The invention of paper in China briefly. Great inventions in China

Great inventions in China make our lives easier every day. China is home to some of the most significant inventions of human civilization, including 4 (four) great inventions of ancient China: paper, compass, gunpowder and printing.

What else did the Chinese invent?

Original technologies in the field of mechanics, hydraulics,
mathematics in application to the measurement of time,
inventions in metallurgy,
achievements in astronomy
technologies in agriculture,
mechanism design,
music theory,
art,
navigation
warfare.

The most ancient period of Chinese civilization is the era of the existence of the Shang state, a slave-owning country in the Yellow River valley. Already in this era, ideographic writing was discovered, which, through a long improvement, turned into hieroglyphic calligraphy, and a monthly calendar was also drawn up in basic terms.

Chinese culture has made a huge contribution to world culture. At the turn of the millennium, paper and ink for writing were invented. Also at about the same time, writing was created in China. The rapid cultural and technical growth in this country begins just with the advent of writing.

Today it is the property of global culture, as, indeed, any other national culture. Inviting millions of tourists every year, this country willingly shares its cultural attractions with them, talking about its rich past and offering a lot of travel opportunities.

The inventions of ancient China, which had a great influence on subsequent inventions around the world, are taken for granted in the modern world.

Optical fiber wires deliver a huge amount of information at the speed of light to anywhere in the world. You can get into your car and use your voice to tell your GPS system where to go. We are very comfortable in the 21st century.

Achievements and inventions have accelerated human progress so much that everything that follows it seems to have built on the foundation laid by the very first inventions.
Perhaps no other ancient culture has contributed so much to progress as the Chinese. Below are the greatest inventions of ancient China.

Invention of papermaking technology in China

It is still not entirely clear who was the first to come up with the idea of transferring thoughts to paper, transforming them into written speech. To this day, there are fluctuations between the Sumerians in Mesopotamia, the Harappans in what is now Afghanistan, and the Kemites in Egypt.

However, it is known that the first languages appeared about 5000 years ago. It can even be said that they appeared earlier, if we mean their artistic expression, such as cave paintings. As soon as languages began to develop, people began to write on everything that could survive for a relatively long period of time. Clay tablets, bamboo, papyrus, stone - these are just a small part of the surfaces on which ancient people wrote.

The situation changed dramatically after a Chinese named Cai Lun invented the prototype of modern paper. Which in the future conquered the whole world.

Artifacts such as ancient stuffing material and wrapping paper dating back to the 2nd century BC have been found. BC. The oldest piece of paper is a map from Fanmatan near Tianshui.

In the 3rd century paper was already widely used for writing instead of more expensive traditional materials. The paper production technology developed by Cai Lun was as follows:

a boiling mixture of hemp, mulberry bark, old fishing nets and fabrics turned into a pulp, after which it was ground to a paste-like homogeneous state and mixed with water. A sieve in a wooden reed frame was immersed in the mixture, the mass was scooped out with a sieve and shaken to make the liquid glass. In this case, a thin and even layer of fibrous mass was formed in the sieve.
This mass was then overturned onto smooth boards. Boards with castings were laid one on top of the other. They tied the pile and laid the load on top. Then the sheets hardened and strengthened under pressure were removed from the boards and dried. A paper sheet made using this technology turned out to be light, even, durable, less yellow and more convenient for writing.

Huiji paper banknote printed in 1160

Their origins go back to trade receipts during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), which were preferred by merchants and merchants in order not to deal with large amounts of copper coins in large commercial transactions.

During the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the central government used this system to monopolize salt production, and because of the shortage of copper: many mines closed, a huge outflow of copper money from the empire occurred to Japan, Southeast Asia, Western Xia and Liao. This prompted the Song Empire in the early 12th century to issue state paper money along with copper money in order to ease the situation of the state mint and reduce the cost of copper.

At the beginning of the 11th century, the government authorized sixteen private banks in Sichuan province to print banknotes, but in 1023 it confiscated these enterprises and created an agency to supervise the production of banknotes.. The first paper money had a limited circulation area and should not have been used outside it, but as soon as they received a guarantee of gold and silver from state reserves, the government initiated the issuance of nationwide banknotes. This happened between 1265 and 1274. The concurrent state of the Jin Dynasty also printed paper banknotes from at least 1214.

The invention of printing in China

The invention of printing and printing presses in China was only a matter of time. Since the production of paper grew every day. The emergence of printing in China had a long history.

Since ancient times, stamps and seals have been used in China, proving the identity of a state person or master. Even today, a personal seal will replace the signature of the owner in China, and seal carving is not only a craft, but also a refined art.

It is known that already in the Han era, wooden “seals of the gods” with spell texts carved on them in a mirror inverted image were common. Such seals were the immediate predecessors of the boards from which books began to be printed.

The first mention of text printing dates back to the 7th century. The oldest known examples of printed books date from the first half of the 8th century. The widespread distribution of printed books falls on the reign of the Sunn dynasty (X-XIII centuries). The absence of state censorship of books favored the development of the book market. By the 13th century, more than a hundred family publishing houses operated in the two provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian alone.

The oldest known example of woodblock printing is a Sanskrit sutra printed on hemp paper between approximately 650 and 670 BC. AD However, the Diamond Sutra, made during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), is believed to be the first standard size printed book. It consists of scrolls 5.18 m long.

Typography gave impetus to the development of typefaces and weaving.

Typesetting fonts

The statesman and polymath of China Shen Ko (1031-1095) first outlined the method of printing using typesetting in his work“Notes on the Stream of Dreams” in 1088, attributing this innovation to the unknown master Bi Sheng. Shen Kuo described the technological process for the production of fired clay letters, the process of printing and the manufacture of typefaces.

Bookbinding technique

The advent of printing in the ninth century significantly changed the technique of weaving. Towards the end of the Tang era, the book of rolled paper turned into a stack of sheets, reminiscent of a modern brochure. Subsequently, during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the sheets began to be folded in the center, making a “butterfly” type of dressing, which is why the book has already acquired a modern look.

The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) introduced the stiff paper spine, and later, during the Ming Dynasty, sheets were stitched with thread. Printing in China has made a great contribution to the preservation of a rich culture that has been formed over the centuries.

