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Senarai reka cipta China
{{terjemah|en|List of Chinese inventions}}
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[[Image:TERRACOTTA ARMY @ Gdynia 2006 - 01 ubt.jpeg|thumb|right|240px|Sebuah kereta kuda empat kuda degan sebuah parosal dari [[Tentera Terracota]] makam [[Qin Shi Huang]] (dibina pada 210 SM); orang China adalah yang pertama mencipta payung [[Payung#China|''yang mudah dilipat'']].]]
[[China]] telah menjadi sumber sesetengah [[reka cipta]] yang terpenting di dunia, termasuk ''[[Empat Reka Cipta Hebat di China purba]]'': [[kertas]], [[kompas]], [[serbuk letupan]], dan [[Sejarah tipografi di Asia Timur|cetakan]]([[Cetakan woodblock|woodblock]] dan [[jenis mengalih]]). Senarai di bawah mengandungi ini dan reka cipta lain yangterdahulunya bermuncul di China. Ia tidak termasuk teknologi kelahiran asing yang dunia budaya China memperolehi melalui hubungan, seperti [[kincir angin]] dari [[Dunia Islam|Islam Timur Tengah]] atau [[teleskop]] dari [[Awal Eropah moden]]. Ia juga tidak termasuk teknologi-teknologi yang terdahulunya direka di tempat lain tetapi secara terasing oleh orang China pada hak mereka sendiri, seperti reka cipta China seperti [[tulisan Cina]] dan [[kalendar Cina]] tidak perlu diberitahu atau dijelaskan. Sama juga digunakan pada rencana-rencana seperti [[wayang Cina]], [[matematik Cina]], dan [[seni bina Cina]]. Ini juga bukan suatu [[senarai penemuan China]] pada fenomena semulajadi yang boleh didapati pada badan manusia, organisme lain, persekitaran dunia, dan sistem suria lanjutan.

Orang China mencipta teknologi-teknologi asal termasuk mekanik, hidraulik, dan matematik digunakan ada horologi, kaji logam, ilmu falak, pertanian, kejuruteraan, teori muzik, ketukangan, nautik, dan keadaan peperangan. Pada [[Zaman Negara Perang]] (403&ndash;221 SM), orang China mempunyai teknologi kaji logam yang maju, termasuk [[relau letupan]] dan [[relau cupola]], sementara [[finery forge]] dan [[Lopakan (kaji logam)|proses lopakan]] telah diketahui oleh [[Wangsa Han]] (202 SM &ndash; 220 AM). Kenaikan suatu sistem ekonomi canggih di China melahirkan reka cipa seperti kegunaan [[Nota bank|wang kertas]] sewaktu [[Wangsa Song]] (960&ndash;1279). Reka cipta serbuk letupan pada sekurang-kurangnya abad ke-10 mendorong ke suatu barisan reka cipta yang unik seperti [[tombak api]], [[periuk api]], [[naval mine]], [[meriam tangan]], [[Peluru (pelancar)|bola meriam meletup]], [[roket pelbagai tingkat]], dan [[Huolongjing#Anak panah api dan roket api|bom roket dengan sayap aerodinamik dan ledakan payloads]]. Dengan bantuan pengemudian kompas abad ke-11 dan kebolehan untuk mengemudi di laut dalam dengan [[kemudi]] sternpost abad ke-1, para pelayar China melayar sejauh [[Afrika Timur]] dan [[Mesir]].<ref>Bowman (2000), 104&ndash;105.</ref><ref>Levathes (1994), 37&ndash;38.</ref><ref>Hsu (1988), 96.</ref> Dengan rujukan pada karya jam bertenaga air, Chian pramoden telah menggunakan mekanisme [[escapement]] sejak abad ke-8 dan [[pandu rantai]] kirman-tenaga tidak berhenti pada abad ke-11. Mereka juga mencipta panggung-panggung [[boneka]] mekanikal dipandu oleh [[roda air]] dan [[spoke|roda kereta]] dan [[otomasi]] perkhidmatan arak oleh [[Kayuh pengukus|kayuh bot roda]].

[[Budaya Peiligang]] dan [[Pengtoushan culture|Pengtoushan]] sezaman mewakili [[Senarai budaya Neolitik China|budaya Neolitik China]] terlama dan dibentuk sekitar 7000 SM.<ref name="bellwood 2005 106">Bellwood (2006), 106.</ref> Sesetengah reka cipta pertama Neolitik, pra-sejarha China termasuk pisau batu separuh bulan dan segi empat tepat, [[Hoe (alat)|hoe]] dan [[spade]] batu, penamaman [[Foxtail millet|millet]], [[padi]] dan [[kacang soya]], penapisan [[pemeliharaan ulat sutera]], pembinaan strukur [[hentakan bumi]] dengan lantai rumah tampalan-[[limau]], penciptaan [[roda tkang tembikar]], [[Seramik China|penciptaan seni tembikar]] dengan reka bentuk bakul-tikar-tali pintal, penciptaan kaki tiga the creation of the [[potter's wheel]],  tembikar dan pengukus tembikar, dan pengembangan kapal upacara dan [[scapulimancy]] untuk tujuan [[peramalan]].<ref>Needham (2004), Volume 7, Part 2, 201.</ref><ref name="bray 1978 24">Bray (1978), 24&ndash;26.</ref> Francesca Bray berdebat bahawa argues that the pembelaan jinak [[sapi]] dan [[kerbau bela|kerbau]] sewaktu zaman [[budaya Longshan]] (c. 3000 &ndash; c. 2000 SM), ketidakhadiran [[irigasi]] atau hasil tanaman tinggi era-Longshan, bukti penuh penanaman Longshan pada hasil tanaman bijian tnaah kering yang memberikan hasil tinggi "hanya apabila tanah ditanam secara berhati-hati," bercadang bahawa [[tenggala]] telah dikehatui lebih kurang oleh zaman budaya Longshan dan menjelaskan pengeluaran hasil petanian tinggi yang membenarkan kenaikan reka cipta China sewaktu [[Wangsa Shang]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC).<ref>Bray (1978), 27&ndash;28.</ref> Dengan reka cipta kemudian seperti [[Seed drill|gerudi biji pelbagai-tiub]] dan [[Tenggala#Tenggala berat|tenggala besi papan mold berat]], hasil keluaran pertanian China dapat menanggung sebuah penduduk yang lebih besar.
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==Empat Reka Cipta Hebat==
Berikut adalah senarai ''[[Empat Reka Cipta Hebat China silam]]''—seperti yang telah disusun atur oleh [[Joseph Needham]] (1900&ndash;1995) iaitu seorang pengkaji kebudayaan Cina—mengikut kronologi penciptaan bahan-bahan tersebut di China.

