Tag Archives: The Four Great Inventions

Alchemists  were  the  first  people in  ancient  China  to  dabble  in chemistry. In the search for “pills of  immortality”,  it  was  found that a mixture of sulfur, saltpeter and  charcoal  could  cause  an explosion.  People  called  the mixture  of  these  three  materials ”gunpowder”.  A  book  in  the middle  of … Continue reading →

Printing has played a very impor- tant  role  in  the  history  of civilization.  Woodblock  printing was  in  use  at  the  time  of  the Sui  Dynasty.  But  it  involved  a laborious and expensive process. Bi  Sheng  of  the  Northern  Song Dynasty  was  a  smart  printing worke r ,   … Continue reading →

A  crude  type  of  paper  was  used for  writing  on  as  early  as  in  the The Four Great InventionsThe  Technique  of  Making Paper A  crude  type  of  paper  was  used for  writing  on  as  early  as  in  the Western  Han  Dynasty.  It  was made  from  plant  fiber, … Continue reading →