This thread arose from a suggestion that a greater appreciation of Chinese achievements in this field might not go unappreciated by the fair damsels we are courting....
I spent time in Shenzhen watching multiple TV feeds... there was a lot of emphasis on Chinese history, and technical and scientific achievements.
So it behoves us to know a little of that as well :icon_cool:
Early on my nearest and dearest also pointed out that the Chinese invented the siesmograph.....
...but she didn't understand it when I said they would probably need one once I got over there :heart:
Much of what follows comes from Joseph Needham's pioneering work
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Needhamor the chinese version
(Navigate down to the bottom of the language section on the above (Cant seem to get Mandarin showing here))
More in the next post :icon_biggrin: I may also post some of the philosophical stuff here as well
Chinese Inventions and Discoveries, with dates of first mention.
From ‘Science and Civilisation in China Vol VII, Part 2 –
Joseph Needham 1993Abacus AD 190
Acupuncture 580 BC
Advisory vessels 3rd Century BC
Air-conditioning fan AD 180
Alcohol made from grain by a special fermentation process 15th Century BC
Algorithm for extraction of square and
cube roots 1st Century AD
Anatomy 11th Century AD
Anchor, nonfouling, stockless 1st Century AD
Anemometer 3rd Century AD
Antimalarial drugs 3rd Century BC
Arcuballista, multiple-bolt 320 BC
Arcuballista, multiple-spring 5th Century AD
Asbestos woven into cloth 3rd Century BC
Astronomical clock drive AD 120
Axial rudder 1st Century AD
Ball bearings 2nd Century BC
Balloon principle 2nd Century BC
Bean curd AD 100
Bell pottery
Bellows, double-acting piston-tuned bronze 6th Century BC
Belt drive 5th Century BC
Beriberi, recognition of AD I330
Blast furnace 3rd Century BC
Blood, d1stinction between arterial and venous 2nd Century BC
Blood, theory of circulation 2nd Century BC
Boats and ships, paddle-wheel AD 4I8
Bomb, cast-iron AD 1221
Bomb, thrown from a trebuchet AD 1161
Book, printed, first to be dated AD 868
Book, scientific, printed AD 847
Bookcase, vertical axis AD 544
Bookworm repellent
Bowl, bronze water-spouting 3rd Century BC
Bread, steamed
Bndges, releasable 4th Century BC
Bndges, iron-chaín suspension 6th Century AD
Bridges, Li Chhun's segmental arch AD 610
Bronze, high tin, for mirror production
Bronze rainbow teng (camphor still) 1st Century BC
Calipers AD 9
Camera obscura, explanation of AD 1086
"Cardan" suspension 40 BC
Cast iron 5th Century BC
Cast iron malleable 4th Century BC
Cereals, preservation of stored 1st Century BC
Chain drive AD976
Chess 4th Century BC
Chimes, stone 9th Century BC
Chopsticks 600 BC
Clocks, sand AD 1370
Clocks, Su Sung's AD 1088
Clockwork escapement of Yi Xing and
Liang Lingzan AD725
Coal, as a fuel 1st Century AD
Coal, dust, briquettes from 1st Century AD
Coinage 9th Century BC
Collapsible umbrella and other items 5th Century BC
Comet tails, observation of direction of AD 635
Compass, floating fish AD I027
Compass, magnetic needle AD 1088
Compass, magnetic, used for navigation AD 1111
Cooking pots, heat economy in 3rd millennium BC
Crank handle 1st Century BC
Crop rotation 6th Century BC
Crossbow 5th Century BC
crossbow, bronze triggers 300 BC
crossbow, grid sight for 1st Century AD
crossbow, magazine 13th Century AD
Dating of trees by number of rings 12th Century AD
Decimal place value 13th Century BC
Deep drilling and use of natural gas as fuel 2nd Century BC
Diabetes, association with sweet and fatty foods 1st Century BC
Dial and pointer 3rd Century AD
Differential pressure
Disease, diurnal rhythms in 2nd Century BC
Diseases, deficiency 3rd Century AD
Dishing of carriage wheel
Distillation, of mercury 3rd Century BC
Dominoes AD 1120
Downdraft 1st Century BC
Dragon kiln 2nd Century AD
Draw loom 1st Century AD
Drum carriage 110 BC
Diked / poldered fields 1st Century BC
Ephedrine 2nd Century AD
Equal temperament, mathematical formulation of AD 1584
Equilibrium, theory of 4th Century BC
Erosion and sedimentary deposition, knowledge of AD 1070
Esculent1st movement (edible plants for time of famine) AD 1406
Ever-normal granary system AD 9
Fertilizers 2nd Century BC
Firecrackers AD290
Firelance AD950
Flame test
Flamethrower (double-acting force pump for liquids) AD9I9
Folding chairs 3rd Century AD
Free reed 1000 BC
Fumigation 7th Century BC
Furnace, reverberatory 1 st Century BC
Gabions 3rd Century BC
Gauges, rain and snow AD 1247
Gear wheels, chevron-toothed AD 50
Ginning machine, hand-cranked, and treadle 17th Century AD
Gluten from wheat AD 530
Gold, purple sheen 200 BC
Grafting AD 806
Gravimetry AD 7I2
Great Wall of China 3rd Century BC
Grid technique, quantitative, used in cartography AD 130
Cuan xien system 240 BC
Gunpowder, formula for 9th Century AD
Gunpowder, firecracker and firevvorks 12th Century AD
Gunpowder, government’s department and monopoly on 14th Century AD
Gunpowder, used in mining Ming
Handcarts 681 BC
Handgun AD 1128
Harness, breast strap 250 BC
Harness, collar AD 477