===Kertas===
[[Image:Chinese hemp paper western han.jpg|thumb|Pecahan kertas berlipat [[hemp]] bertarikh ke pemerintahan [[Maharaja Wu dari Han]] (141&ndash;87 BC)]]
[[Image:Jingangjing.jpg|thumb|''[[Sutra Intan]]'', buku pencetakan terlama, diterbitkan pada 868 AM sewaktu [[Wangsa Tang]] (618&ndash;907)]]
[[Image:Chinese movable type 1313-ce.png|thumb|Suatu ilustrasi diterbitkan dalam buku [[Wang Zhen (rasmi)|Wang Zhen]] (fl. 1290&ndash;1333) pada 1313 AM menunjukkan sifat-sifat [[jenis boleh alih]] diatur oleh skema kata berima di bahagian meja bulat]]
Walaupun ia dirakam bahawa sida-sida halaman [[Wangsa Han]] (202 SM &ndash; 220 AM) [[Cai Lun]] (c. 50&ndash;121 AD) mereka cipta proses [[buatan kertas]] dan mendirikan kegunaan bahan-bahan mentah baru pada buatan [[kertas]], lapisan purba dan artifak kertas lipatan melatar belakang ke abad ke-2 SM telah ditemui di China, contoh tertua [[Sejarah kartografi#China|mengadakann suatu peta]] kertas dari Fangmatan, [[Tianshui]];<ref>Buisseret (1998), 12.</ref> pada abad ke-3, kertas sebagai pengantara tulisan adalah dalam kegunaan tersebar, menggantikan yang tradisional tetapi pengantara tulisan lebih mahal seperti jalur-jalur [[buluh]] bergulung ke dalam skrol dijahit, skrol dan jalur-jalur [[sutera]], [[batu bersurat tanah liat]] dikeraskan kemudian pada suatu relau, dan batu bersurat kayu (kegunaan [[tulang ramalan]] sebagai suatu pengantaran tulisan mati selepas [[Wangsa Shang]]).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 1&ndash;2, 40&ndash;41, 122&ndash;123, 228.</ref><ref name="bowman 2000 594"/><ref name="tom 1989 99">Tom (1989), 99.</ref><ref name="day mcneil 122">Day & McNeil (1996), 122.</ref><ref>Cotterell (2004), 11&ndash;13.</ref> Keping terawal pada keping kertas dengan tulisan padanya ditemui di runtuhan bangunan sebuah menara pengawal China di Tsakhortei, [[Liga Alxa]], di mana tentera Wangsa Han telah mengendalakan kedudukan mereka pada 110 AM berikutnya suatu serangan [[Xiongnu]].<ref>Cotterell (2004), 11.</ref> Dalam pemerosesan buatan kertas didirikan oleh Cai pada 105, suatu campuran masak kulit kayu [[Morus (tumbuhan)|pokok malberi]], hem, linen lama, dan jaring ikan mencipta suatu pulpa yang diditumbuk ke suatu pes dan dikacau dengan air; suatu sieve bingkai kayu telah diputihkan di bawah pendedahan cahaya matahari; K.S. Tom berkata pemerosesan ini akhirnya diperbaiki melalui larutresapan, pengilatan dan pemasangkacaan pada suatu kertas yang licin dan kuat.<ref name="tom 1989 99"/><ref name="day mcneil 122"/>

===Pencetakan===

'''[[Pencetakan blok kayu]]''': Spesimen terawal pada cetakan blok kayu ditemui adalah sutra ''[[dharani]]'' satu helai dalam [[bahasa Sanskrit]] yang dicetak pada kertas hem di antara 650 dan 670 AM; ia digalikan pada 1974 dari suatu kubur Tang berhampiran [[Xi'an]].<ref>Pan (1997), 979&ndash;980.</ref> Suatu model kecil [[sutra]] agama Buddha ''dharani'' [[Korea]] ditemukan pada 1966, bearing [[huruf-huruf Cina pada Maharani Wu|huruf-huruf tulisan Cina yang pupus]] digunakan hanya sewaktu pemerintahan satu-satunya maharani pemerintah-sendiri China, [[Wu Zetian]] (r. 690&ndash;705), ditarikhkan tidak awal daripada 704 dan dikekalkan dalam sebuah pekong [[stupa]] [[Silla Bersatupadu|Silla Korea]] dibina pada 751.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 149&ndash;150.</ref> Meskinpun, buku dikenali terawal pada saiz sederhana adalah ''[[Sutra Intan]]'' dibuat ketika [[Wangsa Tang]] (618&ndash;907), suatu skrol 5.18 m (17 ft) panjang yang menanggung tarikh 868 AM, atau "hari kelimabelas pada bulan keempat pada tahun kesembilan" [[Nama zaman China|zaman pemerintahan]] Xiantong 咸通 [[Maharaja Yizong dari Tang|Maharaja Yizong]] (859&ndash;873).<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 151">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 151.</ref> Joseph Needham and Tsien Tsuen-Hsuin menulis bahawa pemotongan dan teknik=teknik cetakan digunakan untuk [[seni khat Cina|seni khat halus]] pada buku ''Sutra Intan'' adalah lebih maju dan halus daripada sutra ''dharani'' yang dicetakkan lebih awal.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 151"/> Dua [[Kalendar Cina]] yang tertua bertarikh 877 dan 882; mereka ditemu di tapak hijrah agama Buddha di [[Dunhuang]]; Patricia Ebrey menulis bahawa ia tidaklah menghairankan bahawa bahan-bahan terawal dicetak adalah kelander, sejak orang China mendapat ia diperlukan untuk mengira dan menanda hari mana adalah bertuah dan apa yang tidak.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 151"/><ref>Ebrey (1999), 124&ndash;125.</ref> 

