essay on ancient china

Ancient Chinese Contributions and Inventions Essay

Introduction: ancient world and its contribution.

Living in the modern world we use the items which were invented many years ago without even understanding this fact. Many people do not know that a lot of technological items and the facilities we use now were invented in ancient times. Ancient China is the place which contributed to the development of many modern sciences, this is the country which discovered many inventions and continues impress the whole world with its developments (Sayre, 2012). Speaking about Ancient China, it is possible to enumerate a lot of inventions and contributions four of which are the most essential ones as it is impossible to imagine many modern innovations without them; moreover, there is one invention I cannot imagine my life without.

Ten Useful Inventions and Contributions of Ancient China

Ancient China was a great civilization which did all possible to make the modern world closer and faster developing. It is Ancient China that has invented the things which have been used as the basis for creating the super innovative things. Trying to point to ten most useful inventions and contributions of the Ancient China, it was really difficult to select the most necessary ones as Ancient China is famous for its contribution into the development of science in the modern world (Backus, 2002). The first three items I want to enumerate are seismoscope, the compass, and clock mechanisms.

The forth contribution is the astronomic knowledge (Matthews & Pelt, 2009). The fifth invention I want to underline is iron and steel smelting. The next important invention by Ancient China is coal discovery and mining. The contribution to the medicine (acupuncture, variolation and other issues in the traditional Chinese medicine) is considered as the next point in the discussion. The next contribution which should be highlighted is the invention of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. Abacus is the ninth invention which deserves attention. And finally parachute invention is the tenth one in our list, however, its contribution cannot be called as the least important. These mechanisms and inventions contributed to the development of science in the ancient times and helped modern researchers using that knowledge invent more useful items.

Four Most Useful Inventions and Contributions of Ancient China

Deng (2011) identifies compass, gunpowder, paper and printing as the four major inventions of Ancient China. I absolutely agree with this statement, however, creating my personal list of four major inventions of Ancient China I would like to make some corrections and change it. Even though there are a lot of impressive and really useful inventions, compass, gunpowder, paper and clock mechanisms are considered as the most useful and the most applied to the modern life inventions. Moreover, compass, gunpowder, paper and clock mechanisms made civilized world closer and faster developing. Each of these inventions made the life of people in Ancient China easier and made those developing faster. It is easy to predict that nations which had compass had more opportunities than those who did not have such an invention. It is difficult to imagine Ancient China as well as the developments of the modern world without the contribution made by these innovations.

Argumentation in Favor of Inventions and Contributions of Ancient China

Trying to provide strong arguments in favor of compass, gunpowder, paper and clock mechanisms, it is important to consider he way how they were used in ancient time and how the contributed o the development of the modern science. Considering each of the inventions in detail, it should be stated that the invention of compass gave way to the development of other sciences and contributing to such disciplines as astronomy, geography, etc. Using compass for navigation ancient Chinese citizens had an opportunity to go on large distances being sure that they would return to the appropriate place. The navigation importance may be supported by the trading advantages, military success, etc. Compass gave push to the development of astronomy. The first maps of the sky, star catalogues and star atlases in Ancient China supported the calendar creation. Therefore, the invention of the compass is a great contribution to the development of many sciences which continue its existence and growth in the modern world.

The creation of gunpowder made possible for Ancient Chinese people invent the first weapon which worked on gunpowder. Most ancient people used weapon which was too primitive while China was much ahead others. The possibility of wars was not too scary for Chinese people in the ancient world. Dwelling upon the advantages of he invention of gunpowder, I should be remembered the entertainment and military uses. The fireworks were invented which made the entertainment sphere in Ancient China one of he leading cultural issues. The military uses of gunpowder also cannot be overestimated. During many years gunpowder was used in different spheres of national life and nowadays this invention remains in demand as it is impossible to imagine modern world without this invention.

Paper invention was a great step in the social sphere, in politics, economics, communication, etc. Before the paper invention the information was placed on rock or wood tables which was not really easy. With the invention of paper the information spread increased. People had an opportunity to write letters to each other, to share information etc. Paper invention affected economics as the paper money were invented that made economic and market relations easier. Books, newspapers and other paper made things cannot be rejected. Communication between people who lived on long distances became easier. Moreover, development of art increased.

Clock mechanisms in China helped people follow the time, innovate the calendars, etc. The measurement of the day and the night using clocks made possible to follow the weeks, months, etc. Time arrangement facility is really important in the life of people as having an opportunity to follow minutes and plan time and other arrangements. As for me, clock invention is one of the most creative and useful thing created by the Ancient Chinese people.

Conclusion: Invention or Contribution I Cannot Live Without

Many different inventions and contributions to science in Ancient China deserves attention. However, the invention of clock mechanisms seems to me the most important one. Clock allowed people plan their time and business. Planning is a guarantee of success. Living in the modern world I cannot imagine living without strict measurement of business and leisure time. Living in the modern world, people understand how time is important. Lack of time is a problem, however, it can be easily solved if appropriate planning is applied. Therefore, clock mechanism is the facility I cannot imagine my life without. All my day is planned, I strictly know when my starts and when it should finish. Planning and he appearance in the correct time at he appropriate place is a guarantee of success and I want to be a successful person.

Reference List

Backus, M. (2002). Ancient China . New York: Lorenz Educational Press.

Deng, Y. (2011). Ancient Chinese Inventions . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Matthews, R., & Pelt, T. V. (2009). Ancient Chinese Civilization . New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.

Sayre, H. M. (2012). The Humanities: Culture, continuity and change, Volume 1 . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Ancient Chinese Contributions and Inventions." October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/ancient-chinese-contributions-and-inventions/.

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