The invention of the compass in China

The invention of the first compass is credited to China, during the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), when the Chinese began to use magnetic iron ore, oriented north-south. True, it was not used for navigation, but for divination.

In the ancient text "Lunheng", written in the 1st century. AD, in chapter 52, the ancient compass is described as follows: “This instrument resembles a spoon, and if it is placed on a plate, then its handle will point south.”

A more advanced compass design was proposed by the already mentioned Chinese scientist Shen Ko. In his Notes on the Stream of Dreams (1088), he described in detail the magnetic declination, that is, the deviation from the direction to true north, and the device of a magnetic compass with a needle. The use of a compass for navigation was first proposed by Zhu Yu in his book “Table Talk in Ningzhou” (1119).

The magnet has been known to the Chinese since ancient times. Back in the III century. BC. they knew that a magnet attracted iron. In the XI century. the Chinese began to use not the magnet itself, but magnetized steel and iron.

At that time, a water compass was also used: a magnetized steel arrow in the shape of a fish 5-6 cm long was placed in a cup of water. The arrow could be magnetized by means of strong heating. The head of the fish always pointed south. Later, the fish underwent a number of changes and turned into a compass needle.

In navigation, the compass began to be used by the Chinese as early as the 11th century. At the beginning of the XII century. the Chinese ambassador, who arrived in Korea by sea, said that in conditions of poor visibility, the ship kept its course solely on a compass attached to the bow and stern, and the compass needles floated on the surface of the water.

The invention of gunpowder in China

Gunpowder is rightfully considered the most famous ancient Chinese invention.. Legend has it that gunpowder was created by accident when ancient Chinese alchemists were trying to create a mixture that would grant them immortality. Ironically, they managed to create something with which you can easily take a life from a person.

The first gunpowder was made from a mixture of potassium nitrate (nitrate), charcoal and sulfur. It was first described in 1044 in a book about the most important military techniques compiled by Zeng Goliang. The book says that the discovery of gunpowder happened a little earlier, and Zeng described three different types of gunpowder that the Chinese used in flares and fireworks. Much later, gunpowder began to be used for military purposes.

Gunpowder barrel weapons, according to Chinese chronicles, were first used in battles in 1132. It was a long bamboo tube where gunpowder was placed and then set on fire. This “flamethrower” inflicted severe burns on the enemy.

A century later in 1259, for the first time, a gun was invented that shoots bullets - a thick bamboo tube, in which a charge of gunpowder and a bullet was placed. Later, at the turn of the XIII - XIV centuries. in the Celestial Empire, metal cannons loaded with stone cannonballs spread.

The invention of gunpowder sparked a number of unique inventions such as burning spear, land mines, sea mines, squeakers, exploding cannonballs, multi-stage rockets and aerodynamically winged rockets.

In addition to military affairs, gunpowder was actively used in everyday life. So, gunpowder was considered a good disinfectant in the treatment of ulcers and wounds, during epidemics, and it was also used to bait harmful insects.

fireworks

However, perhaps the most “bright” invention in China, which appeared due to the creation of gunpowder, are fireworks.. In the Celestial Empire, they had a special meaning. According to ancient beliefs, evil spirits are very afraid of bright light and loud sound. Therefore, since ancient times, on the Chinese New Year, there was a tradition in the yards to burn bonfires from bamboo, which hissed in the fire and burst with a crash. And the invention of powder charges, of course, frightened the "evil spirits" in earnest - after all, in terms of the power of sound and light, they significantly exceeded the old method.

Later, Chinese craftsmen began to create colorful fireworks by adding various substances to gunpowder. Today, fireworks have become an indispensable attribute of the celebration of the New Year in almost all countries of the world. Some believe that the inventor of gunpowder or the forerunner of the invention was Wei Boyang in the 2nd century BC.

What other inventions were made by the Chinese

In 403 - 221 BC the Chinese had the most advanced technologies in metallurgy, including blast furnaces and cupola furnaces, and the bloomery and blacksmith-pudling process were known during the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD). Using a navigational compass and using the one known from the 1st century. a helm with a sternpost, Chinese sailors achieved great success in steering a ship on the high seas, and in the 11th century. they sailed to East Africa and Egypt.

As for the water clock, the Chinese have used the escapement mechanism since the 8th century, and the chain drive since the 11th century. They also created large mechanical puppet theaters powered by a water wheel, a spoked wheel, and a vending machine driven by a spoked wheel.

The simultaneously existing Peiligang and Pengtoushan cultures are the oldest Neolithic cultures of China, they originated around 7000 BC. Neolithic inventions of prehistoric China include sickle-shaped and rectangular stone knives, stone hoes and shovels, millet, rice and soybean cultivation, sericulture, construction of zembit structures, houses plastered with lime, potter's wheel making, pottery making with cord and basket designs, the creation of a ceramic vessel on three legs (tripod), the creation of a ceramic steamer, and the creation of ceremonial vessels for divination.

Seismoscope - invented in China

In the late Han era, the imperial astronomer Zhang Heng (78-139) invented the world's first seismoscope, who noted weak earthquakes at large distances. This device has not survived to this day. Its design can be judged from the incomplete description in Hou Hanshu. Although some details of this device are still not known, the general principle is quite clear.

The seismoscope was cast in bronze and looked like a wine vessel with a domed lid. Its diameter was 8 chi (1.9 m). Along the circumference of this vessel were placed the figures of eight dragons or only the heads of dragons, oriented in eight directions of space: four cardinal points and intermediate directions.

Dragon heads had movable lower jaws. In the mouth of each dragon was a bronze ball. Next to the vessel under the heads of the dragons were placed eight bronze toads with wide open mouths. The inside of the vessel probably contained an inverted pendulum, of the kind found in modern seismographs. This pendulum was connected by a system of levers to the movable lower jaws of the dragon's heads.

During an earthquake, the pendulum began to move, the mouth of the dragon, located on the side of the epicenter of the earthquake, opened, the ball fell into the mouth of the toad, producing a loud noise that served as a signal to the observer. As soon as one ball fell out, a mechanism worked inside to prevent other balls from falling out during subsequent shocks.