'''[[Jenis boleh alih]]''': Ahli sains dan pegawai polymath [[Shen Kuo]] (1031&ndash;1095) dari [[Wangsa Song]] (960&ndash;1279) adalah yang pertama untuk menjelaskan pemerosesan jenis cetakan boleh alih dalam ''[[Karangan Kolam Mimpi]]'' pada 1088, menyebabkan inovasi ini pada seorang artisan yang sedikit dikenali bernama [[Bi Sheng]] (990&ndash;1051).<ref>Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 201&ndash;202.</ref><ref name="gernet 1996 335">Gernet (1996), 335.</ref><ref name="bowman 2000 599">Bowman (2000), 599.</ref><ref name="day mcneil 70">Day & McNeil (1996), 70.</ref> Dengan kegunaan huruf-huruf tanah liat berapi, Shen menjelaskan pemerosesan teknikal Bi paa pembuatan jenis, muatan-jenis, cetakan, dan membahagikan jenis untuk kegunaan lanjutnya.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 202.</ref><ref name="day mcneil 70"/> Bi telah bereksperimen dengan huruf-huruf jenis kayu, tetapi kegunaan mereka tidak disempurnakan hingga 1297 ke 1298 dengan model rasmi [[Wang Zhen (rasmis)|Wang Zhen]] (fl. 1290&ndash;1333) dari [[Wangsa Yuan]] (1271&ndash;1368), yang juga mengatur huruf-huruf tulisan dengan skema puisi berima pada permukaan bahagian meja bulat.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 205&ndash;207.</ref><ref name="gernet 1996 335"/> Ia tidaklah hingga 1490 dengan karya-karya cetakan [[Hua Sui]] (1439&ndash;1513) pada [[Wangsa Ming]] (1368&ndash;1644) bahawa huruf-huruf jenis boleh alih disempurnakan Cina, ternyatanya [[gangsa]].<ref>Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 212.</ref><ref name="bowman 2000 601"/> Sarjana [[Qing Dynasty]] (1644&ndash;1912) Xu Zhiding dari [[Tai'an]], [[Shandong]] mengembangkan cetakan jenis boleh alih [[vitreous enamel]] pada 1718.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 203.</ref>

'''[[Pengikatan buku China tradisional|Kesan pada pengikatan buku]]''': Kemunculan cetakan pada abad ke-9 merevolusikan ikatan buku, sejaknya buku-buku lewat Wangsa Tang berpunca dari gulangan skrol-skrol kertas ke daun-daun berlipat dilipat ke pusat seperti buku umum, kemudian sewaktu [[Wangsa Yuan]] (1271&ndash;1368) membungkus balik ikatan yang mempunyai dua tepi daun-daun dicantum ke tulang belakang dan dikawal dengan suatu penutup kertas kaku di belakang, dan sewaktu [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644) buku-buku akhirnya mempunyai ikatan jahitan benang di belakang.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 227&ndash;229.</ref> Ia tidaklah sehingga awal abad ke-20 yang ikatan buku berjahitan benang China digantik oleh ikatan buku [[Dunia Barat|jenis Barat]], suatu selari dengan penggatian kaedah cetakan China tradisional dengan [[akhbar cekatan]] moden, dengan tradisi [[Johannes Gutenberg]] (c. 1400&ndash;1468).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 227.</ref>

===Serbuk letupan===
[[Image:FireLanceAndGrenade10thCenturyDunhuang.jpg|thumb|Gambaran artistik terawal pada senjata serbuk letupan [[lanset api]], suatu lukisan di [[Dunhuang]], bertarikh [[Zaman Lima Wangsa dan Sepuluh Kerajaan]] (907&ndash;960 AM)]]

