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Q: what are the chinese greatest inventions?
and who invented those?
Compass, Gunpowder, Papermaking, Printing, Mechanical Clock, Chicken feet for dinner......the list is pretty endless I imagine.
Pretty impressive eh, we owe them a lot......maybe we can repay them with LV and Gucci.
nevermind:
Or modern medicine, computers, flight.... you know. And they didn't invent the first mechanical clock or printing.
OldMajor:
Yes, the Europeans invented most other modern stuff. My very brief research is suggesting that China did invent the first mechanical clock in 700 or something? Printing, China again, though there is many types of printing.
Computers, flight and modern medicine, yes, all very, very good, but who knows, the way its going China could be the next great inventors once again.
nevermind:
Why, what are they inventing now? Printing goes back to mesopatamia. Many cultures had similar things. Why is it the Chinese can't seem to accept that many places invented the same things? China claims to have invented things that were also invented elsewhere as if they had an influence on it.
Also, what's this "once again" stuff? Every society has had good inventions throughout the ages, why are the Chinese so intent on insisting they were the only ones? Speaks alot about their inferiority complex.TedDBayer:
Don't the Chinese take a product idea and make it cheaper and poor in quality?
MrTibbles:
Computers? Really? Because of the abacus? How about a giant NO. Maybe the first calculator, but in no way was what we now refer to as a computer invented in China.
OldMajor:
China was, relatively, more advanced (and innovative) than the Europeans for a long, long time, and long before North America was put on the map. They were definitely great inventors of the past, that is not up for debate by Western scholars.
Going forward, given that the European and North American economies are plateauing, whilst China's economy is continuing to grow, China is the developing country in the best place over the next 100 years to surpass the developed West. Maybe not in my lifetime, but it is inevitable. As I said above, in the future, I would bet that they will become great 'inventors' once again.
Mr Tibbles, I dont think Nevermind was saying the Chinese invented computers, that was the Germans.
Heck, DecrepitOldMan - I mean OldMajor stole my thunder.
(just kidding OldMajor)
+1 for OM.
QQ? Wait ...
Well according to the in-flight movie - the wheel, all modern military, houses, clothing itself, spaceships and even 'food' were all invented by Chinese who, mercifully, even taught the backward Japanese some of these things!
Gunpowder. Not necessarily sure this was invented in China. Or that it's where Europeans got the idea either.
Some ancient sources do suggest the Babylonians/Sumerians may have been using some kind of gunpowder.
It would seem very possible that versions of this may have come out of the middle-east to China who may well have improved the idea.
It's often assumed (guessed) that Europeans might have discovered Chinese gunpowder at the hands of the Mongols who thought it was a nice way to invade Europe.
However, here again it's not so entirely sure and some suggest Europeans might have actually got their version though those same trades with the middle-eastern world. Not from Mongolian sources.
So it's very convenient to say 'China invented gunpowder! and the West copied it from them" but the real historical investigation isn't that simple and conclusive.
Let's not forget chopsticks. While the rest of the world was wasting it's time on a variety of intricately sculpted and designed special purpose knives, forks and spoons, the Chinese came up with two sticks.
Ancient China seems to have developed some mechanical and processing skills, and around about a thousand year ago, pre-modern China may have invented gunpowder, paper money, a compass and a water powered clock (though the claims are questioned). In the last almost one thousand years, there appears to be no inventions of any consequence.
firecrackers! Not sure who invented it but it was some intelligent guy
Ice cream. The earliest forms of this treat has roots in China. It is also not a computer.
nevermind:
They put juice on snow. that may be leadign the way in snow cones, but not cream
MrTibbles:
Well, if people are going to equate abacus with computer, flavored snow and ice cream are probably more closely related.
well, I was keeping it a secret, but since you asked....
* Implantable Voice-Amplification Device *
This amazing new Technology amplifies the normal human voice by up to 10x enabling the speaker to be heard at the other end of the subway car no effort required !
giadrosich:
Yeah, we got bored sitting around Guantanamo, resorting to bad puns. Thanks for another down vote, OM.
OldMajor:
Sorry, no offence meant, it wasn't that bad :).... I did include myself in the bad joke comment.....it really is quite embarrassing on here sometimes.....
A 5,000 year old w(h)ine...it's the "original sa jiao."
I see those who cannot accept anything good has ever come from China are out in force and not only that but they appear to refuse to accept what even modern (western) scholars accept as fact.
