CHINESE INVENTION: GUNPOWDER

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Chinesealchemistsdiscoveredgunpowderinthe8thcenturyA.D.whiletheywerecarryingoutexperimentstofindtheelixiroflife(potionthatwhendrunkfromacertaincupatacertaintime,supposedlygrantsthepersoneternallife).Theydiscoveredthatanexplosivemixturecouldbeproducedbycombiningsulfur,charcoal,andsaltpeter(potassiumnitrate).Themilitaryapplicationswereclear.Newweaponswererapidlydeveloped,includingrocketsandothersthatwerelaunchedfromabambootube.Bythe10thcentury,gunpowderwasbeingusedtomakefireworksandweapons.TheSongarmyusedgunsagainsttheinvadingMongolsintheearly13thcentury,buttheywereeventuallyoverpoweredbythegreatermightoftheMongolempire.TheideaofgunsspreadtoEuropeandwereimportantweaponsinEurope’sconquestoftheWesternHemisphere.Document2InhisinterviewwithNOVA,adocumentaryseriesforPBS,ChinaexpertRobinD.S.Yates,ProfessorofHistoryandEastAsianStudiesatMcGillUniversity,describestheSongeraandhowitinfluencedthecourseofworldhistory.

Question:WhatweresomeoftheChineseinventionsofthisperiodthathadaprofoundinfluenceonthecourseofcivilization?

Answer:Gunpowdercompletelytransformedthewaywarswerewagedandcontributedtotheeventualestablishmentofmightoverright.Inmyownresearch,IhavebeenabletorefutethecommonnotionthattheChineseinventedgunpowderbutonlyuseditforfireworks.I'msurethattheydiscoveredmilitaryusesforit.Ihavefoundtheearliestillustrationofacannonintheworld,whichdatesfromthechange‐overfromtheNorthernSongtotheSouthernSongaround1127,whichwas150yearsbeforethedevelopmentofthecannonintheWest.TheSongalsousedgunpowdertomake...flamethrowers...Needlesstosay,thecannonwasusedbythekingsofEuropetofundamentallyalterthesocialstructureoftheEuropeanworld.Itenabledkingstodestroythecastlesofthefeudallords.Anditenabled,therefore,thecentralizednation‐statetodevelop.BytheendoftheSongDynasty,theChineseinventedmultiple‐stagerockets.Ifwehadn'thadthat,maybewewouldnothavebeenabletoputamanonthemoon.Itwasthatfundamentalanidea.JosephNeedham,anhistorianofChinesescienceandtechnology,alsoarguesthatthenotionofanexplosioninaself‐containedcylinderalsopermittedthedevelopmentoftheinternalcombustionengineandthesteamengine.OurbasicmodesoftransportationwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthisChineseinvention.Question:HowdidtheChineseinventionofgunpowdermovefromEasttoWest?

Answer:AlthoughscholarsoftenconsidertheSongDynastytohavebeenveryweak,itsuseofgunpowderwasthereasonitwasabletoholdofftheMongolsformanydecades.Eventually,theMongolswereabletocaptureChineseartisansandusethelatestgunpowdertechnologyagainsttheChinese.TheMongolsusedthosepeoplewhohadaspecialknowledgeoftechnologyandemployedthemintheirownarmiesasengineers.TheycarriedthattechnologytotheWestveryrapidlybecauseitwasveryhelpfulintheirconquests.Whatwasinterestingwiththistransferoftechnologyisthatitgoesbothways.AftertheintroductionofthecannonandgunpowdertotheWest,Westernersveryquicklybecameexpertwithcannons.TheycastbronzecannonsthatwereeventuallymuchbetterthanthosetheChinesecouldproduce.TheWesternbronzecannonwasthenbroughtbacktoChinabytheJesuits(Christianpriests)inthe16thand17thcenturies.TheMingDynasty,whichfoughttheManchus,employedJesuitprieststocastcannonsthatweremoreadvancedthantheChinesehadatthattime.