The story of checking the seismoscope

Zhang Heng's seismoscope was sensitive even to register small shocks passing at a distance of hundreds of li (0.5 km.). The effectiveness of this device was demonstrated shortly after its manufacture. When the ball first fell out of the dragon's mouth, no one at court believed that this meant an earthquake, since the tremors were not felt at that moment.

But a few days later, a messenger arrived with news of an earthquake in the city of Longxi, which was located northwest of the capital at a distance of more than 600 km. Since then it has been the duty of the officials of the astronomical department to record the directions of origin of earthquakes. Later, similar instruments were repeatedly built in China. After 3 centuries, the mathematician Xintu Fang described a similar instrument and, possibly, made it. Ling Xiaogong made a seismoscope between 581 and 604.

Tea has been known in China since ancient times.. In sources dating back to the 1st millennium BC. there are references to a healing infusion obtained from the leaves of the tea bush. The first book about tea, "Classical Tea", written by the poet Lu Yu, who lived during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), talks about the various methods of growing and preparing tea, the art of drinking tea, from where the tea ceremony originated. Tea became a common drink in China already in the 6th century BC.

Legend of Emperor Shen Non.

According to another legend, Emperor Shen Non was the first to accidentally taste tea. Leaves from a nearby wild camellia fell into the boiling water. The aroma that emanated from the drink was so seductive that the emperor could not resist and took a sip. He was so impressed with the taste that he made tea the national drink.

Initially, Chinese teas were only green.. Black tea appeared much later, but here the Chinese were the pioneers. And with the development of new fermentation technologies, white, and blue-green, and yellow, and red teas arose.

Chinese silk

China is the birthplace of silk. Even the Greek name for China - Seres, from which the names of China in most European languages \u200b\u200bderived, goes back to the Chinese word Si - silk.

Weaving and embroidery have always been considered an exclusively female occupation in China; absolutely all girls, even from the highest class, were taught this craft. The secret of silk production has been known to the Chinese since ancient times. According to legend, Chinese women were taught to breed silkworms, process silk and weave from silk threads by Xi Ling, the wife of the first emperor Huang Di, who reigned, according to legend, more than 2500 BC.

Chinese porcelain

Chinese porcelain known all over the world and highly valued for its extraordinary quality and beauty, the very word "porcelain" in Persian means "king". Europe in the thirteenth century. it was considered a great treasure, samples of Chinese ceramic art were kept in the treasuries of the most influential persons, inserted by jewelers in a gold frame. Many myths are associated with it, for example, in India and Iran it was believed that Chinese porcelain has magical properties and changes color if poison is mixed into food.

Suspension bridges - an invention of ancient China

Since ancient times, the Chinese have paid great attention to the construction of bridges. Initially, they were built only from wood and bamboo. The first stone bridges in China date back to the Shang-Yin era. They were built from blocks laid on overpasses, the distance between which did not exceed 6 m. This method of construction was also used in subsequent times, having undergone significant development. So, for example, during the Song Dynasty, unique giant bridges with large spans were built, the size of which reached 21 m. Stone blocks up to 200 tons in weight were used.

Suspension bridges were invented in China, and the links of their chains were made of forged steel instead of woven bamboo. Cast iron was called "raw iron", steel was called "great iron", and malleable steel was called "ripened iron". The Chinese were well aware that iron loses some important component during “ripening”, and they described this process as “loss of life-giving juices”. However, not knowing the chemistry, they could not determine that it was carbon.

In the III century. BC. suspension bridges have gained popularity. They were built mainly in the southwest, where there are many gorges. The most famous Chinese suspension bridge is the Anlan Bridge in Guanxiang. It is believed that it was built in the III century. BC. engineer Li Bing. The bridge has a total length of 320 m, a width of about 3 m and is composed of eight spans.

Other inventions of China

Archaeological finds of trigger mechanisms suggest that crossbow weapons appeared in China around the 5th century BC. BC. The found archaeological materials are made of bronze devices of a certain weapon throwing arrows. In the famous dictionary "Shi Ming" (Interpretation of names), created by Lu Xi during the Han dynasty in the 2nd century. BC, it is mentioned that the term "ji" is used in relation to this type of weapon resembling a crossbow.

Throughout the long history of horsemanship, people have done without footholds. Ancient peoples - Persians, Medes. Romans, Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks - stirrups were not known. Approximately in the III century. The Chinese managed to find a way out, By that time they were already quite skilled metallurgists and began to cast stirrups from bronze and iron.

The decimal system, fundamental to all modern science, first arose in China. You can find evidence confirming its use, starting from the XIV century. BC, during the reign of the Shang dynasty. An example of the use of the decimal system in ancient China is an inscription dated to the 13th century. BC, in which 547 days are indicated as "five hundred plus four tens plus seven days." Since ancient times, the positional number system was understood literally: the Chinese really put counting sticks in the boxes allotted to them.

Ancient China made an invaluable contribution to the development of science and technology. All the richness of their culture is amazing, and it is impossible to overestimate its significance for world culture. Many discoveries made by Europeans were much later, and technologies, long kept secret, allowed China to flourish and develop for many centuries independently of other countries. All inventions made in China directly influence subsequent inventions in the world.

Even before our era, Chinese scientists, mechanics and just random lucky people came up with simple but ingenious things. Without these things it is difficult to imagine the life of a modern person.

This paper was made for China in the 2nd century BC.

PAPER

It is difficult to imagine life without school notebooks, documents or a passport. The paper from which all this is made was invented in China at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. According to the Chinese chronicles of the Eastern Han Dynasty, paper was invented by the court eunuch of the Han Dynasty - Cai Lun in 105 AD. .d. The most ancient Chinese texts or “jiaguwen” were found on tortoise shells, which date back to the 2nd millennium BC. e. (Shan Dynasty).

In the 3rd century, paper was already widely used for writing instead of more expensive traditional materials. The Chinese Cai Lun made it from mulberry bark. No wonder the ancient piece of paper has survived to this day! It is so durable that it looks more like a light bulletproof vest. The secret of making paper remained a Chinese monopoly for the next 800 years.

