http://www.char4u.com/article_info.php?

articles_id=98
Contributions of Ancient China to the World
by Char4U.com

The world is indebted to ancient china for a number of contributions in the sector of art, literature, science and technology. Let us discuss about the major contributions of ancient china to the world. PAPER For the nation that uses some 80,000 different symbols in their language, it was just natural to invent the paper. Papers were produced from 3 different kinds of sources, namely, the silk rags, wooden strips and bamboo, hemp or clothes. The ancient China also pioneered the concept of ink (206B.C.A.D.220) and they were the first to invent printer (618-906A.D) and print a book (868 AD). COMPASS It was a tool that was invented to fulfill religious purposes. A compass was used to examine whether an under-construction building was facing the right direction so that it could be in perfect harmony with nature. For example, the scientists of ancient China believed; if the house faces north, the inhabitants will be perfectly getting along with the nature. The earliest compass made by the ancient Chinese inventors, resembled a wooden circle which had a number of marks on it along with a magnetic spoon on the top. SILK Probably the most significant contribution of the ancient china was the fine variety of silk that goes by the name of Chinese silk. The ancient Chinese were the one who taught the rest of the world how to harvest silk from silk worms. They also coined the techniques of creating clothes, fans, kites, paper, and many other articles from it.

http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/viewthread.php?tid=551173

Paper
Paper is one of the most famous Chinese inventions. Tsai-lung (c.48-118 AD) was an official attached to the Imperial court during the eastern Han dynasty. Tsai-lung, who recognized the inadequacy of the existing writing material (silk, bamboo), created the first paper in the world by drying pulp from old rags, bark, mulberry fibers, and hemp. Archeological evidence, however, shows that paper was in use two hundred years before then. Either way, the Chinese were significantly ahead of the rest of the world. The craft of papermaking relied upon an abundance of bamboo fiber to produce a fine quality paper. After the Eastern Jin Dynasty, paper was extensively used instead of traditional writing materials such as bamboo slips and silks. Various methods of producing paper emerged one after another. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, the paper producing industry was very thriving. Celebrated products in best quality appeared one after another. In the Qing "Xuan-zhi" produced in Jing Prefecture of Anhui (Xuanzhou), became the special paper for painting and calligraphy, and was regarded as "the king of the paper"

Compass
The earliest form of compass was a naturally magnetic piece of lodestone used to indicate direction, which preceded the more advanced idea of using needles. They were used on land only and are described as southpointing devices in a text dating from the 4th cent. BC. Much later, between 850 AD and 1050, the needle compass came to be used for navigation at sea. At that time

the Chinese established also that the needle always deviates slightly to the east, and does not point directly at the south, recognizing the shift of the magnetic field of the earth. The first mention of the magnetic compass in European writings occuured in the year 1190, and it was not until the early fifteenth century that Europeans knew about the magnetic declination.

Gunpowder
Gunpowder was invented by Chinese alchemists seeking an elixir of immortality. They began to recognize the characteristics of salpeter and sulfur, two ingredients essential for gunpowder. Between 300- 650 AD several recipes were written about inflammable mixtures. Some historians date the invention of gunpowder at 850 AD when a Taoist book warned of three specific elixir formulas as too dangerous to experiment. Around 1040 AD Tseng Kung-Liang published a true gunpowder formula for the first time in history. However, this powder was not explosive but rather burned with a sudden combustion and was used in flame-throwers. Explosive gunpowder was definitely used in the beginning of the thirteenth century.

Silk
One of China's greatest contributions to the world was the production of raw silk and the raising of silkworms. Legend says that Lei Zu, the wife of the Yellow Emperor of Chia was sitting under the mulberry trees in the garden of her palace when she suddenly heard a rustling in the leaves. As she looked up, she saw silkworms spinning their cocoons. So she took one in her hand and found that the silken thread was shining, soft and flexible. She then thought that if she could wind the silken thread off and weave into clothes, it would create a very beautiful cloth