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Songmilitaryengineersfoundgunpowdertobehelpfulinsiegewarfare,leadingtothedevelopmentofearlytypesofrockets,cannons,bombs,andmines.TheWujingzongyao(“CollectionoftheMostImportantMilitaryTechniques”),amilitarymanualfrom1044CE,recordsthefirsttruegunpowderformulaanddescribeshowtoproduceitonalargescale.Gunpowderwasfirstuseinwarfareasanincendiary,orfire‐producing,compound.Smallpackagesofgunpowderwrappedinpaperorbamboowereattachedtoarrowsandlitwithafuse.Bombsofgunpowdermixedwithscrapironwouldbelaunchedwithcatapults.Anotherusewas“fire‐spurtinglances,”whichwereakindofflame‐throwerusingbambooormetaltubesfortheirbarrels.WeaponsinvolvinggunpowderwereextensivelyusedbyboththeChineseandtheMongolforcesinthe13thcentury.SongeffortstocontinuallyimprovetheirweaponswereonereasontheywereabletoholdofftheMongolsforseveraldecades.ButtheMongols...werereadytoadoptnewandbettermilitarytechnology,oftenbycapturingtheChineseengineersandgunners.

Source:fromAVisualSourcebookforChineseCivilization,PatriciaEbrey,UniversityofWashingtonDocument4

ThefollowingisselectionsfromHistoryChannel’sdocumentary“Mankind:TheStoryofAllofUs”

Gunpowdercertainlyhastoberankedamongthemostimportantinventionsofman...TheChinesefirstlearnedtomakefireworks...Bythe1200stheyusedahollowbambootubethatspewedoutflame...Gunpowderspurredacompletearmsracethatultimatelyledtothebuildingofcannonsthatbatteredawaythewallsoffortresses.Thisbeginstomovetothewest(Europe).Itchangeshowpeoplerelatetooneanother.Itchangeshowkingdomsarebuiltandhowtheyaretorndown...Itchangesthewaywesubjectthepeoplewhodon’thaveit.Inthegun,youhavebroughtfearandplacedinthehandsofanindividual.Theindividualsoldierbecomesmoreandmorepowerful,moreandmoredeadly.Assoonassomebodydevelopsaweapon,someoneelsedevelopsadefensetothatweapon.Thisistheself‐perpetuatingarmsracethatwearestillcaughtupin.Thereisreallynopartofourhumanexperiencethathasn’tbeeninfluencedbythisinvention.

