China Eight Inventions of the Ancient Chinese

China

Eight inventions of the ancient Chinese include paper money, gunpowder, papermaking, the compass, printing, the noodle, the abacus and the kite (No author, 2005). Of these, four that can be considered to be ingenious were the compass, gunpowder, paper money, and the noodle. This paper will take a closer look at those four, their invention and what these inventions have meant for society. All of these inventions have had deeper ramifications, as those initial ideas have been expanded upon, thus all four have made a lasting contribution to society, even today.

Gunpowder was invented in the 9th century by mixing sulfur, charcoal and saltpeter. It was apparently discovered by alchemists trying to create gold (Helmenstine, 2012). Gunpowder was the first explosive device, and although its usefulness was limited by the high level of smoke it produced, different mixes of ingredients could reduce the amount of smoke. From gunpowder, a number of different inventions came about, including exploding cannonballs and hand grenades. Many of our weapons today derive from this ancient invention. That a bizarre mix of chemicals resulted in such a product is perhaps not innovative, given that the intent as apparently not to produce anything explosive at all, but gunpowder, which was often produced in pellet form, still ranks as one of the most impressive of Chinese inventions.

It is believed that the compass was invented in the Qin Dynasty. As with gunpowder, compasses were not originally invented for the purpose for which they are now known today. Lodestone is a material "composed of iron oxide that aligns itself in a north-south direction" (Bellis, 2012) according to the location of the magnetic poles. Fortune tellers used lodestone in the construction of their fortune-telling boards. When this concept was improved upon, it took the form of a magnetized needle. By this point they were used as navigation devices, and by 1050 these devices were used to help ships navigate.

The invention of the compass revolutionized sea travel. Without the compass, navigation was done by the stars, and while skilled navigators were able to make long ocean journeys, it was easier and safer for ships to stay close to the shore. With compasses, greater exploration was possible, over longer distances, and this opened up the world to greater levels of exploration than had been accomplished before the invention of the compass.

Papermaking was invented by the Chinese, and later they would invent paper money, which is said to have been invented in the 7th century. Paper money as a concept was innovative because it allowed for the easy transport and storage of wealthy, especially the former. Money, in which a piece of gold or other metal was used as a store of value, had been known for millennia. In fact, Chinese money today is colloquially known as "kuai," which means "piece." For traders and nobility, however, this had ramifications for transport in that thousands of coins were heavy and hard to move. Slow-moving caravans or traders with money were easy targets for bandits. Paper money was a good solution, as it was lightweight, harder to copy and easier to transport.

Marco Polo wrote about paper money in his travelogue. Paper money was used at that time by Kublai Khan, the Emperor of China, as it was cheaper to produce and lighter than coins. The value of money was still backed by precious metals until the 20th century (eHow, 2012). The use of paper money is now universal around the world, and our concept of using notes as a proxy for wealth extends to this very day.

Noodles are another famous invention recorded by Marco Polo. The idea of taking flour, mixing it with water, and stretching it into shape came about four thousand years ago, and revolutionized food (Connor, 2005). The concept has proved immensely popular for its textural value and for the flexibility of the use of noodles in cooking. The idea spread around Asia and beyond to Europe. Noodle dough was stretched and formed into dumpling wrappers, extending the concept even further.

Other cultures have adopted noodles and use them extensively. There remain cultures that do not utilize the noodle, but they have become commonplace as a means of stretching flour supplies and delivering not only nutrients but to help turn small meals into larger ones. Later concepts include dried noodles that store for a very long time, but fresh Chinese noodles today still must be eaten shortly after their production. Noodles may not have had wide-ranging social ramifications in the way that gunpowder, paper money or compasses did, but they are among the most widely-used of Chinese inventions today, and were one of the earlier examples of a produced food, modified significantly from its existing form.