So anyway, get the red thumbs ready because here is a list, and it comes not from a Chinese source but The Franklin Institute, which I am sure you all know is one of the worlds leading museums and is situated in Philadelphia, hardly a bastion of Chinese Communist defence.
http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/info/current/inventions.html
Papermaking
Chinese legend tells that the new invention of paper was presented to the Emperor in the year 105 AD by Cai Lun. 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. In China: Ancient Arts and Sciences, the papermaker uses only the traditional materials and methods to produce fine art paper.
Printing
The Chinese invention of moveable type, credited to Bi Sheng in the year 1045 AD, did not significantly impact Chinese society. Three hundred years later in Europe, Gutenberg's development of moveable type revolutionized the Western world. Why? The Chinese language uses 3000 to 5000 characters in an average newspaper. The English language, in comparison, uses 26 characters in an average newspaper. Clearly, manipulating 5000 characters on a printing press took much longer than moving 26. Still, the invention of moveable type furthered Chinese technology and its role in the advancement of human civilization.
Gunpowder
Imagine their enemy's surprise when the Chinese first demonstrated their newest invention in the eighth century AD. Chinese scientists discovered that an explosive mixture could be produced by combining sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter (potassium nitrate). The military applications were clear. New weapons were rapidly developed, including rockets and others that were launched from a bamboo tube. Once again, the raw materials at hand, like bamboo, contributed ideas for new technologies.
Compass
By the third century AD, Chinese scientists had studied and learned much about magnetism in nature. For example, they knew that iron ore, called magnetite, tended to align itself in a North/South position. Scientists learned to "make magnets" by heating pieces of ore to red hot temperatures and then cooling the pieces in a North/South position. The magnet was then placed on a piece of reed and floated in a bowl of water marked with directional bearings. These first navigational compasses were widely used on Chinese ships by the eleventh century AD.
Why is it so difficult for so many people to accept that the Chinese made great and important inventions? Do you feel that threatened?
Edit:
With just the most rudimentary research I also unearthed the following Chinese inventions
1. The horse collar
2. The wheelbarrow
3. The moldboard plow
4. Paper money
5. Cast iron
6. The helicopter rotor and the propeller
7. The decimal system
8. The seismograph
9. Matches
10. Circulation of the blood
11. Paper
12. Brandy and Whiskey
13. The Kite
14. The rocket and multi-staged rockets
Not all Chinese scientific and technological achievements lie in the remote past. Contemporary scientists include Chen Ning Yang and Tsung Dao Lee (Nobel Physics Prize, 1957), and Choh Hao Li (biochemist, world's foremost authority on the pituitary gland). Chinese physicists developed a nuclear reactor is 1958, an atomic bomb in 1964, a missile to deliver it in 1966, and put a satellite into orbit in 1970.
Traveler:
The three scientists you named all made their mark in America, as American citizens.
You seem to confuse "inventing" with "discovering basic principles." As example, nobody invented blood circulation. It is a natural bodily function.
There is no doubting that Chinese people observed the basic principles behind the items on the numbered list you made, but did not actually invent any of them (kite and paper money possibly excepted).
People in many other civilisations throughout history have also observed these basic principles, before the inventions were made elsewhere.
Nuclear reactors, atomic bombs, missiles and satellites were all invented, and used, long before the dates you have given, and in countries other than China.
MrTibbles:
Why is it so difficult for so many people to accept that the Chinese made great and important inventions? Do you feel that threatened?
I completely agree with the 4 "great inventions" you posted. What bothers me is taking some sort of ancient invention and applying it to modern technology - ie : Leonardo Davinci invented the Apache helicopter BECAUSE he did a drawing of what is considered to be the first helicopter. Or someone in China, or wherever.
A LOT of modern inventions are attributed to China in the same way. A bunch of counting beads on a rack IS NOT A COMPUTER. When you say "seismograph", in a way, yes, it was invented in China, but NOT the modern version. The Chinese version told the general direction where an earthquake occurred. It did not give strength, nor did it record any information. Modern seismographs do a host of other things and only share the basic principle with the ancient device. The modern device WAS NOTinvented in China, and looking at a modern seismograph and saying "Ah, yes. Chinese technology" is plain old BS.
Scientists have found rudimentary "batteries" in the Mesopotamia regions of Iran and Iraq. When I pick up a Duracell or a lithium-ion battery, I don't say "Ah yes, Iranian know how." Why should I do this with sort-of-related-to modern devices and attribute them to China? Oh wait, I don't.
Other topics aren't completely proven. There's a lot of research showing the decimal system was from India or possibly even Mesopotamia.
Whisky? Oh come on. What propaganda site did that come from? The Chinese may have been first on the distillation process (unsure) but they sure as hell did not invent what we know today as whisky. Fermented grain alcohol? I'd agree to that. Whisky? Um, no.