CHINESE INVENTION: PRINTING Document1PaperandprintingwerepossiblythemostimportantChineseinventions.TheChineseinventionofmoveabletype,creditedtoBiShengintheyear1045AD,didnotsignificantlychangeChinesesociety.ThreehundredyearslaterinEurope,Gutenberg'sdevelopmentofmoveabletypechangedtheWesternworld.Why?TheChineselanguageuses3000to5000charactersinanaveragenewspaper.TheEnglishlanguage,incomparison,uses26charactersinanaveragenewspaper.Clearly,moving5,000charactersonaprintingpresstookmuchlongerthanmoving26.Still,theinventionofmoveabletypefurtheredChinesetechnologyanditsroleintheadvancementofhumancivilization.Large‐scaleprintinginthe10thcenturymadebooksreadilyavailableinChinaforthefirsttime.Thespreadofbooksgreatlyincreasedthespreadofliteracy(abilitytoreadandwrite).Whenbookscouldbemadefaster,theybecamecheaperandeventheaveragepersoncouldaffordthem.Thisledtoincreasedknowledgeforhumancivilizationoveralland,therefore,moretechnologyandinventions.Document2InhisinterviewwithNOVA,adocumentaryseriesforPBS,ChinaexpertRobinD.S.Yates,ProfessorofHistoryandEastAsianStudiesatMcGillUniversity,describestheSongeraandhowitinfluencedthecourseofworldhistory.Question:Weretheremajornon‐militaryinventionsduringtheSongDynastythathadanimpactworldwide?Answer:Printingandmovabletypewerecertainlytwoofthem.PrintingwasactuallyinventedbytheBuddhistsintheeighthcenturyfordisseminationofreligiousimagesandtexts.ButintheSongDynasty,thegovernmentpromotedthepublicationoftheConfuciantextscalled"TheCanons."Thesetextshadtobestudiedbyexaminationcandidates.Onceyoupassedtheexaminationsyouwereeligibletobecomeanofficial.SomanycopiesoftheConfuciantextswerepublishedatthistime.Inaddition,thegovernmentpopularizedtheuseofprintingforthedisseminationoftechnicalmanuals,suchasagriculturalmanualsandworksonmedicine.Eventually,privateprintingpressesstarted,whichfundamentallyalteredtheworldoflettersanddisseminationofknowledge.Inthe11thcentury,afamousliteraryartistbythenameofShenGuarecordstheinventionofmovable‐typeprintingbyamanbythenameofBiSheng.ItwasthisinventionthatwaseventuallytakenovertotheWestandusedbyGutenbergfortheprintingoftheBible.Needlesstosay,thishadaprofoundeffectonthenatureofknowledgeandthedevelopmentofliterature.Sothisisprobablythenumber‐oneinventionoftheSongDynasty.Question:WasmovabletypeanotherexampleoftechnologymovingfromEast(China)toWest(Europe),orwasitanexampleofaninnovationdevelopingintheEastandWestsimultaneously?Answer:It'sveryunclear,butitdoesappearthattherewasatransferfromEasttoWest.TheMongolinvadersofChinawereabletousetheirhighlydevelopedorganizationandcavalrytoconquerallofCentralAsia,includingpartsofIndia,theMiddleEast,andEurope.SotheinventionwasprobablytransferredtotheWestasaresultoftheopeningupofthetraderoutesandthelinesofcommunicationestablishedbytheMongols.I'mnotsayingthatGutenbergactuallyhadaccesstoaChinesepress;that'shighlyunlikely.Rather,heprobablygotwindoftheideaofprintingthroughsomeunknownandlostsource.It'sratherironicthatGutenbergwasrecentlyvotedthemanofthemillennium,whenitwastheChinesewhoactuallyinventedthetechnology.

Document3 ...Chinawastheunrivaledworldleaderintechnologicaldevelopment...TheimpactoftheseinventionsonWesternEuropeiswellknown.Printingnotonlyeliminatedmuchoftheopportunityforhumancopyingerrors,italsoencouragedtheproductionofmorecopiesofoldbooksandanincreasingnumberofnewbooks.Aswrittenmaterialbecamebothcheaperandmoreeasilyavailable,intellectualactivityincreased.Printingwouldeventuallybeheldresponsible,atleastinpart,forspreadofclassicalhumanismandotherideasfromtheRenaissance.ItisalsosaidtohavestimulatedtheProtestantReformation(areligiousmovementinEuropeduringthe16thcentury),whichurgedareturntotheBibleastheprimaryreligiousauthority.

Source:LyndaShafferfromtheWorldHistoryBulletin,Fall/Winter,1986/87Document4

1. Forming and Supporting OpinionsOf all the inventions listed on thesepages, which do you think had themost lasting impact? Why?

See Skillbuilder Handbook, page R19.

2. Hypothesizing What are somemodern inventions that you believewill still have an impact 1,000 yearsfrom now?

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Explosive PowderAround A.D. 900, Chinese alchemists firstdiscovered that the right mixture ofsaltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal could beexplosive. The Chinese initially used thepowder for fireworks, then for militaryapplications. It is now commonly referredto as gunpowder.

The device shown here is a modernreproduction of an ancient rocket launcher.The Chinese tied gunpowder charges toarrows, balanced them, and placed themin a holder. The holder helped aim therockets, and its flared shape spread therockets over a large area.

