dynasty]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 123">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 123.</ref> A magician named Shao Ong who staged a [[seance]] for [[Emperor Wu of Han]] (r. 141–87 BC) may have used a zoetrope in his performance of 121 BC.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 122123">Needham (1962), Volume 4, Part 1, 122–123.</ref> The first clear evidence of the zoetrope used in China comes from the late Han Dynasty, when the artisan [[Ding Huan]] (丁緩) made a 'nine-storied hill-censer' around 180 AD.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 123"/> This featured figures of birds and other animals who moved when the lamp was lit; the convection of rising hot air currents caused the vanes at the top canopy of the lamp to spin, while the painted figures on paper attached to the side of the cylinder gave the impression that they were in movement.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 123"/> ==Modern (1949-present)== * '''[[Anti-ship ballistic missile]]''': The anti-ship ballistic missile is a [[ballistic missile#Quasi_ballistic_missiles|quasiballistic missile]] designed to hit a warship at sea. The Chinese military developed the "world's first anti-ship ballistic missile system". The [[United States Naval Institute]] in 2009 stated that such a missile would be large enough to destroy an aircraft carrier in one hit and that there was "currently ... no defense against it" if it worked as theorized.<ref name=USNI>[https://www.usni.org/forthemedia/ChineseKillWeapon.asp Report: Chinese Develop Special "Kill Weapon" to Destroy U.S. Aircraft Carriers], U. S. Naval Institute, March 31, 2009.</ref> * '''[[Artemisinin|Arteminisinin, anti-malarial treatment]]''': The [[Malaria|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 [[Science and technology in China|Chinese scientists in the People's Republic]] led by Tu Youyou (屠呦呦) and has been used to treat multi-drug resistant strains of ''[[Plasmodium falciparum]]'' malaria.<ref>Croft (1997), 5007–5008</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/health/13lasker.html|title=Lasker Honors for a Lifesaver|publisher=[[The New York Times]]|author=O'Connor, Anahad|date=12 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v17/n10/full/nm.2471.html|title=The discovery of artemisinin (qinghaosu) and gifts from Chinese medicine|author=Tu, Youyou|publisher=Nature Medicine|date=11 October 2011}}</ref> Artemisinin remains the most effective treatment for malaria today and has saved millions of lives and is yielded one of the greatest drug discoveries in modern medicine.<ref>{{cite news|title=The modest woman who beat malaria for China|url=http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228382.000-the-modest-woman-who-beat-malaria-for-china.html|publisher=New Scientist|author=McKenna, Phil|date=15 November 2011}}</ref> * '''[[Barefoot doctors]]''': China's system of Barefoot doctors was among the most important inspirations for the [[World Health Organisation]] conference in Alma Ata, Kazakhstan in 1978, and was hailed as a revolutionary breakthrough in international health ideology emphasizing [[primary health care]] and [[preventive medicine]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/10/08-031008/en/|title=Consensus during the Cold War: back to Alma-Ata|publisher=[[World Health Organization]]|author=Bulletin of the World Health Organization|date=October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/86/12/08-021208/en/index.html|title=China's village doctors take great strides|publisher=[[World Health Organization]]|author=Bulletin of the World Health Organization|date=December 2008}}</ref> * '''Car fueled by charcoal''':In 1931, [[Tang Zhongming]] created an [[internal combustion engine]] powered by [[charcoal]] and mounted it in an automobile. * '''Carbon [[aerogel]]''': In 2013, scientists at [[Zhejiang University]] broke the world record for the world's lightest substance, a carbon aerogel weighing in at 0.16 mg/cc. <ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/lightest-material-earth-carbon-aerogel_n_2980978.html</ref> * '''[[Electronic cigarette]]''':Hon Lik, a Chinese pharmacist, is widely credited with the invention of the first generation electronic cigarette. In 2003, he came up with the idea of using a piezoelectric ultrasound-emitting element to vaporise a pressurized jet of liquid containing nicotine diluted in a propylene glycol solution.This design produces a smoke-like vapour that can