It is known that China has a very ancient history - from the period of feudalism, which ended in 222 BC, to our time, after three eras of emperors - almost 4000 years of various events and scientific research. It is no longer a secret that China is home to many inventions - from spaghetti to gunpowder. In this article, I will tell you about some exclusively Chinese inventions that were used for a long time in China before they were copied and used by Western civilization. Inventions are in more or less chronological order.
Inline farming (feudal period, until 6th century BC)
The Chinese began to plant crops in rows as early as the 6th century BC. This technique helps the plants grow faster and produce better yields. In addition, such beds are more convenient to water and process, and the harvest is more active. If trees are planted in this way, then this forest belt can protect housing from destructive hurricane winds. It took Western culture more than 2,000 years to realize these features. In the ancient Chinese manuscript of the Annals of Spring and Autumn, a certain Master Lu teaches: “If plants grow in rows, then they develop with lightning speed, because they do not interfere with each other. It is necessary to make horizontal and vertical lines as even as possible and orient them in the direction of the wind. It was written in 240 BC.
Compass (feudal period, up to 4th century BC)
The Chinese used the first compasses to indicate direction from the mineral magnetite as early as the 4th century BC. These devices were designed to predict and find directions. Back in the 4th century BC. a well-known shaman in China (or whatever they were called there) wrote: "magnetite attracts iron, calling it." A compass, like the one shown in the photo, consisted of a magnetite spoon and a bronze plate-plate. The first nautical compasses using magnetized needles were made 1,500 years later, in 1040, becoming widespread only by the middle of the 12th century. The phenomenon of remanent magnetization that allowed these compasses to work was reinvented 500 years later, in 1600 by William Gilbert.
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Seeder (Han Dynasty, 202 BC - 220 AD)
A mechanical seeder was used to plant seeds at the same depth and cover them evenly with soil. When sowed by hand, the plants grow crowded and disordered, resulting in lower yields. Chinese farmers used mechanical seeding devices as early as the second century BC. The first documented case of a mechanical seeder in Europe was recorded in 1566, which was confirmed by a patent in the name of Camillo Torello. Mechanical seeders became widespread only in the middle of the nineteenth century.
Iron Plow (Han Dynasty 202 BC - 220 AD)
The invention and use of the plow with metal dumps is considered a significant achievement of the landowners of Ancient China. There is evidence that such plows were used in China in the 4th century BC, but more conservative historians believe that such equipment was mainly used during the reign of the Han dynasty, i.e. 200 years later. In the design of the plow, special spacer beams were used, which made it possible to regulate the distance to which the plow "digs" into the ground. Such plows were unknown in "enlightened" Europe until the 17th century AD, that is, for at least 2 thousand years!
Deep Drilling (Han Dynasty 202 BC - 220 AD)
In the first century BC. the Chinese invented a method of deep drilling of wells, which made it possible to make holes in the ground up to 1500 meters deep. The principle of drilling is similar to that used in modern drilling rigs, with tool towers reaching a height of 60 meters. The craftsmen laid out stones with holes in the center to guide the tool (for which guide tubes are now used). Then, with the help of hemp ropes and bamboo power structures, they regularly dropped and raised the iron drill until it reached the required depth, where the layer of natural gas was located. This gas was used as a fuel to evaporate seawater to produce salt. The gas produced in this way was transported through a bamboo pipeline to the place of its use. There is documentary evidence thatthat gas was also used for lighting. In modern times, deep drilling began to be used for industrial purposes during the industrial revolution in the middle of the 18th century.
Ship's rudder (Han Dynasty, 202 BC - 220 AD)
Chinese "sea" achievements far surpassed their contemporaries, and were achieved many centuries earlier than those of Western civilization. The first documented use of a rudder to change the course of a ship dates back to 1190, and in China this method of steering has been known since the first century AD, that is, a thousand years earlier! This is the age of the detailed clay ship models depicting a slung axial rudder, which allows one to climb and steer the ship in shallow water. Later, the Chinese began to use a more convenient design of the balance rudder (the terms are freely translated), which the British began to use only in 1843 - 1700 years later. In the 13th century, Chinese sailors used a perforated rudder, to which Western civilization "sunk" only in the early 19th century. Such rudders have a reduced resistance to water flow, and they are used to control the movement of high-speed vessels (as well as torpedoes)
Harness for horses (era of separation, 220-581)
Different types of harnesses have been used by people since ancient times to use them in carts and sleds. The disadvantage of their design was that a lot of pressure was created on the horse's neck, which reduced its endurance and movement speed. In the early feudal period in China (according to the drawings found), they began to use a breast yoke. During the Han dynasty, the yoke was made from soft belts and spread throughout China. In the fifth century, the design became even more efficient by shifting the load on the horses to the shoulders (as shown in the picture). Such a harness design appeared in Europe only in 970 - almost five centuries later. Its introduction made it possible to significantly increase the productivity of agriculture.
Porcelain (Sui Dynasty 581-618)
Porcelain is a special type of ceramic that is obtained by high-temperature firing in a special kiln. At the same time, the material is sintered and turns into a kind of glass that is distinguished by its strength, lightness and beauty. It is known that porcelain was made in China during the Sui Dynasty (581-618), but this may have happened even earlier. The technology got better during the Tang Dynasty (618-906) when white clay from the Yangtze River was used to make porcelain. During the Sung Dynasty (960-1279), the art of making porcelain reached its peak. In Europe, it was not until 1708 that the German physicist Tschirnhausen “invented” porcelain making technology, ending the Chinese porcelain monopoly. The photo shows a tea cup in black glaze depicting a leaf, made during the Sung Dynasty,around 1127-1279.
Toilet paper (Song dynasty, 960-1279)
It is known that paper was invented in China, and its first use for hygiene purposes dates back to the Sui dynasty in 589. In 851, an Arab traveler wrote in amazement that the Chinese used paper instead of water to cleanse their bodies. At the beginning of the 14th century, about 700,000 sheets of paper were produced annually in bundles of 1,000 to 10,000 pieces. For comparison, in colonial America at the beginning of the 18th century (400 years later) corn leaves were widely used for hygiene reasons. Commercial toilet paper appeared only in the middle of the 19th century, with one of the manufacturers specifying that it was “almost without chips” (tin!). Interestingly, the ancient Romans used a stick with a sponge at one end for such purposes.
Movable Type Printing (Song Dynasty, 960-1279)
The first printed book was created around 868. After 100 years, Master Bi Sheng (990-1051, pictured above). Using baked clay removable letters, he invented the technology of removable letters and developed the basic subtleties of book printing using them. The technology was constantly improving, which took almost 300 years. By contrast, the Gutenberg Bible, considered the first European printed book to use interchangeable letters, was made in the middle of the 15th century. It is noteworthy that the Chinese did not use metal letters until the late 15th century.
Apparently, everything that was invented before the last 100 years can be safely attributed to the Chinese, it is difficult to make a mistake. This is just a fantastically diverse nation that not only deals with cheap jeans and unreliable cars, but also invents (at least before) many useful and even irreplaceable things. How do you think?