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Ancient Chinese Inventions. Activity. You will work in groups of 3-4. You will be given a picture of a Chinese invention. Your job: 1) As a group decide what you think the invention was used for.
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Activity • You will work in groups of 3-4. • You will be given a picture of a Chinese invention. • Your job: • 1) As a group decide what you think the invention was used for. • 2) How did the invention help Chinese society? Reference other things we have discussed in class (ex. Great Wall, Silk Road, specific geographic features) • 3) Write down your answers!
Invention #8 Hint: This is not an eating utensil
So how did your team do? In your notes make a list of the top 9 Chinese inventions so you have them for the quiz.
Invention #9 • Gunpowder! • The ancient Chinese developed gunpowder in 250 BCE but used it more for firework displays. • The Chinese began using gunpowder as a weapon in 1232 CE
Invention #8 • Compass! • The ancient Chinese developed the compass in the 4th century BCE out of lodestone • The Chinese compass pointed to true south instead of north
Invention #7 • Paper made from wood pulp! • The ancient Chinese first wrote on strips of bamboo and silk but in 105 AD a man named Cai Lun pressed a mixture of wood fibers and water onto a woven cloth. This created a rough kind of paper.
Invention #6 • Noodles! … Probably… • In 2006, archaeologists discovered a bowl of overturned pasta which had been buried under 10 ft of earth. No, the archaeologists did not eat the pasta! • The discovery was made in Lajia, a 4,000 year-old city near the Tibetan border • This is the oldest evidence of pasta discovered so far, dating 2,000 years before examples in Arabia and Italy!
Invention #5 • Wheelbarrow! • A general named Jugo Liang (who lived during the Han dynasty) developed the wheelbarrow to help carry heavy loads. • Liang’s invention included a one-wheeled cart but the handles were not added on until later. It was used as a military invention and was kept top secret. • Europeans did not invent the wheelbarrow until over 1,000 years later!
Invention #4 • Seismograph! • During the Han dynasty (2nd century) the Chinese developed the first earthquake detector. • The bronze vessel had nine dragons facing downward on its outside. Below each dragon, was a frog with an open mouth. Inside the vessel, a pendulum hung motionless until a tremor moved it. When this happened, the pendulum would trigger the release of a ball held in the mouth of the dragon facing the direction of the earthquake's epicenter.
Invention #3 • Kite! • During the 4th century BCE two men came up with the kite. • Over time the ancient Chinese used kites for many things including: • Fishing • Delivering gunpowder over enemy lines • Dropping propaganda over Mongol enemy lines.
Invention #2 • Iron Plow! • During the 4th century BCE the Chinese developed the world’s most sophisticated plow with an iron blade. • When the iron plow was finally introduced to Europe, it started the Agricultural Revolution (17th Century)
Invention #1 • Silk fabric! • Silk fabric helped link China to other parts of the world in trade. • A scroll containing an article on silk production was found in the tomb of created during the Liangzhu period, which lasted from 3330 to 2200 B.C.
Other Cool Chinese Inventions • Ship rudder • Crossbow • Stirrups • Glazed pottery; porcelein