be inhaled and provides a vehicle for nicotine delivery into the bloodstream via the lungs. He also proposed using propylene glycol to dilute nicotine and placing it in a disposable plastic cartridge which serves as a liquid reservoir and mouthpiece. * '''Turning Urine Samples into Brain Cells''': This new technique of reprogramming ordinary cells present in urine into immature brain cells that can form multiple types of functioning neurons and glial cells was developed by Chinese researchers in China, and was published in the scientific journal ''Nature Methods'' in December 2012. Instead of using retrovirus, they used vectors which the researchers say is a breakthrough<ref>http://www.scientificamerican.com/video.cfm?id=scientists-use-urine-to-make-stem-c2012-12-27&p=1&ct=21&c=17</ref> This does not involve embryonic stem cells which come with serious drawbacks when transplanted, such as the risk of developing tumours. This technique makes the procedure of generating [[Induced pluripotent stem cell]]s far easier and non-invasive, as the cells can be obtained from a urine sample instead of a blood sample or biopsy. This research proves human excreta could be a powerful source of cells to study disease, bypassing some of the problems of using stem cells, and could be useful for research studying the cellular mechanisms of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and for testing the effects of new drugs that are being developed to treat them.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/neurophilosophy/2012/dec/09/turning-urine-into-brain-cells|title=Turning urine into brain cells|publisher=[[The Guardian]]|author=Costandi, Mo|date=9 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/brain-cells-made-human-urine-201443181.html|title=Scientists create brain cells from human urine|publisher=Yahoo News|author=Pfeiffer, Eric|date=10 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nature.com/news/brain-cells-made-from-urine-1.11985|title=Brain cells made from urine|publisher=Nature|author=Baker, Monya|date=9 December 2012}}</ref> * '''Cure of a solid cancer''': In 1956, [[Min Chiu Li]], who was educated and worked in the USA after leaving China because of the communist takeover, and [[Roy Hertz]], demonstrated that systemic chemotherapy could result in the cure of a widely metastatic malignant disease by his use of [[methotrexate]] to cure women of [[choriocarcinoma]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/8/9/2764|title=Min Chiu Li: A perspective in cancer therapy|publisher=Clinical Cancer Research|accessdate=17 June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0090825803001100|title=The cure of choriocarcinoma and its impact on the development of chemotherapy for cancer|publisher=sciencedirect.com|accessdate=17 June 2013}}</ref> * '''[[Magnetic levitation|Maglev wind power generators]]''': In 2006, a new type of [[wind power]] generator employing [[magnetic levitation]] (maglev) was showcased at the Wind Power Asia Exhibition in Beijing.<ref name="xinhua maglev">[[Xinhua News Agency]] (October 5, 2007). [http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/05/content_7016626.htm China to mass produce maglev wind power generators]. News.xinhua.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-10.</ref><ref name="people's daily maglev">[[People's Daily]]. (July 2, 2006). [http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200607/02/eng20060702_279235.html Chinese company develops high-efficient wind power generator]. English.peopledaily.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-10.</ref> Li Guokun was the chief scientific developer of the new maglev wind power generator, in collaboration with the Guangzhou Energy Research Institute under the [[Chinese Academy of Sciences]] and the Zhongke Hengyuan Energy Technology Company based in [[Guangzhou]].<ref name="xinhua maglev"/><ref name="people's daily maglev"/> Li Guokun states that traditional [[wind turbine]]s need high wind speeds to start, due to friction caused by their bearings.<ref name="xinhua maglev"/><ref name="people's daily maglev"/> The new frictionless maglev wind generator requires wind speeds of only 1.5 m per second (or 5&nbsp;km an hour) to start and are expected to cut operational costs for [[wind farms]] by half, i.e. overall cost of roughly 0.4 [[Chinese yuan]] per [[kilowatt hour]].