An Overview of Chinese Science and Technology History
The history of science and technology in China is both long and rich with science and technology contribution. In antiquity, independent of Greek philosophers and other civilizations, ancient Chinese philoso- phers made signific ant advances in science, technology, mathematics, and astronomy. The first recorded observations of comet solar eclipse, and supernovae were made in China. Traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and herbal medicine were also practiced.
Among the earliest inventions were the abacus, the shadow clock, and the first flying machines such as kites and Kongming lanterns. The four great inventions of ancient China: the compass, gunpowder, pa- permaking, and printing, were among the most important technological advances, only known in Europe by the end of the Middle Ages. The Tang Dynasty in particular was a time of great innovation. A good deal of exchange occurred between Western and Chinese discoveries up to the Qing Dynasty.
The Jesuit missions in China of the 16th and the 17th centuries introduced Western science and astronomy, then undergoing its own revolution, to China, and the knowledge of Chinese technology was brought to Europe. Much of the early Western work in the history of science in China was done by Joseph Needham.
Early Technological Achievements in Ancient China
One of the oldest longstanding contributions of the ancient Chinese lies in the traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture and herbal medicine, derived from Taoist philosophy. The practice of acupuncture can be traced as far as the 1st millennium BC. Some scientists believe that there is evidence that practices similar to acupuncture were used in Eurasia during the early Bronze Age.
The ancient Chinese also invented counting and time-keeping de- vices, which facilitated mathematical and astronomical observations. Shadow clocks, the forerunners of the sundial, first appeared in China about 4,000 years ago, while the abacus was invented in China sometime between 1000 BC and 500 BC. Using these the Chinese were able to record observations, documenting the first solar eclipse in 2137 BC, and making the first recording of any planetary grouping in 500 BC. The Book of Silk was the first definitive atlas of comets, written in 400 BC. It listed 29 comets (referred to as broom stars) that appeared over a period of about 300 years, with renderings of comets describing an event its ap- pearance corresponded to.
In architecture, the pinnacle of Chinese technology manifested it- self in the Great Wall, under the first Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang between 220 BC and 200 BC. Typical Chinese architecture changed little from the succeeding Han Dynasty until the 19th century. The Qin Dynasty also developed the crossbow, which later became the main- stream weapon in Europe. Several remains of crossbows have been found among the soldiers of the Terracotta Army in the tomb of Qin Shi Huang.
The Eastern Han Dynasty scholar and astronomer Zhang Heng (78— 139 AD) invented the first water-powered rotating armillary sphere, and catalogued 2500 stars and over 100 constellations. In 132, he invented the first seismological detector, called the “Hou Feng Di Dong Yi” (instrument for inquiring into the wind and the shaking of the earth). According to the History of Later Han Dynasty, this seismograph was an urn-like instrument, which would drop one of eight balls to indicate when and in which direction an earthquake had occurred. On June 13, 2005, Chinese seismologists announced that they had created a replica of the instrument.
The mechanical engineer Ma Jun (200— 265 AD) was another im- pressive figure from ancient China. Ma Jun improved the design of the silk loom, designed mechanical chain pumps to irrigate palatial gardens, and created a large and intricate mechanical puppet theatre for Emperor Ming of Wei, which was operated by a large hidden waterwheel. How- ever, Ma Jun’s most impressive invention was the South Pointing Char- iot, a complex mechanical device that acted as a mechanical compass vehicle. It incorporated the use of a differential gear in order to apply equal amount of torque to wheels rotating at different speeds, a device that is found in all modern automobiles.
Sliding calipers were invented in China almost 2, 000 years ago. The Chinese civilization was the first civilization to succeed in exploring aviation, with the kite and Kongming Lantern (prototype of hot air bal- loon) being the first flying machines.
The Four Great Inventions of Ancient China
The Four Great Inventions of ancient China are the compass, gun- powder, papermaking, and printing. Papermaking and printing were developed first. Printing was recorded in China in the Tang Dynasty, although the earliest surviving examples of printed cloth patterns date before 220. Pinpointing the development of the compass can be difficult: the magnetic attraction of a needle is attested by the Lun Heng, com- posed between 20 and 100 AD, although the first undisputed magne- tized needles in Chinese literature appeared in 1086.
By 300 AD, Ge Hong, an alchemist of the Jin Dynasty, conclusively recorded the chemical reactions caused when saltpeter, pine resin and charcoal were heated together in his book entitled Book of the Master of the Preservations of Solidarity. Another early record of gunpowder, a Chinese book from 850 AD indicates that gunpowder was a byproduct of Taoist alchemical efforts to develop an elixir of immortality.
Some heated together sulfur, realgar and saltpeter with honey; smoke and flames resulted, and their hands and faces were burnt, and even the whole house where they were working burned down.
These four discoveries had an enormous impact on the development of Chinese civilization and a far-ranging global impact. Gunpowder, for example, spread to the Arabs in the 13th century and thence to Europe. The English philosopher Francis Bacon wrote in Novum Organum:
One of the most important military treatises of all Chinese history was the Huo Long Jing written by Jiao Yu in the 14th century. Concern- ing gunpowder weapons, it outlined the use of fire arrows and rockets, fire lances and firearms, land mines and naval mines, bombards and cannons, along with different compositions of gunpowder, including magic gunpowder, poisonous gunpowder, and blinding and burning gunpowder.
The 11th century invention of ceramic movable type printing by Bi Shengwas enhanced by the wooden movable type of Wang Zhen in 1298 and the bronze movable type of Hua Sui in 1490.