The illustration given in the book of the scholar Wang Zhen (1313) shows typesetting characters arranged in a special order in the sectors of a round table.

TYPOGRAPHY

The advent of paper, in turn, led to the advent of printing. The oldest known example of woodblock printing is a Sanskrit sutra printed on hemp paper between approximately 650 and 670 CE. However, the Diamond Sutra made during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) is believed to be the first printed book with a standard size. It consists of 5.18 m long scrolls. According to Joseph Needham, a researcher of Chinese traditional culture, the printing methods used in the calligraphy of the Diamond Sutra are far superior in perfection and sophistication to the miniature sutra printed earlier.

Printing in China has made a great contribution to the preservation of a rich culture that has been formed over the centuries.

The earliest artistic depiction of gunpowder weapons, the era of the five dynasties and ten kingdoms (907-960 AD).

POWDER

Gunpowder is believed to have been developed in China in the 10th century. At first, it was used as a filling in incendiary shells, and later explosive powder shells were invented. Gunpowder barrel weapons, according to Chinese chronicles, were first used in battles in 1132. It was a long bamboo tube where gunpowder was placed and then set on fire. This "flamethrower" inflicted severe burns on the enemy. A century later, in 1259, a bullet-shooting gun was invented for the first time - a thick bamboo tube into which a charge of gunpowder and a bullet was placed. Later, at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, metal cannons loaded with stone cannonballs spread in the Celestial Empire.

However, perhaps the most "bright" invention that appeared due to the creation of gunpowder are fireworks. In the Celestial Empire, they had a special meaning. According to ancient beliefs, evil spirits are very afraid of bright light and loud sound. Therefore, since ancient times, on the Chinese New Year, there was a tradition in the yards to burn bonfires from bamboo, which hissed in the fire and burst with a crash. And the invention of powder charges, of course, frightened the "evil spirits" in earnest - after all, in terms of the power of sound and light, they significantly exceeded the old method. Later, Chinese craftsmen began to create colorful fireworks by adding various substances to gunpowder.

COMPASS

The first prototype of the compass is believed to have appeared during the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), when the Chinese began to use magnetic iron ore, oriented north-south. True, it was not used for navigation, but for divination. In the ancient text "Lunheng", written in the 1st century AD, in chapter 52, the ancient compass is described as follows: "This instrument resembles a spoon, and if it is placed on a plate, its handle will point south." Description of the magnetic compass to determine cardinal directions was first described in the Chinese manuscript "Wujing Zongyao" in 1044. A more advanced compass design was proposed by the Chinese scientist Shen Ko. In his Notes on the Stream of Dreams (1088), he described in detail the magnetic declination, that is, the deviation from the direction to true north, and the device of a magnetic compass with a needle. The use of a compass for navigation was first proposed by Zhu Yu in the book Table Talk in Ningzhou (1119).

ICE CREAM

Is there a person today who does not eat it? Unless there are medical contraindications. Meanwhile, ice cream was also invented in China. At first, his recipe was this: milk plus snow. Everything ingenious is simple! And Marco Polo brought the idea of ice cream to Europe along with another miracle

ancient noodles

NOODLES

Here is the second miracle brought to us by a famous traveler from a mysterious new country in 1292. Italian spaghetti, pasta, noodles in your bowl of chicken soup - all this exists because once in China they invented a dish that could be stored for a long time: inexpensive and tasty. The oldest preserved noodles are 4000 years old. She survived to this day by accident, because the earthenware was tightly covered with earth. In China itself, noodles are a symbol of longevity and strength, which is why they are traditionally served at weddings and for the new year.

Emperor Sui Yangdi

DOOR-AUTOMATIC When the emperor Sui Yang-di (7th century) entered one of the five rooms of his luxurious library (there were fourteen in all), the doors leaned back, the curtains covering the doors moved apart, and the figurines of saints in front of the door parted. It looked like magic, but there was no mysticism at all. The emperor used one of the most amazing (given that we are talking about ancient centuries) inventions of the Chinese - automatic doors.

ZOOTROP

- this primitive predecessor of cinema, which the Chinese called the "magic lantern" - existed among the items in the treasury of Qin Shi Huang (ruled 221-210 BC) from the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC). The soothsayer Shao Ong, who arranged séances for the emperor Wu-di (ruled 141 - 87 BC), possibly used the zootrope in his actions in 121 BC. The first reliable evidence of the use of the zootrope in China dates back to the end of the Han dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), when about 180 AD. e. artisan Ding Huan made a "nine-story censer, piled up nine stories high." These were bird-like and animal-like figures that began to move when the lamp was lit. The convection of the updraft of warm air caused the blades at the top of the lamp to rotate, and the painted paper figures attached to the cylinder gave the impression that they were moving. Toys of this type were made in China in later eras.

ZERO

... without which we cannot imagine mathematics, numbers and the decimal number system were also invented by Chinese mathematicians. It is known that the Chinese used the decimal number system for 2300 years before it was introduced in Europe. That is, in the XIV century BC.

TOILET PAPER

... an ordinary object in our everyday life. But in China, for a long time after its invention, only the imperial family was allowed to use toilet paper. Toilet paper was first mentioned in historical sources in 589. And already in the middle of the 19th century, in one province of Zhenjiang, 10 million packs of toilet paper were produced per year.

silkworm cocoons

SILK

... came up with the Chinese. But a beautiful story about how the wife of Emperor Huang Di drank tea, and a silkworm cocoon fell into her cup is just a legend. According to this legend, in the water the cocoon blossomed into thin threads and a smart woman figured out how to apply it. But in fact, the cocoon is not so easily divided into silk threads. And silk was invented long before Huang Di ruled. In 3630 B.C. it already existed.

SUNGLASSES

... also invented in China. Only now you will be surprised even more. The ancient Chinese did not use tinted glasses to protect themselves from the sun. They were worn by judges during the hearing of the case in order to make it easier for them to hide their emotions from what they heard.

Apparently, the fork is a primitive Chinese sticks.))

FORK

You thought in China they only eat with chopsticks? But no! Even in the burials of 2400, archaeologists discovered bone forks. So they were invented in China. And chopsticks began to be used there only in the Middle Ages. The Chinese believe that they are much more comfortable if you get used to them.

