WorldTraveler

@worldtraveler1671546050 · 06 Oct 2020

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Top 10 Chinese Inventions

#chineseinventions #chinese

10. Paper Money
Paper Money werd in de 7e eeuw geïntroduceerd, zodat rijke kooplieden niet zoveel zware koperen munten mee hoefden te sjouwen. Original banknotes were mainly pieces of paper with a certain amount written on them, like today's checks. These bills were initially only used by the rich, but later also by the rest of the people when there was a shortage of copper coins. They were called jiaozi. The bills did not replace the copper coins. They were different in every region and there was a time limit on every note. In the 11th century, a national Chinese currency was introduced.


9. Print/ Printing
The Chinese developed two types of printing: woodcut print and loss letters. Woodcut print was made by cutting letters or symbols into a piece of wood, then this piece was dipped in ink and the print could be put on a piece of fabric or paper. The oldest already existing example of this dates back to the year 660. This printing technique was also used with the oldest printed trousers ever, the Diamond Sutra from the year 868. The other type of printing is the precursor of modern printing, namely the use of single letters. The process has had a long period of development. Chinese scientist Shen Kuo invented it in 1088 AD. It was only put into practice 200 years later, in 1298. In 1490 Hua Sui improved the system by putting the letters not in wood but on bronze blocks. The last piece was laid in 1718 by using porcelain.

8. Paper
If you want to print something, you have to have something, paper or other medium, to print it on. Pulp paper became very popular because it is cheaper and faster to make than silk, bamboo paper, or clay tablets. Evidence has been found that pulp paper was already made in the 2nd century BC. In the year 105 AD, Cai Lun improved the process. Cai Lun is often seen as the inventor of the paper. He used bark, hemp, linen and fishing nets and added water to this, until a wooden frame with woven threads was formed. It was immersed in water and after a certain time hung to dry, and then bleached in sunlight.


7. Gunpowder
The invention of gunpowder was actually an accident of Chinese chemists in the 9th century. The first use outside the laboratory was in the form of fireworks, to scare away evil spirits around the 10th century. Only since the year 1044 has it been used for destructive weapons and explosive components that we all know today. Originally, gunpowder was used for flamethrowers and burning arrows. The first firearms were developed only in the 13th century, these were mainly used by the Mongols. The oldest known recipe of gunpowder can not explode but is highly flammable. In the 15th century, there were already more than 6 perfect recipes for gunpowder, some of which contain up to 91% nitrate, the chemical causing the blast.

6. Compass
The first iron compasses were not used for navigation. In fact, they were used to do divination. There are writings from 1044 in which a thermo remanence compasses, describing a heated metal object lying in a water bath and thereby producing magnetic forces. In 1088, Shen Kuo described the operation and emergence of magnetic forces. In 1119 Zhu Yu makes the first compass available for marine use.


5. Coffins and urns
The Chinese seem to have been the first to deal with burying their dead. Chinese emphasize their respect for elders and ancestors by taking good care of their bodies. Caring for a dead person is just as important as raising newly-born. Evidence for the oldest coffin ever found dates back to 5000 BC, and contains a 4-year-old girl. The number of coffins and the thickness of the wood indicated how rich you were.

4. Forks and chopsticks
Although many people in an Asian restaurant try to eat with the traditional chopsticks, it would be more traditional if you eat with a fork. There are forks, made of bones, found in graves more than 6 thousand years old! Europeans only used a fork for the first time 4 thousand years later. Partly because in Chinese culture meat should not look like the beast from which it comes, it is chopped into small pieces. The food in China turned out to be easier edible with chopsticks than with a fork. Chopsticks were also easier to gain weight, so they were used more.


3. health
Perhaps even more surprising than the invention of the fork, is that Chinese medicine was already far advanced on a number of points. In the 4th century, the Royal personal dieticians who pay attention to their nutrition, so that they ate healthy. Zhang Zhongjing found out, by trial and error, that some nutrition was better for health than other foods. Dietitian Hu Sihui published a book on healthy nutrition from the 3rd century in 1330.

2. Menus
The main reason that the Chinese were the first in many things is because they were the first to make paper and print. Because of the vast Chinese regions that often traded with each other, traders often did not know what they were presented in other areas. For this, the Chinese quickly had a solution: menu. Everywhere food was sold, menus were introduced, temples, brothels, theatres, teahouses, stalls and restaurants.

1. Toilet Paper
This classic item is much older than previously thought. The first official documents mentioning toilet paper date back to 589 BC, by Yan Zhitui. They also got this record because they knew how to make paper. The goal was clearly described by an Arab traveler in 851 AD, he saw that the Chinese wiping with paper, while the rest of the world used water, their hands, wood shavings, or the popular Roman sponge. In 1393, the Chinese even added perfume to the toilet paper for the royal family.