Walaupun bukti kegunaan pertama [[serbuk letupan]] di China datang dari [[Zaman Lima Wangsa dan Sepuluh Kerajaan]] (907&ndash;960),<ref>Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 8&ndash;9, 80&ndash;82.</ref> resipi-resipi rakaman terawal diketahui telah ditulis oleh Zeng Gongliang, Ding Du, dan Yang Weide dalam manuskrip ketenteraan ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]'' dikumpul pada 1044 sewaktu [[Wangsa Song]] (960&ndash;1279); rumusan serbuk letupan dijelaskan telah digunakan dalam [[Alat incendiary|bom incendiary]] ditembak dari [[lastik]], dilempar bawah dari [[Tembok bandar China|tembok perlindungan]], atau diturunkan ke bawah tembook dengan menggunakan rantai besi dijalankan oleh pengumpil swape.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 70&ndash;73, 120&ndash;124.</ref><ref name="gernet 1996 311">Gernet (1996), 311.</ref><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 785.</ref> Leputan bom dilancar dari lastik [[trebuchet]] menaiki kapal tentera laut [[hadapan istana]] memastikan kejayaan Song ke atas [[Wangsa Jin (1115-1234)|tentera Jin]] di [[Pertempuran Caishi]] pada 1161, sementara [[Wangsa Yuan]] Mongol (1271&ndash;1368) [[:Image:Mooko-Suenaga.jpg|menggunakan bom serbuk letupan]] sewaktu [[Penyerangan Mongol pada Jepun|penyerangan gagal Jepun]] mereka pada 1274 dan 1281.<ref name="gernet 1996 311"/> Sewaktu abad ke-13 dan 14, rumusan serbuk letupan menjadi lebih kuat (dengan paras [[nitrate]] ke atas 91%) dan senjata serbuk letupan lebih maju dan yang boleh membawa maut, seperti dibuktikan dalam manuskrip ketenteraan [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644) ''[[Huolongjing]]'' disusun oleh [[Jiao Yu]] (fl. abad 14 ke awal abad ke-15) dan [[Liu Ji]] (1311&ndash;1375), menyelesaikan mana-mana waktu sebelum kematian yang kemudiannya dengan pramuka ditambah oleh yang bekas  dalam suatu terbitan [[Nanyang, Henan|Nanyang]] 1412 pada karya tersebut.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 24&ndash;25, 345&ndash;346.</ref>

===Kompas===
[[Image:Antic chinese Compass.jpg|thumb|Sebuah model di [[Kaifeng]] pada sebuah jenis [[kompas]] senduk-dan-mangkuk China digunakan untuk [[ramalan]] pada [[Wangsa Han]] (202 SM &ndash; 220 AM); keaslian bersejarah pada model telah disoalankan oleh [[Li Shu-hua]] (1954).<ref name="Li Shu-hua 176, 180">Li Shu-hua (1954), 176, 180.</ref>]]

Di [[San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán]], [[Veracruz]], [[Mexico]], suatu artifak [[hematite]] silam dari zaman [[Olmec]] menarikhkan sekitar 1000 SM mengindikasikan bahawa kegunaan kompas [[lodestone]] di [[Amerika Tengah]] lama sebelum ia dijelaskan di China, akan tetapi puak Olmec tidak mempunyai [[besi]] yang orang China menemukan dapat dimagnetkan oleh hubungan dengan lodestone.<ref>Carlson (1975), 753&ndash;760.</ref> Penjelasan lodestone menarik besi diperbuatkan di ''[[Guanzi]]'', ''[[Lushi Chunqiu|Catatan setahun Musim Bunga dan Musin Gugur Tuan Lu]]'' dan ''[[Huainanzi]]''.<ref>Blanc (1985), 125, 128, 132&ndash;133, 136.</ref><ref>Knoblock (2001), 218.</ref><ref>Rickett (1998), 424.</ref> Orang China pada [[Wangsa Han]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) bermula menggunakan lodestone berorientasi utara-selatan [[kompas]] berbentuk ladle-and-bowl untuk [[peramalan]] dan [[geomansi]] dan belum lagi untuk [[pelayaran]].<ref>Carlson (1975), 755.</ref><ref name="gernet 1962 77">Gernet (1962), 77.</ref><ref>Tom (1989), 98&ndash;99.</ref> ''Lun Heng'', ditulis oleh [[Wang Chong]] (27 &ndash; c. 100 AD) dinyatakan dalam adegan 52: "Alat ini menyerupai suatu sudu, dan apabila ia diletakkan pada suatu plat di tanah, pemegangnya menunjuk ke selatan".<ref>Lacheisserie (2005), 5</ref><ref>Aczel (2002), 80.</ref> Adanya, meskipun, dua lagi rujukan di bawah adegan 47 pada teks yang sama ke kuasa menarik pada suatu magnet menurut Needham (1986),<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, see 261 footnote. f for ch. 52 on ladle and 232 footnote. d for ch. 47 on magnet (c.f. ''Lunheng'' [[:zh:s:论衡/52|ch. 52]] & [[:zh:s:论衡/47|ch. 47]]).</ref> tetapi Li Shu-hua (1954) menganggapnya lodestone, dan menyatakan bahawa tiadanya sebutan jelas pada suatu magnet dalam ''Lun Heng''.<ref name="Li Shu-hua 176, 180"/> [[Shen Kuo]] (1031&ndash;1095) dari [[Wangsa Song]] (960&ndash;1279) adalah yang pertama untuk secara tepat menjelaskan kedua-dua [[penurunan bermagnet]] (dengan melihat [[utara benar]]) dan kompas jarum magnet dalam kegunaan kompas khususnya untuk pelayaran di laut dalam bukunya diterbitkan pada 1119.<ref>Sivin (1995), III, 21&ndash;22.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 279.</ref><ref>Elisseeff (2000), 296.</ref><ref>Gernet (1996), 328.</ref><ref name="gernet 1962 77"/><ref name="bowman 2000 599"/><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 636.</ref> Walaupun sebelum ini, meskipun, manuskrip ketenteraan disusun pada 1044 menjelaskan sebuah kompas thermoremanence pada besi atau [[keluli]] panas dibentuk seperti ikan dan diletakkan dalam suatu mangkuk air yang mengeluarkan suatu tenaga magnet lemah melalui remanence dan induksi; ''Wujing Zongyao'' merakamkan bahwa ia telah digunakan sebagai suatu pencari jalan bersamaan dengan [[Kereta Kuda Tujukan Selatan]] mekanikal.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 252.</ref><ref>Sivin (1995), III, 21.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 155 157">Temple (1986), 155&ndash;157.</ref>