LEGACY OF TANG ANDSONG CHINA

Printing• U.S. publishers produced

122,108 books in 2000.

• The Library of Congress, thelargest library in the world, hasover 18 million books.

• The world’s best-selling book isthe Bible. Since 1815, around2.5 billion copies of the Biblehave been sold.

Porcelain• The United States imported

423,041 one-piece toilet bowlsand tanks in 2002. Of those,302,489 came from China.

• In 2001, a Chinese newspaperreported the production ofpossibly the world’s largestporcelain kettle—just under 10 feet tall, about 6 feet indiameter, and weighing 1.5 tons.

Explosive Powder• In 2002, the United States

imported over 90 percent of itsfireworks from China.

• The largest single firework wasused at a Japanese festival in1988. It weighed over 1,000pounds, and its burst was overhalf a mile wide.

The trays allowed the typesetter toquickly find the characters. Thetypesetter would then order thecharacters in a tray that would be usedto produce the printed pages. The twowheels held about 60,000 characters.

Movable Type !Traditionally, an entire page of characters was carved into a blockof wood from which prints were made. Pi Sheng, a Chinesealchemist, came up with the idea of creating individual charactersthat could be reused whenever needed. Later, a governmentofficial created rotating storage trays for the characters.

As you have read, Tang rulers restored China’s system ofscholar-officials. Thus, education and printed materials becameimportant to a larger part of Chinese society.

!

CHINESE INVENTION: MAGNETIC COMPASS Document1BythethirdcenturyAD,Chinesescientistshadstudiedandlearnedmuchaboutmagnetisminnature.Forexample,theyknewthatironore,calledmagnetite,tendedtoalignitselfinaNorth/Southposition.Scientistslearnedto"makemagnets"byheatingpiecesoforetoredhottemperaturesandthencoolingthepiecesinaNorth/Southposition.Themagnetwasthenplacedonapieceofreedandfloatedinabowlofwatermarkedwithdirectionalbearings.ThesefirstnavigationalcompasseswerewidelyusedonChineseshipsbytheeleventhcenturyAD.TheinventionofthecompasslargelyhelpedtheexplorersduringtheMiddleAgesdiscovertheWesternHemisphereoftheworld.Document2ThemagneticcompasswasfirstinventedinChinaduringtheHanDynasty(206B.C.E.‐220C.E.).ItwaslaterimproveduponduringtheSongDynasty(960C.E.‐1279C.E.)...todeterminethemagneticdirectionofnorthwhileexperimentingonacompass...ThemagneticcompasswaseventuallytradedontotheArabsintheIslamicEmpire.Inthe1300'sC.E.,themagneticcompasswasusedbyanIslamicastronomertomakeatimekeepingdevice.ThecompasswaseventuallytradedontoEurope,whereitwasworkeduponandusedbymanyscientistsandsailors.Atfirst,thecompasshelpedEuropeansnavigateintheMediterraneanSeaandevenintheEnglishChannel,anditeventuallyhelpedtheminsailingacrosstheAtlantic,aroundAfricaandtotheIndianOcean.Themagneticcompass,whichwasimproveduponinEurope,wasmostimportantaboardship.Atsea,sailorscouldusethesecompassestofigureoutwhichwaytheywereheaded,andtheycouldusethemtopointtheirshipwherevertheywantedtogo...Althoughmerchantshadsailedthesewatersbefore,thecompassmadetheirtravelsmucheasierandfaster,thusincreasingtheirefficiencyintrade.Perhapsthemostimportantimpactofthemagneticcompass,however,wasitsuseindiscoveringtheAmericas.In1492,ChristopherColumbussaileddueeast,becausehethoughthewasgoingtoChina.Asweknow,hestumbleduponAmericainstead.AfterthiscamethesignificantEuropeancolonizationintheAmericas,wheretheywipedoutmostofthenativepopulationandusedthelandforthemselves.Soonafterthis,EuropesailedaroundAfricaandintotheIndianOcean,wheretheysetupnumeroustradingpostsandenteredaworldofrichexchange.Also,themagneticcompassallowedpeopletomapouttheworldastheyknewit,sincetheynowknewwhatdirectioneachcountrywasin.Therefore,themagneticcompasseffectivelyallowedEuropeanstonavigateacrossoceansandexpandtheirempire,colonizingandtradingeverywheretheywent.Intermsofart,themagneticcompassallowedtheEuropeans,Chineseandmanyotherempirestotravelacrosslandsandtradetools,weapons,artandinnovationsastheywent.Therefore,themagneticcompassultimatelyallowedthecultureoftheseempirestospread,especiallyEuropeancultureintheAmericas.Themagneticcompassimpactedthegeographyoftheworldbecausewithit,peoplewereabletonavigatetounknownplaces,setupcoloniesonunknownlands,andmapouttheworld...Themagneticcompasswasespeciallyimportantintechnology,becauseitwasatoolfirstdevelopedinChina,andthenlaterimproveduponbyempirestofittheneedsoftheirdevelopments.Themagneticcompassimpactedeconomybecause,inallowingtheEuropeanstoreachtheAmericasandtheIndianOceantraderoutes,tradeincreasedandtheprosperityofEuropegrew.IntheColombianExchange,themagneticcompasshelpeddirectpeopletoeithertheAmericas,EuropeorAfrica.