Chinese toothbrush

TOOTHBRUSH

The Egyptians were the first to brush their teeth. But they did it with the help of a twig, having previously chewed and disheveled it. But the toothbrush in its almost modern form appeared in China. The cleaning surface in it was natural bristles taken from the spine of a boar, very hard. She was attached to a bamboo handle and brushed her teeth without any additional means. This invention was made in 1498 and, as it turned out, was quite dangerous. Archaeologists did not immediately guess that the grooves on the teeth of the Chinese of that time were the result of the use of a toothbrush.

Alcohol

The very first producers of alcohol in Chinese legends are Yui Di and Du Kang from the Xia dynasty (about 2000 BC - 1600 BC). Issledovaniya pokazyvayut chto obychnoe pivo with soderzhaniem alkogolya from 4% to 5% in shiroko ypotreblyalos drevnem Kitae and dazhe ypominalos in zapisyah orakyla in kachestve podnosheniya for dyhov vo vremya zhertvoprinosheny in dinastii Shan (1600 AD do - 1046 g. BC). After some time, the Chinese discovered that adding more boiled grain to the water during fermentation, increases the alcohol content in the drink, so more alcohol began to appear. About 1000 BC The Chinese created an alcoholic drink that was stronger than 11%. The powerful influence on a person of this alcoholic drink was mentioned in poetry throughout the Zhuoy dynasty (1050 BC-256 BC). Meanwhile, not a single beer in the West reached 11% until the 12th century, until the first distilled alcohol was created in Italy.

The invention of ethanol and isopropyl alcohol, scientists refer to the ninth millennium. This is evidenced by recent archaeological excavations in the province of Henan, where traces of alcohol were found on fragments of pottery. The results obtained finally put an end to the dispute, who, after all, invented alcohol, the Chinese or the Arabs. This invention was prompted by the improvement of vinegar and soy sauce, using the method of fermentation and distillation. So as a result of experiments, alcohol was born.

Iron and steel smelting

Archaeologists managed to prove that iron, made from molten cast iron, was developed in ancient China at the beginning of the 5th century. BC during the reign of the Zhu dynasty (1050 BC - 256 BC). From the Shang Dynasty (1600 B.C.-1046 B.C.) to the Eastern Zhu Dynasty (1050 B.C.-256 B.C.), China entered its heyday steel smelting. In the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD), private enterprises for the production of iron were abolished and monopolized by the state. The first known metallurgist in ancient China is Qiu Hyiwen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-557 AD), who invented the process of using wrought iron and cast iron for manufacturing.

SEISMOGRAPH

One of the most important inventions of ancient China was the first seismograph invented by the imperial astronomer Zhang Heng. The first Seismograph was a vessel with nine dragons depicted on it. Frog figurines with open mouths were made under each dragon. A pendulum hung inside the vessel, which, in the event of an earthquake, would begin to move and inform everyone about the trouble. Thanks to a complex mechanism, it could even show the epicenter of an earthquake.

Restaurant menu

In 960-1279. urban shopkeepers of the merchant middle class often did not have time to eat at home. So they ventured to eat in various public places such as temples, taverns, tea houses, food stalls and restaurants. These latter built businesses in the nearby brothels, houses of singing girls and drama theatres. Foreign travelers and Chinese who migrated to cities from regions with different styles of cooking also dined at the restaurants. To meet the demand for a variety of tastes, menus have been created in city restaurants.

Kite
The laws of aerodynamics that allow aircraft to take off were already known to some extent to the Chinese. In the fourth century BC, two lovers of philosophy, Gongshu Ban and Mo Di, built a snake that looked like a bird. It seemed to many that it was just a toy, but for mankind it was an advance in the field of science. The first planes and aircraft are due to the experience that the Chinese gave us by flying a kite into the sky.

Gateways and Grand Canal of China

A shipping canal in China, one of the oldest existing hydraulic structures in the world. It was built two thousand years - from the VI century. BC e. until the 13th century n. e. The gateway was first invented in the 10th century. engineer Qiao Weiyu during the construction of the Grand Canal of China.

hang glider
This modern entertainment device was invented in ancient China. Experimenting with the size of a kite, an apparatus was created capable of lifting and holding a person in the sky.

PORCELAIN
Porcelain is used in everyday life and is considered the best material for making dishes. Porcelain tableware has a beautiful, glossy surface that perfectly complements the design of any kitchen and transforms any dinner. Porcelain has been known since 620 in China.

Europeans experimentally obtained porcelain only in 1702. In Italy, France and England, they have been trying to make porcelain for two centuries.

mustard weapon

An amazing weapon of Ancient China, a prototype of modern chemical, is lime-mustard smoke. The first mention of this weapon dates back to the 4th century BC. To repel an enemy attack or suppress an uprising, the Chinese mixed burnt mustard with other chemicals, placed the mixture in blower bellows, and sprayed it on the enemy with their help. Often a similar method was used in the case of undermining a besieged fortress: usually the opponents dug tunnels towards the attackers, and they dispersed poisonous gas underground.

WHEELBARROW

The Chinese are great builders, the invention of the wheelbarrow helped them in this. A wheelbarrow is an object that facilitates manual transportation of goods, and also allows a person to lift and carry more weight. Invented it in the second century, a general named Yugo Liang. He came up with a basket on one wheel, later his design was supplemented with handles. Initially, the function of the wheelbarrow was defensive and was used in military operations. For centuries, the Chinese kept their invention a secret.

Chinese tea
Every person on this planet has tasted tea at least once, and many of us drink it every day. Tea has been known in China since the first millennium. There are references to a healing infusion made from tea tree leaves. The invention of the Chinese is a method of brewing and obtaining a tea drink.

UMBRELLA
The birthplace of the folding umbrella, according to some sources, is also located in China. The existence of the umbrella has been known since the 11th century. In China, the umbrella was used to protect high-ranking dignitaries from the sun. So the emperor and his entourage took him on his walks, so the umbrella was a symbol of wealth and luxury.