I'm all for giving credit where credit is due. I agree that there are a lot of great inventions from China, like paper, the compass, possibly gunpowder, etc. But it's just plain ignorant to make claims that loosely related items are direct "inventions". I don't think the Wright brothers invented the Boeing 777 or the MiG-29, but were asked and told that basic rudimentary inventions made in China somehow gives all of China credit for every modern day invention that's even remotely related. Thinking that way discredits a lot of brilliant people, and above all else, it's just plain stupid.
Hugh.G.Rection:
OK Traveller, so I'll ignore the Franklin institute and take your word instead, yeah right!
Circulation of the Blood: China, Second Century BCE. Most people believe blood circulation was discovered by William Harvey in 1628, but there are other recorded notations dating back to the writings of an Arab of Damascus, al-Nafis (died 1288). However, circulation appears discussed in full and complex form in The Yellow Emperor's Manual of Corporeal Medicine in China by the second century BC
I never said that China invented the nuclear reactor bomb or missile, what I did say is that they developed them independently VERY early on, so negating those who say the Chinese haven't invented anything for thousands of years.
What is your (and other people's) problem with giving credit where it's due, are you honestly that scared of China becoming a true superpower that you have to devalue everything that they have ever done? That really is an indication of a VERY insecure person.
MrTibbles:
CHINA DID NOT DEVELOP NUCLEAR POWER AND MISSILES INDEPENDENTLY. They stole secrets and had A LOT of help from the Soviets.
Hugh.G.Rection:
Whiskey - Brandy and Whiskey: China, Seventh Century CE. The tribal people of Central Asia discovered 'frozen-out wine' in their frigid climate in the third century CE. In wine that had frozen was a remaining liquid (pure alcohol). Freezing became a test for alcohol content. Distilled wine was known in China by the seventh century. The distillation of alcohol in the West was discovered in Italy in the twelfth century.
Source an IRISH site (so hardly Chinese propaganda) http://shadyshamrock.wordpress.com/2011/06/30/love-irish-whiskey-thank-the-chinese/
Traveler:
The link you gave to the Franklin Institute says nothing whatever about the items in your numbered list. They are a figment of the imagination.
The four inventions the Franklin Institute refers to were all invented over a thousand years ago. Which is exactly why China will never be a superpower. It has not invented anything in over a thousand years, preferring instead to copy from the real superpowers and their allies.
To become a superpower requires creativity and innovation. Not just a large economy reliant almost totally on foreign investment and foreign exports.
However, it is good that you concede that countries might have independently developed inventions attributed to a particular country, such as China's four ancient inventions. However, the fact still remains, all those modern inventions were clearly invented by other countries (except circulation, which isn't even an invention). China simply stole the technology.
The Shady Shamrock site you refer to about whisky promotes itself as telling "wild stories."
OldMajor:
I'm 100% sure that if you look at the USA 100 years ago it wasn't the largest economy in the world and they weren't the best innovators. They were probably one of the fastest growing large countries that could and did eventually dominate.
Fast forward 100 years to today, the USA is plateauing, whilst China is the undisputed new kid on the block, and probably the fastest growing large country over the last 10 years and probably longer. Is it beyond the realms of possibility that China could follow in the USA's footsteps? Economy wise China could overtake the USA in the next 20 years or sooner (GDP per capita will take longer). On what basis do you think that they cannot become innovative as well?
MrTibbles:
Hugh - Distilled alcohol and whisky are 2 different things. There is a set process for brewing and distilling and aging alcohol to make whisky. Alcohol made from sorghum is NOT whisky. It's grain alcohol. The argument they make on the link you provided basically says "all alcohol was invented in China". Not necessarily. That is a process that can happen anywhere - the earliest discoveries of it just happen to have been made in China. Plus, it's a natural process (fermentation), so nobody "invented" it. Discovered, sure. But either way, you can take any and all the grains you want, ferment them and distil them, it still won't make whisky. It will make clear grain alcohol. Aging in oak barrels gives whisky it's distinctive color and flavor.
So, perhaps the first people who discovered alcohol and distilling were the Chinese. I have no issue with that. Did the Chinese "invent" whisky? Absolutely not.
That's like saying the Egyptians invented stouts, pilsners, lagers,double bock, and all other forms of beer because they used to brew rudimentary beer. Sure, the basic process is the same, but the specialization and decades of perfecting a craft make a distinct product.
2 other points: The earliest alcohol vessels found were in what is today called China. They date from a time before China even existed, so therefore it's improper to call it Chinese anyway. They could have been called the Bukaluk tribe for all we know, and they could have been nomadic people from anywhere. Too many ifs...