==Pra-Shang==
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Reka cipta yang berasal di [[Senarai budaya Neolitik China|apa yang sekarang diketahui sebagai China sewaktu zaman Neolitik]] dan pra-sejarah [[Senarai tapak Zaman Gangsa di China|Zaman Gangsa]] disenaraikan mengikut urutan abjad di bawah.
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[[Image:Bronze ritual bell, Western Zhou Dynasty.jpg|thumb|A [[bronze]] ritual [[bell]], [[Zhou Dynasty]], 10th to 9th century BC]]
* '''[[Loceng]]''': Loceng clapper diperbuat dari tembikar telah ditemukan di pelbagai tapak arkeologi; 1 di suatu tapak [[Budaya Yangshao|Yangshao]] di Dahecun, [[Henan]]; 1 di suatu tapak [[Budaya Daxi|Daxi]] di Yijiashan, [[Hubei]]; 7 di tapak [[Budaya Majiayao|Majiayao]] di [[Gansu]]; 2 di tapak [[Budaya Longshan|Longshan]]di Baiying and Wadian, Henan; 1 di sebidang tapak [[Budaya Shijiahe|Shijiahe]] di Tianmen, Hubei; 2 di suatu tapak [[Budaya Qijia|Qijia]] di Dahezhuang, Gansu.<ref name="huang 2002 20 27">Huang (2002), 20–27.</ref> Loceng logam terawal, dengan satu ditemukan di tapak [[Taosi]], dan emapt di tapak [[Erlitou]], bertarikh sekitar 2000 SM, mungkin berasal dari prototaip seni tembikar terdahulu.<ref>Falkenhausen (1994), 132, Appendix I 329, 342.</ref> Loceng awal bukan hanya mempunyai suatu peranan penting dalam generasi suara logam, tetapi suatu peranan budaya yang penting. Dengan kemunculan jenis loceng-loceng lain sewaktu [[Wangsa Shang]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC), mereka direlegated ke fungsi subservient; di tapak Shang dan [[Wangsa Zhou|Zhou]], mereka juga ditemukan sebagai sebahagian daripada perkakas kuda-dan-kereta kuda dan juga loceng-kolar anjing.<ref>Falkenhausen (1994), 134.</ref>

* '''[[Keranda|Keranda, kayu segi empat tepat]]''': Bukti terawal pada peninggalan keranda kayu, menarikhkan dari 5000 SM dijumpa di Makam 4 di Beishouling, [[Shaanxi]]. Bukti Jelas pada keranda kayu dalam bentuk segi empat tepat didapati di Makam 152 di tapak [[Banpo]] awal. Keranda Banpo adalah milik seorang perempuan usia empat tahunl, mengukur 1.4 m (4.5 ft) demi 0.55 m (1.8 ft) dan 3&ndash;9 cm tebal. Pada 3000 SM, sebanyak 10 keranda kayu telah didapati dalam fasa lewat [[budaya Dawenkou]] (4100&ndash;2600 BC) site at Chengzi, [[Shandong]].<ref name="wang 1997 93 96">Wang (1997), 93–96.</ref><ref>Underhill (2002), 106.</ref> Ketebalan keranda kayu terdiri dari lebih daripada satu bingkai balak juga menegaskan taraf [[Kaum Bangsawan China|kaum bangsawan]], seperti disebutkan dalam ''[[Klasik Upacara]]'',<ref>Legge (2004), 525.</ref> ''[[Xunzi]]''<ref>Watson (2003), 101.</ref> dan ''[[Zhuangzi]]'',<ref>Mair (1997), 336.</ref> dan telah didapati di pelbagai tapak Neolitik; keranda dua, mendirikan suatu bahagian luar dan dalam keranda, dengan temuan terawal di tapak [[budaya Liangzhu]] (3400&ndash;2250 BC) di Puanqiao, Zhejiang; keranda tiga, terdiri dari dua keranda bahagian luar dan satu bahagian dalam, didapati dalam [[budaya Longshan]] (3000&ndash;2000 BC) sites di Xizhufeng dan Yinjiacheng di Shandong.<ref name="luan 2006 49 55">Luan (2006), 49–55.</ref> Keranda dua tetap digunakan sewaktu [[Zaman Negara Berperang]] (403&ndash;221 BC), seperti mana keranda dua lacquered [[Makam Marquis Yi dari Zeng|Marquis Yi dari Zeng]],<ref>[http://www.nga.gov/education/chinatp_myi.shtm More about Excavations at the Tomb of Marquis Yi]. nga.gov. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[Aug 3|08-3]].</ref> dan telah juga didapati di tapak arkeologi aristokrat [[Xiongnu]] di [[Bahagian Dalam Mongolia]].<ref>Di Cosmo (2002), 274.</ref>