Invention of the mechanical clock

Su Song water clock

The mechanical watch is an invention that we still use today. According to research, the first mechanical clock prototype was invented by Yi Xing, a Buddhist monk and mathematician of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). At first, the clock was not entirely mechanical and was essentially half water. Water dripped steadily onto the wheel, which made a complete revolution every 24 hours. Later, the clock was modified, they added a system of bronze and iron hooks, pins, locks and rods. Hundreds of years later, Si Song, an astronomer and mechanic of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), created more complex clocks, making them the ancestor of modern clocks.

Invented in China deep hole drilling method. It happened in the first century BC. The invented method made it possible to drill holes in the ground, the depth of which reached one and a half thousand meters. The drilling rigs in use today operate on a principle similar to that of the ancient Chinese. But in those distant times, the towers for fixing the tool reached a height of 60 meters. Workers in the middle of the required area to guide the tool laid stones with holes. Today, guide tubes are used for this purpose.

The oldest surviving banknote

PAPER MONEY

Also made in China! You have all heard about the Great Silk Road, along which trade caravans traveled in innumerable numbers. At first, merchants began to issue trade receipts to each other, because in order to conclude wholesale trade transactions, it was necessary to carry an unrealistically large amount of copper money with them. And then the state got into a difficult situation: a shortage of copper began to be observed, many mines were exhausted and closed. To ease the burden on the mint and fight the shortage, they turned to the successful experience of merchants. 16 banks were authorized to print paper money. Later, banks were banned from doing this and a single state body was created, and money began to be provided with silver and gold at the state level.

Mobile mechanical theater

The inventors of the field mill, Xie Fei and Wei Mengbian of the late Zhao era (319-351 AD), also invented a complex mechanical wagon-mounted theater. His figures were driven by a driving force (that is, they moved when the cart moved forward). From 335 to 345 n. e. these two inventors worked in court under Emperor Shi Hu (334-349), who belonged to the Jie ethnic group. The vehicle they made had four wheels, was 6 meters long and about 3 meters wide. On it stood a large golden Buddha statue and next to it was a Taoist statue that was constantly rubbing its front with a mechanical hand. The Buddha was also surrounded by ten wooden Taoists who circled around him, periodically bowing to him, saluting him and throwing incense into the censer. Above the Buddha were nine cranes in the form of dragon heads, through which water gushed. As in the field mill and the "threshing cart" of these two inventors, when the carriage stopped, all the moving parts of mechanical statues and gushing cranes stopped

Jade Robe

The body decayed, but the robes survived. They were made from thousands of pieces of cut and polished jade. Each piece was connected to neighboring gold wire. Jade, or jadeite according to the beliefs of the ancient Chinese, had magical properties. The use of objects made of this material as grave goods has been known since the Neolithic.

Tray covered in red varnish ohm and decorated with engraved gold foil, XII - beginning of the XIII century

Wooden action figures from the tomb of the guards of the Tang Dynasty (618-907)

An amazing invention belongs to a mechanic named Huan Gun, who lived in the 7th century. He designed seven boats (possibly equipped with a paddle wheel), which moved along a given route, laid along the stone channels of the imperial garden. The boats stopped near the emperor's guests and served them by pouring wine. The most surprising thing was that mechanical figurines of animals and people acted as butler and wine pourer. They moved at the same time: they filled the bowl, passed it to the guest and took away the empty one. Then the boat sailed to other guests.

ARBA, drawn by a buffalo, 581-618 AD

window crank handle the Chinese have been using for at least 2000 years

CHROMIUM- application: Chromium was first used in China no later than 210 BC. e. This is the date when the Terracotta Army was buried near the modern city of Xi'an. Archaeologists have found that the 2,000 year old bronze arrowheads from the Terracotta Army's crossbows showed no signs of corrosion, for the simple reason that the Chinese chrome plated them. As is known, chromium was not used anywhere until the experiments of Louis Vauquelin (1763-1829) in 1797-1798.

Earliest proven use salt took place at Yuncheng Lake, in 6000 B.C.

Most first matches for making fire appeared in China in 577 AD. e. They were invented by the court ladies of the state of Northern Qi.

The craftsmen of the Celestial Empire gave our civilization the following usefulness: chinese horoscope, ink, drum, bell, crossbow, erhu violin, diet, therapeutic fasting, acupuncture, gong, wushu martial arts, qigong health exercises, steamer, chopsticks, horse harness, tofu soy cheese, fan, varnish, gas cylinder, iron plow, rowing oars, board game Go, playing cards, mahjong, whistle and much more.

And where did the Chinese get gunpowder? Gunpowder is a Chinese invention. But if in Europe this Chinese invention was used for war as soon as they learned about it, then in their homeland gunpowder served peaceful entertainment for many centuries. "Fire trees" and "silver flowers" of fireworks delighted the eyes of the participants in both palace celebrations and folk festivals.

There are no chronicles about the inventor of gunpowder. But the picture of the invention of the first explosive was recreated by the founder of Russian science, Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov. According to some reports, gunpowder was used in rockets and fireworks as early as the 7th century. BC e.

The Chinese have always been a peace-loving people, they preferred the lights of fireworks to the glow of fires. But the wealth of China has long haunted the rulers and nobility of neighboring nomadic peoples. One invasion followed another, having got rid of some conquerors, the Chinese people found themselves face to face with others, even more formidable. To this it must be added that the Chinese emperors and feudal lords were by no means peaceful. They loved to fight and rob, like all other kings and feudal lords.

Sooner or later, the Chinese had to come up with the idea of using gunpowder for military purposes. To the credit of the Chinese, for the first time they used gunpowder not to attack other peoples, but to protect their native land. According to legend, this was done by the commander Kung Ming, who lived in the 3rd century BC. n. e.

This commander more than once had to fight at the head of his troops against the nomads who invaded China. The forces were unequal, the cavalry hordes of enemies instilled fear in the Chinese warriors.

Kung Ming was one of those commanders who strive to win not by numbers, but by skill. In addition, he was not only a skilled commander, but also a wonderful military man and engineer. He managed to say a new word in military technology.

