Art Over the Past Several Thousand Years,

Art

Over the past several thousand years, the Chinese have contributed some of the world's most significant technological tools and inventions. Most of these inventions have had a tremendous impact on human history and it is hard to imagine life without any of them. Among the most influential of Chinese inventions include gunpowder/explosives; paper; moveable type; the magnetic compass; tea; noodles; matches; and silk. Of these eight inventions, the four most important include paper, gunpowder, tea, and noodles. Of those four, the Chinese invention I could least likely live without would be noodles.

It is difficult to imagine how human beings could have spread information without paper. Even if the Chinese had not invented moveable type well before the Gutenberg printing press was designed in Europe, the invention of paper is one of the most important contributions to the spread of knowledge, learning, ideas, and information. As the Franklin Institute (n.d.) points out, " the Chinese were significantly ahead of the rest of the world" with regards to the development of paper parchment. The ancient Egyptians are known for their papyrus "paper," but papyrus is simply dried papyrus plant, whereas paper requires a sophisticated process whereby pulp is soaked in water and then molded. Chinese paper was made out of hemp and bamboo fiber pulp (Asia Society, 2013; Franklin Institute, n.d.). It is estimated that the Chinese invented paper sometime between 140 BCE and 110 CE (Franklin Institute, n.d.). The Columbia University East Asian Curriculum Project (n.d.) places the date of invention at 105 CE, as the archaeological record shows the oldest known paper with writing on it at this time (Asia Society, 2013). The oldest known printed book is said to be a Chinese publication from 868 CE (Columbia University East Asian Curriculum Project, n.d.). The Chinese also invented playing cards, printed on heavy paper (Columbia University East Asian Curriculum Project, n.d.). Furthermore, the Chinese invented paper money around the ninth century CE, whereas in Europe paper money did not make an appearance until 1661, in Sweden (Asia Society, 2013). Paper money was a significant contribution to global societies, transforming the ways businesses and individuals conducted their transactions. By the tenth century, China had a sophisticated system of banking using paper money as a promissory note medium of exchange (Asia Society, 2013). From China the invention of paper spread through to India, and made it to Europe via Arab traders (Asia Society, 2013).

One of the most notable Chinese inventions was gunpowder. Invented around the eighth century CE, " Chinese scientists discovered that an explosive mixture could be produced by combining sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter (potassium nitrate)," (Franklin Institute, n.d.). The material was used for fireworks displays as well as for weaponry. In the eleventh and twelfth centuries CE, the first rockets were invented, using gunpowder and bamboo. Some of these were multi-staged rockets, involving a second fuse that deployed after the first (Asia Society, 2013). A related invention is the sulfur-coated stick used to start fires: the match. Whereas matches were invented in Europe in the sixteenth century, the Chinese invented them in the sixth century: a full thousand years earlier. Researchers believe that "the first version of the match was invented in 577 CE by impoverished court ladies during a military siege," as they had insufficient timber and required the sulfur coating for greater efficiency for starting fires (Asia Society, 2013). Marco Polo is said to have brought rocket technology and gunpowder to Europe from China (Asia Society, 2013).

Tea is a plant, and in its raw botanical format it is not an invention per se. However, the Chinese developed the processes by which tea was dried, fermented, and brewed into a beverage that has become a staple around the world. For this reason, tea remains one of China's most significant contributions to the world. Chinese literature is replete with the mythical origins of tea, such as the legend of emperor Shen Nung, who inadvertently discovered the wonder of tea when a few leaves blew into his boiling water (United Kingdom Tea Council, 2013). The archaeological records shows that the Chinese character for tea did not emerge until the second or third century CE, suggesting that tea as it is known today was first developed around the second century CE in China. However, brewed herbal beverages were mentioned during the time of Confucius in the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. There are no absolute dates or circumstances under which tea was first produced and dried for mass consumption. Methods of preparing tea changed dramatically over the centuries. Trends in tea drinking also changed, according to the political leadership of China (United Kingdom Tea Council, 2013). Dried leaves and powder were both used. The main reason why tea is one of the most important of all Chinese inventions is the fact that it became a major world commodity during the age of European imperialism. The Dutch East India Company and the British East India Company prospered particularly because of tea. The economics and politics of tea have been crucial to understanding world history.

In 2005, archaeologists unearthed a 4000-year-old bowl of noodles, preserved under three meters (ten feet) of sediment (Roach, 2005). Further research has revealed that the noodles were made of two different types of millet, and were hand-pulled noodles -- which are still made today, seven thousand years later (Roach, 2005). This finding proved once and for all that the Chinese did indeed invent noodles for the first time. The honor of inventing the noodle had been disputed by scholars who have postulated that noodles might have been invented first in the Middle East. (Roach, 2005). Before the discovery of the 4000-year-old bowl of noodles, the first known use of noodles in China was several thousand years later during the Han Dynasty, between 25 and 220 CE. Noodles became a staple of Chinese cuisine, gradually made their way Westward via Arab traders. Noodles then began to permeate the cuisines of cultures as varied and geographically distinct as India, Persia, Japan, and Italy. Each culture could develop a local variation on noodles, based on the availability of the base grain product (wheat, rice, or tuber starches) and the intended finished product (soup or dry dish). Noodles became integral to the cuisines of diverse cultures, and it is impossible to imagine my life without them.