[[Image:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - bronze dagger-axe.jpg|thumb|Sebuah [[pisau belati-kapak]] dari [[Han (negara)|Negara Han]], [[Zaman Negara Berperang]] (403&ndash;221 BC); jenis senjata ini telah wujud di China sejak zaman Neolitik]]
* '''[[Pisau belati-kapak]]''': Pisau belati-kapak atau ''ge'' dikembangkan dari alat batu pertanian sewaktu Neotilik, pisau belati-kapak didapati dalam tapak [[budaya Longshan]] (3000&ndash;2000 BC) di Miaodian, [[Henan]]. Ia bermuncul sebagai istiadat dan senjata jed simbolik pada waktu yang sama, dua bertarikh sekitar 2500 SM, didapati di tapak Lingjiatan di [[Anhui]].<ref name="lu 2006 123 124">Lu (2006), 123&ndash;124.</ref> The first bronze ''Ge'' gangsa pertama muncul di tapak Zaman Gangsa appeared [[Erlitou]] awal,<ref name="lu 2006 123 124"/> di mana dua didapati di kalangan ke atas 200 artifak gangsa (pada 2002) di tapaj itu,<ref>Liang (2004), 35 & 38.</ref> tiga ''ge'' jed juga ditemukan dari tapak yang sama.<ref>Chen (2003), 24.</ref> Jumlah 72 bronze ''ge'' in Tomb 1004 at Houjiazhuang, [[Anyang]],<ref>Ma (1987), 122.</ref> 39 jade ''ge'' in [[tomb of Fu Hao]] and over 50 ''ge'' jed di tapak [[Jinsha (tapak arkaeologi)|Jinsha]] ditemukan sendiri.<ref name="lu 2006 123 124"/> Ia adalah senjata asas It [[Shang]] (c. 1600 &ndash; 1050 BC) dan [[Zhou]] (c. 1050 &ndash;256 SM) [[infantri]], walaupun ia kadang-kadang digunakan oleh "pemogok" kakitangan pe[[kereta kuda]]. Ia terdidi dari tangkai kayu panjang dengan pisau gangsa bercantum di suatu sudut kanan ke hujung. Senjata itu dapat diayun ke bawah atau ke dalam supaya dapat memancing atau menetak, secara tertentu, di seorang musuh.<ref name="gabriel 143">Gabriel, 143.</ref> Sewaktu [[Wangsa Han]] awal (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD), kegunaan ketenteraan pada ''ge'' gangsa telah menjadi lebih had (dan hampir istiadat); mereka secara perlahan-lahan difasakan sewaktu Wangsa Han Dynasty dengan [[tombak]] besi dan [[Ji (halberd)|''ji'' halberds]] besi.<ref>Wang (1982), 123.</ref>

* '''[[Dram|Dram, kulit buaya]]''': Dram (diperbuat dari tanah liat) telah ditemukan ke atas kawasan papan di tapak Neolitik dari [[Shandong]] moden di timur ke [[Qinghai]] di barat, bermula pada zaman 5500&ndash;2350 SM. Dalam rakaman sastera, dram  manifested ciri shaman dan sering digunakan dalam majlis upacara.<ref>Liu (2007), 123.</ref> Dram diliputi dengan kulit buaya untuk kegunaan majlis disebutkan dalam ''[[Shijing]]''.<ref>Sterckx (2002), 125.</ref><ref>Porter (1996), 53.</ref> Sewaktu zaman arkaik, [[Buaya China|buaya]] mungkin tinggal di pantai timur China, termasuk [[Shandong]] selatan. Dram-dram buaya terawal, mendirikan bingkai kayu diliputi dengan kulit buaya ditemukan dalam tapak-tapak arkeologi di [[Dawenkou]] (4100 SM &ndash; 2600 SM), dan juga beberapa tapak [[Budaya Longshan|Longshan]] (3000 SM &ndash; 2000 SM) di Shandong dan [[Taosi]] (2300 SM &ndash; 1900 SM) di [[Shanxi]] selatan.<ref>Liu (2007), 122.</ref>

[[Image:Chinesericewine.jpg|thumb|Pembekal [[tuak]] Cina]]
[[Image:Jade deer.jpg|thumb|Sebuah ukiran [[jed Cina]] hiasan rusa dari [[Dinasti Shang]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 SM)]]
[[Image:Red lacquer tray with gold engraving, Song Dynasty.jpg|thumb|Sebuah dulang makanan [[lacquerware]] dengan gold foil engraving, kurun ke-12 ke awal kurun ke-13, [[Dinasti Song]]]]
*'''[[Minuman alkohol Cina|Minuman ditapai]]''': Ahli arkeologi telah menemukan sisa meniuman ditapai yang adalah 9,000-tahun dari tapak Neolithik di [[Jiahu]], [[Henan]].<ref>McNamee (2008), 156</ref><ref>Angier (2007), 142.</ref><ref>E. McGovern (2007), 314.</ref><ref name="PNAS 17593">[http://www.pnas.org/content/101/51/17593.full?sid=deed5ba2-d55a-40a6-89f0-e4051226b236 E. McGovern et al] (2004), 17593.</ref> Ujian kimia (including gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, infrared spectrometry, and stable isotope analysis) have revealed a fermented beverage of hawthorn fruit and wild grape, beeswax associated with honey, and rice. Herbal wine and a filtered rice or millet beverage was found 5000 years later in sealed Shang and Western Zhou bronze containers and has been identified as containing specialized [[rice]] or [[Foxtail millet|millet]], flavored with herbs, flowers, and possibly tree resins.<ref>[http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/wine/a/ChineseWine.htm Oldest Wine Comes From China]. About.com. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[July 4|7-4]]</ref><ref name="PNAS 17593"/> It was found that the chemical composition of the samples is similar to those in modern rice, [[rice wine]], [[grape wine]], beehive wax, tannins, several herbal medicines and hawthorn.<ref>[http://www.physorg.com/news2439.html Chinese People Were Drinking Wine 9,000 Years Ago]. Physorg.com. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[July 4|7-4]]</ref>

* '''[[Fork]]''': The fork had been used in China long before the [[chopstick]]; a bone fork has been discovered by archaeologists at a burial site of the early Bronze Age [[Qijia culture]] (2400&ndash;1900 BC), and forks have been found in tombs of the [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC) and subsequent Chinese dynasties.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 5, 105&ndash;108</ref>

