List of Chinese inventions

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China is said to be the source of some of the world's great inventions, including the Four Great Inventions of ancient China, a modern term which was coined by the British scholar Joseph Needham: Paper, the compass, gunpowder, and printing.

Contents 1 First inventions 2 Native traditions 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] First inventions

China is the country where many inventions made it's first appearance. The inventions which made their first appearance in China are listed below.

• gunpowder
• printing (woodblock printing and movable type)

Other things which are claimed by various authors to have been first discovered, used or promoted by Chinese:

• Abacus
• Acupuncture
• The cannon
• Cast iron^{[citation needed]}
• Chinese calendar
• Chinese food: Tofu, Noodles, Ramen
• Chinese clothing: Qipao, Hanfu
• Crossbow, Repeating crossbow
• Deep Mining Drillbit/petroluem drilling^{[citation needed]}
• Escapement mechanism for clocks
• Fireworks, rockets and multi-staged rockets
• Early explosive grenades
• Hull compartments
• Kite
• Matches
• Porcelain
• Restaurants
• Mechanical Seismograph (of Zhang Heng)
• Suspension bridge^{[citation needed]}
• Silk
• Stirrups
• Tea (Arcording to a Chinese legend, but could also originated from Myanmar or India)
• Traditional Chinese medicine
• Umbrella
• Wheelbarrow

[edit] Native traditions

• Acupuncture
• Chinese martial arts
• Confucianism
• Taoism
• Chinese calendar
• Chinese cuisine
• Chinese clothing
• Traditional Chinese medicine

[edit] See also

• List of tributaries of Imperial China

[edit] External links

• Robert K. G. Temple, The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery and Invention, Publisher: Prion (October 1, 1998), ISBN 978-1853752926