Helicopter top AD 320
High temperatures, firing of clay at 2nd millennium BC
Hodometer 110 BC
Holing-irons AD 584
"Hot streak" test AD 1596
Hygrometer 120 BC
Indeterminate analysis 4th Century AD
Interconversion of longitudinal and rotary motion AD 31
Kite 4th Century BC
Knife, rotary disk, for cutting jade 12th Century AD
Lacquer 13th Century BC
Ladders, extendable 4th Century BC
Leeboards and centerboards AD75I
Lodestone, south-pointing ladle AD83
Magic mirrors 5th Century AD
Magic squares AD 190
Magnetic declination noted AD 1040
Magnetic thermoremanence and induction AD 1044
Magnetic variation observed AD 1436
Magnetism, used in medicine AD970
Malt sugar, production of 1st millennium BC
Mangonel 4th Century BC
Maps, relief AD 1086
Maps, topographical 3rd Century BC
Masts, multiple 3rd Century AD
Matches (nonstriking) AD577
Melodic composition AD475
Metal amalgams used to fill cavities AD659
Metals, to oxides, burning of 5th Century BC
Metals, densities of 3rd Century AD
Mill, wagon AD340
Mills, edge-runner 200 BC
Mills, edge-runner, water-power applied 4th Century AD
Mining, square sets for 5th Century BC
Mining, differential pressure ventilation 5th Century BC
Mirror with "light penetration surface" 11th Century BC
Mold board 2nd Century BC
Mountings, vertical and horizontal 1st Century AD
Mouth-organs 9th Century BC
Moxibustion 3rd Century BC
Multiple-spindle silk-tw1sting frame AD 1313
Negative numbers, operations using 1st Century AD
Noodles (filamentous) including bread AD 100
Nova, recorded observation of 13th Century BC
Numerical equations of higher order,solution of 3th Century AD
Oil lamps, economic 9th Century AD
Paktong (cupronickel) AD230
Paper (invention of) 300 BC
Paper, money 9th Century AD
Paper, toilet AD589
Paper, wall 16th Century AD
Paper, wrapping 2nd Century BC
Parachute principle 8th Century AD
"Pascal" triangle of binomial coefficients AD 11OO
Pasteurization of wine AD 1117
Pearl fishing conservancy 2nd Century AD
Pearls in oysters, artificial induction of AD 1086
"Pi," accurate estimation of 3rd Century AD
Piece molding for casting bronze 2nd millennium BC
Place-value number system 13th Century BC
Placenta used as source of estrogen AD 725
Planispheres AD 940
Plant protection, biological AD 304
Planting in rows 3rd Century BC
Playing cards AD 969
Polar-equatorial coordinates 1st Century BC
Polar-equatorial mounting of astronomical instruments AD 1270
Porcelain 3rd Century BC
Potassium, flame-test used in identifying 3rd Century AD
Pound-lock canal gates AD 984
Preservation of corpses 166 BC
Printing, bronze type AD 1403
Printing, movable earthenware type on paper 11th Century AD
Printing, multicolor 12th Century AD
Printing, with woodblocks 7th Century AD
Propeller oar, self-feathering AD 1OO
Prospecting, biogeochemical 6th Century AD
Prospecting, geological 4th Century BC
Qin and se zither
Recording of sun halves, parhelic specters, and Lowitz arcs AD635
Reel on fishing rod 3rd Century AD
Refraction 4th Century BC
Rocket arrow 13th Century AD
Rocket arrow launchers AD 1367
Rocket arrows, winged AD 1360
Rockets, two-stage AD 1360
Roller-harrows AD880
Rotary ballista AD240
Rotary fan 1st Century BC
Sailing carriage 16th Century AD
Sails, mat and batten 1st Century AD
Salvage, underwater AD 1064
Seawalls AD80
Seed, pretreatment of 1st Century BC
Seed drill, multiple-tube AD 155
"Seedling horse" 11th Century AD
Seismograph AD 132
Ships, construction principle of 1st Century BC
Ships, paddle-wheel 5th Century AD
Silk, earliest spinning of 2850 BC
Silk reeling machine AD 1090
Silk warp doubling and throwing frame 10 th Century AD
Sluices 3rd Century BC
Sluices, riffles added to 11th Century AD
Smallpox, inoculation against 10th Century AD
Smokescreens AD 178
Snow crystals, six-sided symmetry of 135 BC
Soil science (ecology) 5th Century BC
South-pointing carriage AD 120
Soybean, fermented 200 BC
Sprouts, for medicinal and nutritional purposes 2nd Century BC
Spindle wheel 15th Century BC
Spindle wheel, multiple spindle 11th Century AD
Spindle wheel, treadle-operated 1st Century AD
Spooling frame AD 1313
Square pallet chain pump AD 186
Stalactites and stalagmites, records of 4th Century BC
Stars, proper motion of AD 725
Steamers, pottery 5th millennium BC
Steel production, cofusion method of 6th Century AD
Sterilization by steaming AD 980
Steroids, urinary AD 1025
Still, Chinese-type 7th Century AD
Stirrup AD 300
Stringed instruments 9th Century BC
Tea, as drink 2nd Century BC
Thyroid treatment
Tian yuan algebraic notation AD 1248
Tilt-hammer, water-powered spoon AD 1145
Toothbrush 9th Century AD
Trebuchet (simple) 4th Century BC
Trip hammers 2nd Century BC
Tri hammers, water-powered AD 20
vinegar 2nd Century BC
Watermills, geared 3rd Century AD
Waterwheel, horizontal AD 31
Weather vane 120 BC
Wet copper method 11th Century AD
Wheelbarrow, centrally mounted 30 BC
Wheelbarrow, with sails 6th Century AD-
Windlass, well 120 BC
Windows, revolving 5th Century BC
Winnowing machine 1st Century BC
Wu Tong black palatinated copper 15th Century AD
Zoetrope __ AD 180