* '''[[Chinese jade|Jade ritual object]]''': Jade artifacts have been found in large quantities dating throughout the entire Neolithic period. The earliest development of jade use comes from the [[Xinglongwa culture]] (6200&ndash;5400 BC) at the [[Liao River]] region; jade carving reached to its height by the late [[Hongshan culture]] (3500&ndash;3000 BC), as shown in the [[Niuheliang]] site; in the lower [[Yangzi River]], jade objects first occurred in the [[Majiabang]] and Songze cultures (5000&ndash;3200 BC), and became prevalent in the [[Liangzhu culture]] (3200&ndash;2000 BC); in the middle Yangzi River, jades appeared in the middle [[Daxi]] and [[Qujialing culture]]s (4000&ndash;2600 BC), and flourished during the [[Shijiahe culture]] (2600&ndash;2000 BC); in the lower [[Yellow River]], jade objects are mainly dated to the [[Dawenkou]] and [[Longshan culture]]s (4300&ndash;2000 BC),<ref>Liu (2003), 4.</ref> although they have been found earlier in the [[Houli culture]] (6500&ndash;5500 BC).<ref>Wang (2002), 26.</ref> Jade plaques with the design of the [[eight trigrams]], dating from about 2500 BC, have also been found at Lingjiatan, [[Anhui]].<ref>Liu (2007), 65&ndash;66.</ref> Jade in distinctive shapes known later as ''[[Bi (jade)|bi]]'', ''[[Cong (jade)|cong]]'', ''gui'', ''zhang'', ''huang'', and ''hu'' or the six ritual jades are mentioned in the ''[[Rites of Zhou]]'';<ref>Wang et al (2006), 36.</ref> the earliest ''bi'' and ''huang'' were produced in the Hongshan culture at Niuheliang and Dongshanzui sites; the ''cong'' appear in large numbers in the Liangzhu culture at Fanshan and Yaoshan sites; the ''gui'' appear in large numbers in the Longshan culture, examples are found in the Dachengshan site; the ''zhang'' and ''hu'' appeared relatively late, with one each found at the [[Shang Dynasty]] sites in [[Erligang]] and [[Yinxu]].<ref>Zhu (2008), 85.</ref> 

* '''[[Lacquer]]''': Lacquer was used in China since the Neolithic period and came from a substance extracted from the [[Toxicodendron vernicifluum|lac tree]] found in China.<ref>Loewe (1968), 170&ndash;171.</ref> A red wooden bowl, which is believed to be the earliest known lacquer container,<ref>Stark (2005), 30.</ref> was unearthed at a [[Hemudu culture|Hemudu]] (c. 5000 BC &ndash; c. 4500 BC) site.<ref name="wang 1982 80">Wang (1982), 80.</ref> Michael Loewe says coffins at many early Bronze Age sites seem to have been lacquered, and articles of lacquered wood may also have been common, but the earliest well-preserved examples of lacquer come from [[Eastern Zhou Dynasty]] (771&ndash;256 BC) sites.<ref>Loewe (1999), 178.</ref> However, Wang Zhongshu disagrees, stating that the oldest well-preserved lacquerware items come from a [[Lower Xiajiadian culture|Xiajiadian]] (c. 2000 &ndash; c. 1600 BC) site in [[Liaoning]] excavated in 1977, the items being red lacquered vessels in the shape of [[:Image:Gu wine vessel from the Shang Dynasty (2nd version).jpg|Shang Dynasty bronze gu vessels]].<ref name="wang 1982 80"/> Wang states that many lacquerware items from the [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC), such as fragments of boxes and basins, were found, and had black designs such as the [[Chinese dragon]] and ''[[taotie]]'' over a red background.<ref name="wang 1982 80"/> Queen [[Fu Hao]] (died c. 1200 BC) [[Tomb of Fu Hao|was buried]] in a lacquered wooden coffin.<ref name="temple 1986 75">Temple (1986), 75.</ref> There were three imperial workshops during the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) established solely for the purpose of crafting [[lacquerware]]s; fortunately for the historian, Han lacquerware items were inscribed with the location of the workshop where they were produced and the date they were made, such as a lacquerware beaker found in the [[Lelang commandery|Han colony]] in northwestern [[Korea]] with the inscription stating it was made in a workshop near [[Chengdu]], [[Sichuan]] and dated precisely to 55 AD.<ref>Loewe (1968), 186&ndash;187.</ref>

[[Image:Instant lamian (cup noodle).jpg|thumb|''[[Lamian]]'' noodles, similar to the 4,000-year-old [[noodle]]s made from [[millet]] found at [[Lajia]]]]
[[Image:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - white pottery gui (2).jpg|thumb|A pottery ''gui'' ([[pitcher]]) vessel from the late [[Longshan culture]] at [[Shandong]], c. 2500 &ndash; c. 2000 BC]]
[[Image:OracleSun.JPG|thumb|An [[oracle bone]] shard from the [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC) with writing (in [[oracle bone script]]) inquiring the divine on whether or not it will rain that day]]
[[Image:LongjiTerraces.jpg|thumb|[[Rice]] terrace farming in Longji, [[Guangxi]], China]]
* '''[[Millet|Millet, cultivation of]]''': The discovery in northern China of domesticated varieties of [[Proso millet|broomcorn]] and [[foxtail millet]] from 8500 BC, or earlier, suggests that millet cultivation might have predated that of rice in parts of Asia.<ref>Murphy (2007), 114, 184.</ref> Clear evidence of millet began to cultivate by 6500 BC at sites of [[Cishan culture|Cishan]], [[Peiligang culture|Peiligang]], and [[Jiahu]].<ref>Sagart (2005), 21.</ref> Archaeological remains from Cishan sum up to over 300 storeage pits, 80 with millet remains, with a total millet storage capacity estimated for the site of about 100,000 kg of grain.<ref>Bellwood (2004), 121.</ref> By 4000 BC, most [[Yangshao culture|Yangshao]] areas were using an intensive form of foxtail millet cultivation, complete with storage pits and finely prepared tools for digging and harvesting the crop. The success of the early Chinese millet farmers is still reflected today in the [[DNA]] of many east Asian populations, such studies have shown that the ancestors of those farmers probably arrived in the area between 30,000 and 20,000 BP, and their bacterial haplotypes are still found in today populations throughout eastern Asia.<ref>Murphy (2007), 186&ndash;187.</ref>

