The Four Great Inventions of Ancient China - 四大发明

Hello, I'm Gina. Today let's talk about the four great inventions of ancient China. The four great inventions of ancient China refers to paper, gunpowder, printing, and compass. These four great inventions greatly promoted the development of China's economy, politics, and culture. The idea of four great inventions was first put forward by British sinologist Dr. Joseph Needham, and it was widely accepted by Chinese historians. Let's start with paper, 纸. The earliest form of paper first appeared in Western Han dynasty but the paper was very thick, coarse, and uneven in their texture. A hundred years later, a court official named Cai Lun made a new kind of paper. It was relatively cheap, light, thin, durable, and more suitable for brush writing. The next one is gunpowder, 火药. Unlike paper, the birth of gunpowder was quite accidental. It was first invented inadvertently by alchemists while attempting to make an elixir of immortality. It was a mixture of sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal. At the end of the Tang dynasty, gunpowder was being used in military affairs. Then, let's talk about printing, 印刷术. Before the emergence of the printing technique, manuscripts were all handwritten by scholars. Chinese people invented fixed-type engraved printing around 200 AD. It was time-consuming to engrave a model. Bi Sheng is credited with being the inventor of movable type printing in the Song dynasty. We call it 活字印刷术. Last but not least, compass 指南针. Before the use of compasses, people could tell directions by observing sun, moon, and stars. In China during the time of Xia dynasty, around 4,000 years ago, compasses were already in use. Later, especially in the Song dynasty, it was useful for sea exploration and navigation and stimulated the development of their shipping industry. Those are the four great inventions of ancient China 四大发明. Before we say goodbye, let's review. 紙 火药 印刷术 指南针 Thank you for watching my video and I will see you next time. Bye!