Next, seeing how China has "5000 years of history" wouldn't you think that if brandy and whisky WERE Chinese inventions, they'd have kept the process going (seeing how tradition is such a huge part of alcohol culture here)? Why are the names for brandy and whisky phonetic pronunciations from English instead of given a ______jiu namelike all other alcohol? (ie wine = putaojiu, beer = pijiu, etc) If it was actuallyinvented here, wouldn't it have a name?
Hugh.G.Rection:
Please read my post, the link to the Franklin institute is for the first section of my post, the rest follows the word 'edit' which indicates that was added later.
What I was pointing out, apparently successfully is the huge, incredible fear that many people apparently have of admitting anything good about China, I think this is because they're scared of China and don't want it to become the dominant power I think it will become.
The second 'discoveries / inventions' list are processes without which you would not have some of the pleasures we enjoy to day, you cannot 'invent' the car before the wheel.
I am NOT saying, China invented everything, I AM saying they invented a helluva lot and we shouldn't be afraid of admitting it, and doing so without the disingenuous use of backhanded compliments.
jknox00:
hugh,
The problem here is that you copy and paste for us the standard historical.. current standards. Not 'conclusions' But you describe these as 'accepted by scholars as fact'. You make it sound even more like 'empirical proof' by reminding us 'even western scholars...'.
It doesn't work like that. It doesn't work as 'accepted facts' and there is no 'conclusion' on most things in history.
What we CAN do is have available to us (I remind you this is based on what WE HAVE FOUND SO FAR) the 'earliest known' XYZ.
Reminder: That is the 'earliest known to us'.
This is different than 'even western scholars ACCEPT AS FACT'.
and,
even that isn't right. What you mean is that you found the most standard explanations still most popular (whether placeholders or not).
So, the earliest complete recipe for gunpowder THAT WE HAVE FOUND SO FAR is one from China.
Understand?
That doesn't mean its now 'an accepted fact Chinese invented it first'.
Actually, we have an incomplete recipe of what would be gunpowder from 1000 years earlier and it is NOT from China.
But we can't actually say its 'the earliest confirmed recipe for gunpowder' since it doesn't seem to be complete.
Anyways, I'm not actually arguing about 'who invented gunpowder' so much as I'm a little concerned about how you perceive historical investigaton and want to make it into some empirical proofs. That maybe you don't quite 'get' how this must work.
Hugh.G.Rection:
jbnox, thank you for proving my point, again you like so many others leap to deny anything that may look good on China.
The top four listed on my post, are from the Franklin Institute, one of the leading museums in America, I would therefore say they are 'accepted as fact'. Or are you of the opinion that your words hold more weight than the scholars of The Franklin Institute?
OldMajor:
Jox, so, by your reckoning no-one invented anything, ever, period, because how can we be sure they invented it first? So, why did those clever, inventive, English people invent the word 'invent'?
MrTibbles:
Hugh and Old -
OK, look. The earliest cave paintings discovered to date have been found in Spain. Does this mean the Spanish "invented" art? By your "logic", yes.
I am not afraid or terrified of giving China credit for anything, but certain things you have both pointed out are simply either A.) conjecture B.) not FACT or 100% verifiable.
The first 4 on the list are generally accepted to have been invented in China. In fact, paper is still made with almost an identical process to the original formula. I don't think anyone is trying to dispute these other than the earliest records of these things SO FAR have come from China. We know that at specific times these items were made and used in China. Take paper for example. There is a person attributed to it at a specific time, but there is evidence showing it was in use much earlier. Probably still in the general area, but who knows? Difference between "generally accepted" and "fact". We don't have 100% accurate historical records from antiquity, but it's safe to say that most likely these things were developed in what is now China.
What pisses me off is the idea that because one sort-of related thing was invented some place, credit is given for everything else, ie: the abacus and the modern day computer. You guys are trying to push the idea that somehow China has the invention claim on certain modern technologies because they invented something that is sort of related to it a long time ago.
Take for example rockets. Technically, yes, they were invented in China, but comparing modern rockets with those simple fireworks like devices is like saying the first guy who threw a rock invented the machine gun. The initial concept was Chinese. This does not mean "China invented the ICBM".
Do you understand what I mean here? Not sure how I can explain this more clearly.
MrTibbles:
Oh, and just for the record, I would also dispute other technologies from other countries the same way. This is not "I'm against giving China credit", it's just we're talking about China. for example, there are designs from antiquity showing airplane like devices, so I'd never claim the Wright Brothers invented airplanes. They DID however, have the first successful FLIGHT of an airplane. Their design worked and help pave the way for modern aviation, but I'd never say they invented the F-22 Raptor.