Let's imagine how it happened. On the plain stands a Chinese city, one of those cities that the nomads have not yet plundered. In order to reach this plain, the enemies of China must pass between two hills. Several Chinese warriors lurked near the aisle. Among them is Kung Ming. What is an ambush? Does not look like it. After all, there are very few Chinese, they do not have any bows or arrows with them.

The nomad cavalry is rapidly approaching the passage. There is nothing to be afraid of: their patrols had long passed the passage and did not meet Chinese troops anywhere. On the outskirts of the passage, the nomads have to slow down their frantic gallop, otherwise you can pass each other. Thousands of warriors were concentrated in a small space. Then Kong Ming issued an order in a low voice. Several Chinese warriors with lit fuses crouched to the ground.

If at that moment clouds of arrows suddenly fell upon the nomads, they would not be at a loss. If, out of nowhere, an avalanche of Chinese cavalry appeared, they would not flinch. But something completely different happened. The nomads who survived this day spoke about it in their native steppes with horror until the end of their lives. None of them doubted that the Chinese sorcerers called on the spirits of the underworld to help them. They all heard a thunder of incredible force, not from a cloudless sky, but from under the ground. It was like an earthquake, too. During an earthquake, the soil shakes, but does not fly up. And then the soil rose into the air, and with it hundreds of armed warriors with their mines took off. The survivors turned back and rushed headlong until their horses began to fall from fatigue.

Kung Ming came out of hiding with his warriors. The reality exceeded his expectations. After all, the enemy was defeated, and the Chinese did not suffer any losses. What was Kung Ming's secret? On the way of the enemy cavalry, he arranged the first minefield in history. In the place where the enemy was sure to pass, the trusted warriors of the Chinese commander buried the “earth thunder”. So called hollow balls filled with gunpowder and pieces of metal. Bamboo pipes, also buried in the ground, led to the mines. And through the tubes ropes covered with sulfur were passed. They were set on fire by order of Kung Ming.

The first minefield in history was at the same time the first military use of gunpowder in history. By the way, what was this gunpowder made of? We do not know this for sure, but in one Chinese book of the 11th century. the following recipe is given: sulfur, saltpeter, charcoal, resin, dry varnish, tung oil, wax. The use in war of a substance very similar in composition to black powder is also described in the famous historical novel Lo Guan-zhong "Three Kingdoms". Lo Kuan-chung lived in the 14th century, but his novel is dedicated to the events of the 3rd century, that is, the century when, according to legend, Kung Ming used gunpowder. While working on his work, Lo Kuan-zhong widely used not only folk tales, but also chronicles of the historian Chen Shou. This lends great credibility to his story.

Gradually, the combat use of gunpowder expanded. A "devouring fire" appeared. They were paper balls coated with resin and wax. They were filled with gunpowder, resin and bullets. During sieges and naval battles, such paper grenades with a lit fuse were thrown at the enemy. The Chinese came up with other types of explosive grenades and bombs, such as bamboo tubes, which, like paper balls, were filled with gunpowder and bullets.
Already around 1000, bombs were fired in China from catapults. Catapults were called throwing weapons, which were manually operated using complex devices. Such tools were used in ancient times, but stones were used as projectiles.

In the 13th century, when China was invaded by the Mongols, the Chinese heroically defended themselves against the formidable enemy for several decades. Gunpowder also participated in the defense of his native country.

More than a hundred years ago, an outstanding Russian Sinologist Iakinf Bichurin translated "The History of the First Four Khans from the House of Chiigisov". This story was compiled by order of the Mongol conquerors of China. The book translated by Bichurin directly says that the only thing that the world conquerors, the Mongols, were afraid of was Chinese gunpowder. When defending their cities and attacking enemy camps, the Chinese often used powder rockets. These rockets were then called "fiery spears". Rockets, as they say in the "History of the first four khans from the house of Chiigisov", were launched "through the ignition of gunpowder." The fiery spears of the Chinese burned everything around them for 10 steps in a circle.

One day, the Chinese, armed with rockets, suddenly burst into the camp of the Mongol commander Temodai. Flight in the Mongol army was not only considered an indelible shame, it was punishable by death. But the warriors of Temodai, hardened in battles, seemed to have forgotten about all this. Under the fire of rockets, they rushed to run. Many of those spared by the fire were killed by the water. The Chinese drove the fugitives into the river, where 3,500 people drowned.

During the siege of the Chinese city of Luoyang, the Mongols themselves used gunpowder, they learned this art from the Chinese. Throwing weapons of the Mongols - "fiery ballistas" - threw iron pots filled with gunpowder into the besieged city. The sound of these pots breaking was like thunder, fiery sparks pierced even iron armor. Where cast-iron pots fell, all living things were destroyed.

Despite this, the Mongols were forced to lift the siege of Luoyang. The Chinese struck the besiegers with the same cast-iron pots that descended from the walls on iron chains. Chinese rockets caused even more damage to the Mongols.
In Western Europe, gunpowder and artillery, like many other inventions of the Chinese, became known through the Arabs. This happened at the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th centuries, when the Muslims began to use artillery in their wars against the Spaniards. The Arabs knew perfectly well to whom the world owes the invention of gunpowder. They called the saltpeter "Chinese snow" or "Chinese salt" and the rocket "Chinese arrow."
Gunpowder was used not only for predatory wars, not only for the extermination and oppression of weak peoples. In the West, the advent of gunpowder made possible what the most advanced peoples of the East, including the Chinese, could not achieve for so long. Gunpowder made it easier for the peoples of the West to overthrow the yoke of feudalism. To do this, it was necessary first of all to put an end to the self-will and excesses of the feudal lords. The royal power, which relied on the townspeople, these bearers of the new and advanced, took up the curbing of the feudal lords.