Source:CrackingtheAPWorldHistoryExam.2012thed.N.p.:ThePrincetonReview,n.d.Print.

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11InventionsThatChangedHistory:TheCompassMagneticcompassesmayhavebeenmadesomewhatobsoletebysatellitesandglobalpositioningsystems,buttheirimpactonearlynavigationandexplorationwasinestimable.OriginallyinventedinChina,bythe14thcenturycompasseshadwidelyreplacedastronomicalmeansastheprimarynavigationalinstrumentformariners.Thecompassprovidedexplorerswithareliablemethodfortraversingtheworld’soceans,abreakthroughthatignitedtheAgeofDiscoveryandwonEuropethewealthandpowerthatlaterfueledtheIndustrialRevolution.Mostimportantly,thecompassallowedforinteraction—bothpeacefulandotherwise—betweenpreviouslyisolatedworldcultures.

Source:http://www.history.com/news/history‐lists/11‐innovations‐that‐changed‐historyDocument4Thecompasskeptseaexplorersfromgivinguponexpeditionsbecausetheyweren’tabletofindtheplacetheyweregoing,andmadeitsothatideascouldspreadawholelotfaster.Itusedtotakemonthstotravelfromonecitytoanother,withthecompassitmadethosepreviouslytedioustreksmucheasierandlessconfusing.Thecompassalsoallowedpeopletotravelmoreoftenbecausetheydidn’thavetodependonnatureandcertainweathereventsthatonlyhappenduringcertainseasons.Example:Monsoonseason,tides,themoonandstarsandthesunalongwithmigratingbirdsandanimals......Peopledependonthecompassandhavedependedonitforaverylongtime.Thecompasshasbeenusedbysomeofthemostfamouspeopleinhistory:ChineseexplorerZhengHe,whousedthecompassasanavigationaldevice;MarcoPolo,whoissaidtohavecarriedacompasswithhimwhenhereturnedtoVeniceaftertwentyyearsservingtheKublaiKhanCourt;WilliamGilbert,ascientistandPhysicianofQueenElizabethI;KingEdwardIII;PrinceHenryofPortugal,alsoknownas‘TheNavigator’;andFerdinandMagellan,anotherPortugueseexplorer.TheVikingsusedit,asdidArabtradersandPirates.Thecompasshascrossedtheworldwithitsextraordinarypower,andeveryonefromruffians(peopleinvolvedincrimes)toroyaltyhasusedittoguidethewaytonewplacesandbackhome.