Since the dawn of time, inventions have changed the lives of all living creatures, humans, animals, and plants. Before you go on a school trip to China, we want you to ponder some Famous Chinese Inventors. Without your realizing it, their inventions may have affected the trajectory of your life long before you were born. There are four great Chinese inventions, paper, moveable type printing, gunpowder, and the compass. Since everyone already knows about gunpowder, we’ll talk about the former two and discuss two more inventions that have very interesting backstories that you may not have heard of before. Here are four Chinese inventors and how they changed the world.
Cai Lun – Paper
Can you imagine a world without paper? It’s such a common material in most of our daily lives that we usually don’t even think about it. Think of all the books that wouldn’t exist without paper! Of course, ebooks and Kindles are common nowadays, but printing on paper was the more sensible option back in the day. Paper was originally invented by Cai Lun (蔡伦), a Chinese court official in 105 CE. Cai entered the imperial palace in 75 CE as a chief eunuch to emperor Hedi (88-105/106 CE). At the time, the primary writing surface was made of pure silk. Cai got the idea to make paper out of tree bark, hemp waste, old rags, and fishnets. It turned out to be a better material to write on than pure silk cloths, so Cai told the emperor about his discovery and was commended for it.
Cai’s apprentice, Zuo Bo, helped make some improvements to the paper-making process. From then on, the paper-making process was spread throughout China and the rest of the world. Not only did the invention of paper make books easier to use, it also increased literature and literacy. Paper is considered one of the four important ancient Chinese inventions that contributed to world civilization.
Bi Sheng – Moveable Type
In 132 CE, an astronomer and mathematician, and geographer named Zhang Heng (张衡) invented the seismograph. Zhang’s seismograph looks wildly different from the modern-day seismograph, which was invented by English seismologist John Milne in the mid-nineteenth century. The original seismoscope was a cylindrical dragon jar that had eight dragon heads around its brim. The dragons all had a ball in their mouths. Eight toads were positioned directly under each dragon’s head around the jar. When there was an earthquake, a ball would drop from a dragon’s mouth into the toad’s mouth.
Today, we know that earthquakes are caused by the shift of tectonic plates. But during Zhang’s life, Chinese citizens believed earthquakes were a result of a disruption in the cosmic yin and yang. Zhang himself believed that seismic events were caused by wind and air. His dragon jar could indicate an earthquake that happened more than 100 miles away. It could even indicate the direction given the eight pairs of dragons and toads. It may seem simple enough, but Zhang’s seismoscope is comparable even to modern replicas. In one particular historical record, Zhang’s dragon jar was triggered even though there was no evidence of an earthquake. It was only several days later that they discovered an earthquake had occurred in Longxi.
Today, you can see a replica of Zhang Heng’s dragon jar at the Shanghai Astronomical Museum. While Zhang Heng’s particular invention of the seismograph may not have been the original blueprint for its modern-day counterpart, we hope you found it fascinating and learned something new!
Zhang Heng – Seismograph
In 132 CE, an astronomer and mathematician, and geographer named Zhang Heng (张衡) invented the seismograph. Zhang’s seismograph looks wildly different from the modern-day seismograph, which was invented by English seismologist John Milne in the mid-nineteenth century. The original seismoscope was a cylindrical dragon jar that had eight dragon heads around its brim. The dragons all had a ball in their mouths. Eight toads were positioned directly under each dragon head around the jar. When there was an earthquake, a ball would drop from a dragon’s mouth into the toad’s mouth.
Today, we know that earthquakes are caused by the shift of tectonic plates. But during Zhang’s life, Chinese citizens believed earthquakes were a result of a disruption in the cosmic yin and yang. Zhang himself believed that seismic events were caused by wind and air. His dragon jar could indicate an earthquake that happened more than 100 miles away. It could even indicate the direction given the eight pairs of dragons and toads. It may seem simple enough, but Zhang’s seismoscope is comparable even to modern replicas. In one particular historical record, Zhang’s dragon jar was triggered even though there was no evidence of an earthquake. It was only several days later that they discovered an earthquake had occurred in Longxi.
Today, you can see a replica of Zhang Heng’s dragon jar at the Shanghai Astronomical Museum. While Zhang Heng’s particular invention of the seismograph may not have been the original blueprint for its modern day counterpart, we hope you found it fascinating and learned something new!
Emperor Xin – Chopsticks
During the Shang Dynasty, Emperor Xin invented chopsticks. Emperor Xin was also known as King Zhou. Emperor Xin’s chopsticks were made of ivory and precious metals, but they were later made out of bamboo or wood, making them cheaper and more accessible for civilians. There is evidence of the Chinese using chopsticks as early as 1200 BC. Chopsticks were originally used for cooking since they could reach deeper into pots. People started using chopsticks as eating utensils in 400 CE. If you’re wondering why chopsticks were invented in China and not somewhere else, say, the US, it’s because there was a population spike in China. Cooks started cutting food into smaller pieces, conserving resources including money and fuel. These smaller food sizes were perfect for the use of chopsticks.
Confucius also played a role in the widespread use of chopsticks. Since he was a vegetarian, he felt that sharp utensils such as knives ruined the peaceful mood that should be present at meals. If you compare Chinese chopsticks to Japanese chopsticks, you’ll notice that Chinese chopsticks have more blunt ends whereas Japanese chopsticks tend to have tapered ends. Wealthy families used chopsticks made out of ivory, jade, coral, brass, or agate. Most elite families used silver because they believed it would turn black if it touched food that had been poisoned. In case you didn’t already know, poison was the go-to choice for regicide in ancient China.
Though chopsticks might not be as widespread as the other three inventions in this article, they are very much a part of Chinese culture. One particular chopstick “rule” or etiquette to know is to never stick your chopsticks straight up in a bowl of rice, as it resembles incense sticks at a funeral. Another superstition around chopsticks is how close to the end one holds a chopstick. If someone holds their pair of chopsticks closer to the bottom, it means they will marry someone near their home. If someone holds their chopsticks farther up the other end, it means they will marry someone who lives far away.
Each in their own way, Cai Lun, Bi Sheng, Zhang Heng, and Emperor Xin contributed to the development of civilization from 105 CE onwards. Out of paper, moveable type printing, the seismograph, and chopsticks, which one did you think was the most revolutionary invention? Which one would you want to see the most on your school trip to China? Anything you want to include in your trip, our Academic Managers can make happen. All you have to do is contact us by phone or email and we’d be happy to chat!
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Sources: Famous Chinese Inventors & How They Changed the World
- https://www.thoughtco.com/chinese-inventions-examples-688061
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cai-Lun
- http://en.chinaculture.org/library/2008-02/06/content_46431.htm
- https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory/chapter/the-printing-revolution/
- https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1120/paper-in-ancient-china/
- https://www.thoughtco.com/who-invented-the-seismograph-1992425
- https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/zhang-heng-seismoscope
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/chopsticks
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-history-of-chopsticks-64935342/
- https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3099899/why-poison-was-regicidal-weapon-choice-chinese?module=perpetual_scroll_0&pgtype=article&campaign=3099899