OldMajor:
Mr Tibbles, I'm not sure if you are referring to something in the wider public domain, but I can't recall anyone on this thread saying that China invented the computer?
Anyhow, you said the following in your post above:
"Take for example rockets. Technically, yes, they were invented in China, but comparing modern rockets with those simple fireworks like devices is like saying the first guy who threw a rock invented the machine gun. The initial concept was Chinese. This does not mean "China invented the ICBM"."
Of course no-one was saying that the Chinese invented the ICBM, what they did, was show a very inventive nature, long before we did, to invent what some people regard as the earliest rocket like 'thing'. If we can't call that an 'invention' that relates to its modern descendant rockets, then at least we can call them inventive, intelligent, visionaries at that time in history.
Likewise, Albert Einstein's inventive, intelligent, visionary theories may not be inventions as such, but paved the way for many applications further down the line by people who then would have been classed as the 'inventors'.
I think this is all pointless semantics. Back in the day, when the Chinese were inventing all this stuff they were a more advanced civilization than the Europeans, I dont think any historians that I know of dispute that. For someone, and I'm not necessarily saying you, to not give them credit for inventing stuff during this period, however primitive a design or concept, just seems a bit like sour grapes, in that how could the Chinese nation that we know of today possibly have been more creative than us! Amen
Flemingo:
no one invented bacon either right? they discovered it in the pig.
Also Mr. Tibbles, first flight belongs to a Mr. Richard Pearce.
crimochina:
Hugh.G.Rection:
Coc, back to school and learn to read, you really are displaying extraordinary ignorance, even for yourself. I am sure most people with double digit IQ (so you are obviously and evidently excused) would realise I was talking about principles and not the total endgame 21st century devices.
6. The Helicopter Rotor and the Propeller: China, Forth Century CE. By fourth century CE a common toy in China was the helicopter top, called the 'bamboo dragonfly'. The top was an axis with a cord wound round it, and with blades sticking out from the axis and set at an angle. One pulled the cord, and the top went climbing in the air. Sir George Cayley, the father of modern aeronautics, studied the Chinese helicopter top in 1809. The helicopter top in China led to nothing but amusement and pleasure, but fourteen hundred years later it was to be one of the key elements in the birth of modern aeronautics in the West.
10. Circulation of the blood, If you care to read the rest of the post rather than leap in with both feet (apparently in your mouth) then you would have read what I said earlier in that of course they did not 'invent' that but what they did do was "Second Century BCE. Most people believe blood circulation was discovered by William Harvey in 1628, but there are other recorded notations dating back to the writings of an Arab of Damascus, al-Nafis (died 1288). However, circulation appears discussed in full and complex form in The Yellow Emperor's Manual of Corporeal Medicine in China by the second century BC." (Sorry for posting that twice but it appears Coc needs to read slowly).
14. The rocket and multistaged rockets: China, Eleventh and Twelfth CE Centuries . Around 1150 it crossed someone's mind to attach a comet-like fireworks to a four foot bamboo stick with an arrowhead and a balancing weight behind the feathers. To make the rockets multi-staged, a secondary set of rockets was attached to the shaft, their fuses lighted as the first rockets burned out. Rockets are first mentioned in the West in connection with a battle in Italy in 1380, arriving in the wake of Marco Polo.
Now, do you want to apologise? No? Thought not, the ignorant rarely do. And you call yourself a teacher? I'm ashamed to have your like in the same profession!
jknox00:
"huge erection" who decided these are 'accepted as fact' is somehow ashamed to have you in the teaching profession. Wow. Just wow.
Hugh.G.Rection:
JBNOX, you're just a troll, and I don't feed the trolls.
Paper..that what i think is major invention...apart from gunpowder..
Brass business cards!
I was given one a few days ago at a business meeting. How has mankind survived so long without the brass business card? It's a wonderful invention. You can even use to to scrape the drips from the last tub of instant noodles from your desk. Or use it to unlock certain doors if you have lost your keys. My word, this thing is so versatile! I hope it catches on. 
Definately the tree. They invented them in 1932 as a global warming counter measure i believe and theyve been popping up all over the world ever since. Theyre beautiful. Id say they are raging they didnt get a copyright on it though because ive seen a lot of knock-offs.
The mini skirt and the high heeled platform shoe.This was a major engineering feat to get a 6'' heel for small feet.
rice noodles
OldMajor:
Numerous really badly produced and directed kung-fu movies.