<ref name="xinhua maglev"/><ref name="people's daily maglev"/> * '''Measurement of [[neutrino]] [[PMNS matrix|mixing angle]] [[PMNS matrix|''θ''₁₃]]''':The Daya Bay experiment in China reported the measurement of the parameter [[PMNS matrix|''θ''₁₃]] in March 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/life-and-physics/2012/mar/13/1|title=The neutrino matrix: why are there three of everything?|publisher=[[The Guardian]]|author=Butterworth, Jon|date=13 March 2012}}</ref><ref>http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=daya-bay-neutrinos</ref><ref>http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/03/physicists-in-china-nail-a-key.html</ref><ref>http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120308071054.htm</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46681972#.UNr8MXd5cYQ|title=Exotic antimatter caught in disappearing act |publisher=NBC News|author=Moskowitz, Clara}}</ref> An important contribution to particle physics, this was named one of the ''runners-up breakthrough of the year in 2012'' by ''Science''<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/dec/20/top-scientific-discoveries-higgs-boson|title=Discovery of Higgs Boson rated year's top scientific achievement by Science|publisher=[[The Guardian]]|author=Booth, Robert|date=20 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://video.sciencemag.org/SciOriginals/2047899665001/1|title=2012 Runner-Up: The Last Neutrino Mixing Angle|publisher=Science}}</ref> * '''Non-invasive prenatal diagnostic testing for Down's Syndrome''': Previously, women underwent invasive testing such as amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS). This new maternal blood test has the potential to reduce the number of women referred for invasive testing for Down's syndrome by 98 percent. Developed by Chinese researchers in Hong Kong in 2008, this is hailed as a breakthrough.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Health/prenatal-test-down-syndrome-cut-baby-deaths-amniocentesis/story?id=12594077|title=New Down Syndrome Test Could Cut Healthy Baby Deaths|publisher=[[ABC News]]|author=James, Susan Donaldson|date=12 January 2011}}</ref> * '''[[Insulin|Synthesis of crystalline bovine insulin]]''': In 1965, Chinese scientists synthesized bovine insulin, with the "same crystalline form and biological activities as natural insulin."<ref>{{Citation|author1link=Joseph Needham| last1=Needham | first1=Joseph| last2=Ho| first2=Ping-Yü|last3=Lu|first3=Gwei-Djen |year=1976 |title=Science and Civilisation in China: Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part III: Spagyrical Technology and Invention, Historical Survey, from Cinnabar Elixirs to Synthetic Insulin |publisher=Cambridge University Press|volume=5.3}}</ref><ref>Li, Jie Jack (2006). Laughing Gas, Viagra, and Lipitor: The Human Stories Behind the Drugs We Use. [[Oxford University Press]]. ISBN 978-0-19-530099-4, p. 181</ref> The project began in 1958, and is considered one of the "first proteins ever synthesized in vitro."<ref>Zhang, You Shang (2010). "The first protein ever synthesized in vitro—a personal reminiscence of the total synthesis of crystalline insulin." ''Science China Life Sciences''. '''53(1)''', p. 16-18.</ref> * '''Stem cell educator therapy''': Chinese and US researchers have produced remarkable results for this new treatment of obtaining stem cells from human cord blood to "re-educate" misbehaving immune cells. This result was published in the open-access journal ''BMC Medicine'' in January 2012, and offers hope for Type 1 diabetics and potentially may also be used to treat other auto-immune diseases if the approach lives up to early promise.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/treatment-offers-diabetes-sufferers-hope/story-e6frg8y6-1226241224479|title=Treatment offers diabetes sufferers hope|publisher=[[The Australian]]|author=Dayton, Leigh|date=January 11, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120109211827.htm|title=Stem Cell Therapy Reverses Diabetes: Stem Cells from Cord Blood Used to Re-Educate Diabetic's Own T Cells|publisher=[[Science Daily]]|date=January 10, 2012}}</ref> ==See also== {{colbegin}} * [[Chinese exploration]] * [[History of science in Classical Antiquity]] * [[History of science and technology in China]] * [[History of typography in East Asia]] * [[List of China-related topics]] * [[List of Chinese discoveries]] * [[Science and technology of the Han Dynasty]] * [[Technology of the Song Dynasty]] {{Colend}} {{clear}} ==Footnotes== {{reflist|3}} ==References== {{refbegin|2}} * Aczel, Amir D (2002). 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