The victory of the cities and the rising monarchy over the feudal nobility did not mean the destruction of feudalism. But the thunder of the cannons that hit the knights' castles already foreshadowed the roar of those guns that, several centuries later, crushed the royal palaces. The revolution about which Engels wrote was a truly great revolution. Its significance went far beyond Western Europe. He accelerated the pace of history throughout the world.
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The invention of gunpowder and the first firearms

Gunpowder is the only explosive in over 500 years of human history. No scientist in the world can name the exact date of its creation. However, there are currently several main versions of the origin of gunpowder and the time it was received by people:

before 1500 BC in India. Around the first century BC, the secret of its manufacture came to China and Arabia, and in the sixth century AD - to Byzantium;
in 300-200 BC in China. In the first century BC, the secret of its manufacture came to India and Arabia, and in the sixth century AD - to Byzantium;
in 100-300 AD in India and China. In the 6th-8th centuries, the secret of its manufacture came to Byzantium, and after the start of the Mongol conquests in the 12th-13th centuries, to Arabia and Europe.

It is worth noting that the combustible properties of two of the three components of gunpowder - sulfur and charcoal - were known to ancient people who used the results of natural disasters (forest fires, volcanic eruptions, etc.) in their lives. However, only the preparation and purification of an easily decomposing oxidant - potassium nitrate - made it possible to carry out the combustion process without air access. Thus, a substance was obtained, the properties of which had no analogues in the world around people, and which later became the basis of rocket and firearms.
The date of acquaintance of people with the technology of obtaining saltpeter is also not known, but can be estimated from the following indirect data:

potassium nitrate (saltpeter) was obtained from places of mass concentration of compost and the remains of dead animals as early as the 4th-3rd centuries BC;
the drug "ground salt" (saltpeter) is first described in the medical book "Shennong bencajing" dating back to the second century BC;
the term "Chinese snow" (saltpeter) is found in ancient manuscripts of the Arabs, starting from the first century BC;
the term "Chinese salt" (saltpeter) is mentioned in Byzantine documents from the sixth century AD.

The first documented description of the composition and recipe for the preparation of gunpowder belongs to a contemporary of the Tang-Sun dynasty, the Taoist alchemist and doctor Si-Miao, who lived in 601-682 AD. In his treatise "Priceless Recipes", first published in 1066, the composition of the mixture is given: 8 parts of saltpeter, 4 parts of sulfur, 1 part of coal. True, such gunpowder burned slowly, like rocket fuel, and did not explode.
However, this hardly corresponds to the real date of the discovery of gunpowder. Fireworks and primitive projectiles based on combustible mixtures were known in China and India much earlier, around the 1st century AD.

In 994, the Chinese city of Chu Chang was besieged by an army of up to 100,000 men. The commander of the city's defense used against the besiegers not only catapults with incendiary shells, but also far-flying "fiery arrows". And in 1132, General Chen Gui invented a prototype of the squeaker. His firearm was disposable, a bamboo barrel stuffed with black powder. When it was set on fire, a jet of smoke and flame flew out of the barrel, which was quite effective in close combat and against cavalry.

The first mass use of powder grenades and cannons, throwing stone cannonballs at a distance of up to 600 meters, was recorded by Chinese historians in 1232 during the defense of Kaifeng from Kublai's troops.
Since 1258, descriptions of the fire weapons of the ruler of Delhi are found in ancient Hindu writings, and a hundred years later, artillery became common for Indian armies.

Western Europeans encountered the combat use of combustible mixtures based on saltpeter in battles with the Moors, in Spain, during the "Crusades" (1096-1270).
At the beginning of the 13th century, work began in France on the creation of technologies for the production and use of gunpowder, but soon all these studies were banned by the church, which called gunpowder "the devil's potion." Knowing his secret was reason enough to be burned at the stake.

In 1305, near Ronda, the Arabs used the first firearms against the Spaniards - “modfs”, which fired lead cannonballs the size of a walnut. The tools were forged iron pipes attached to a wooden deck. The new weapon showed such combat effectiveness that it made the Europeans quickly forget the ban of the church. And three years later, during the siege of Gibraltar, the Spanish Christians used guns of their own production.

In 1324, the production of the newest cast copper tools for that time began in the city of Metz. This event is recognized today as the beginning of the official history of the formation of European artillery. For the first time such cannons were used by the German knights in 1331 during the siege of Brescia and Cividelli.

After some time, artillery workshops, combining gunpowder and foundries, appear throughout Europe. In France, cannons began to be cast in 1337, in Italy - in 1345, in Holland - in 1356. Artillery appeared in Poland in 1370, in the Czech Republic - in 1373, in Russia and Lithuania - in 1382, in Sweden - in 1395.

From the middle of the 15th century, hand-held throwing weapons were gradually replaced by firearms, which led to a change in combat tactics and provoked a series of local wars, during which new methods of military operations were “run in”.

In 1453, Sultan Mohammed II, when capturing Constantinople, used siege weapons unknown to him - 8-meter cannons, throwing stone cannonballs weighing up to 500 kg. The weight of the barrels of the largest Turkish bombards, the analogue of which is the Russian Tsar Cannon, reached 100 tons.

Subsequently, artillery completely replaced hand and mechanical throwing weapons, which led to a revision of the foundations of military fortification. All artillery pieces were divided into siege, field, horse and regimental.

One of the most ancient civilizations, which gave the world many unique inventions, was Ancient China. Having experienced periods of prosperity and decline, this state left a rich legacy - scientific ideas and inventions that are successfully used to this day. Gunpowder belongs to such inventions of the ancient world.

How gunpowder was invented

One of the most important inventions of ancient China was gunpowder. This is an explosive mixture consisting of small particles of sulfur, coal and saltpeter, which, when heated, forms the effect of a small explosion.

The main component of gunpowder is saltpeter, which was quite abundant in ancient China. In regions with alkaline soils, it was found in its pure form and outwardly resembled snow flakes.

In ancient times, the Chinese often used saltpeter in cooking instead of salt, it was used as a medicinal drug and a popular ingredient in daring experiments of alchemists.

Rice. 1. Saltpeter in nature.

The first who invented the recipe for gunpowder was the Chinese alchemist Sun Si-miao, who lived in the 7th century. Having prepared a mixture of saltpeter, locust wood and sulfur, and heated it, he witnessed a bright flash of flame. This sample of gunpowder did not yet have a well-pronounced explosive effect. Subsequently, the composition was improved by other scientists, and soon the most optimal version of it was derived: sulfur, coal and potassium nitrate.

The use of gunpowder in ancient China

Gunpowder has found the widest application both in military affairs and in everyday life.