* '''[[Noodle]]''': In 2005, an archaeological excavation at the [[Lajia]] site of the [[Qijia culture]] (2400&ndash;1900 BC) revealed 4,000-year-old noodles made of [[millet]] (instead of traditional wheat flour) preserved by an upturned earthenware bowl that had created a vacuum between it and the sediment it was found on; the noodles resemble the traditional [[lamian]] noodle of China, which is made by "repeatedly pulling and stretching the dough by hand," according to a BBC News report on the find.<ref>[[BBC News]]. (October 12, 2005). [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4335160.stm Oldest noodles unearthed in China]. News.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[08-02]].</ref>

* '''[[Oar|Oar, rowing]]''': Rowing oars have been used since the [[List of Neolithic cultures of China|early Neothilic period]]; a canoe-shaped pottery and six wooden oars dating from the 6000 BC have been discovered in a [[Hemudu culture]] site at [[Yuyao]], [[Zhejiang]].<ref>Deng (1997), 22.</ref><ref>Nelson (1995), 85.</ref> In 1999, an oar measuring  63.4 cm (2 ft) in length, dating from 4000 BC, has also been unearthed at [[Ishikawa Prefecture]], [[Japan]].<ref>[[The Japan Times]]. (February 10, 1999). [http://www.trussel.com/prehist/news110.htm Oldest oar unearthed from Ishikawa ruins]. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[Aug 13|08-13]].</ref>

* '''[[Chinese ceramics|Pottery, tripod]]''': Tripod pottery was a characteristic vessels of northern China from the Neolithic Peiligang culture through the [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC).<ref>Stark (2005), 44.</ref> Tripod pottery bowls and pots had been unearthed from several sites belonging to the [[Peiligang culture]] (7000&ndash;5000 BC), including [[type site]], [[Jiahu]], Shuiquan, Shigu and Beigang.<ref>Jin (2007), 28&ndash;36.</ref><ref>Zhang (1997), 32&ndash;44.</ref> Tripods were known as cooking vessels, such as the hollow-legged ''li'' and solid-legged ''[[Ding (vessel)|ding]]'', and pouring pitcher, such as ''gui'', they have three properly constructed and non-stubby legs stand on ground. Outside mainland China, tripod pottery associated with Neolithic cultures has been found only in [[Taiwan]] and [[mainland Southeast Asia]]. The discoveries of tripods at Ban Kao site, brought question about the relationships of the Southeast Asian tripod pottery with other tripod pottery cultures of mainland China.<ref>Miksic et al (2003), 183.</ref><ref>Bellwood (2004), 133.</ref> Bird-shaped tripod pottery, such as one found at [[Weinan|Hua County]], [[Shaanxi]],<ref>Howard (2003), 18&ndash;19.</ref> and the ''gui'' of the middle and late [[Dawenkou culture]] (3500&ndash;2600 BC) may also had associated with the mythologial [[three-legged bird]] or golden crow.<ref>An, 67&ndash;71.</ref> The earliest depiction of a three-legged bird is found on the pottery of the [[Yangshao culture#Phases|Miaodigou culture]] (4000&ndash;3000 BC) in [[Henan]],<ref>Allan (1991), 31.</ref> they are also mentioned in the ''[[Huainanzi]]'' and ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]''.<ref>Sterckx (2002), 266.</ref>

* '''[[Plastromancy]]''': The earliest use of turtle shells comes from the archaeological site in [[Jiahu]] site. The shells, containing small pebbles of various size, color, and quantity, were drilled with small holes, suggesting that each pair of them was tied together originally. Similar finds have also been found in the [[Dawenkou culture|Dawenkou]] burial sites of about 4000–3000 BC, as well as in Henan, [[Sichuan]], [[Jiangsu]] and [[Shaanxi]].<ref>Liu (2007), 65.</ref> The turtle-shell shakers for the most part are made of the shell of land turtles,<ref>Wu (1990), 349–365</ref> identified as ''[[Cuora flavomarginata]]''.<ref>Liu (2007), 126.</ref> These rattles have been unearthed in quantity, with 70 being found in the Jiahu site, and another 52 being found in the Dawenkou culture sites at Dadunzi, Jiangsu, and [[type site]], Liulin and Wangyin in [[Shandong]].<ref name="huang 2002 20 27"/> Archaeologists believe that these shells were used either as rattles in ceremonial dances, shamantic healing tools or ritual paraphernalia for divinational purposes.<ref>Liu (2007), 66.</ref>

* '''[[Plowshare|Plowshare, triangular-shaped]]''': Triangular-shaped stone plowshares are found at the sites of [[Majiabang culture]] dated to 3500 BC around [[Lake Taihu]]. Plowshares have also been discovered at the nearby [[Liangzhu culture|Liangzhu]] and Maqiao sites roughly dated to the same period. David R. Harris says this indicates that more intensive cultivation in fixed, probably bunded, fields had developed by this time. According to Mu Yongkang and Song Zhaolin’s classification and methods of use, the triangular plow assumed many kinds and were the departure from the Hemudu and Luojiajiao spade, with the Songze small plough in mid-process. The post-Liangzhu plows used draft animals.<ref>Harris (1996), 427&ndash;428.</ref><ref>[http://http-server.carleton.ca/~bgordon/Rice/papers/YouXiuling99c.rtf You] (1999), 1&ndash;8.</ref>

* '''[[Rice|Rice, cultivation of]]''': In 2002, a Chinese and Japanese group reported the discovery in eastern China of fossilized phytoliths of domesticated rice apparently dating back to 11,900 BC or earlier. However, phytolith data are controversial in some quarters due to potential contamination problems.<ref>Murphy (2007), 187.</ref> It is likely that demonstrated rice was cultivated in the middle [[Yangtze Valley]] by 7000 BC, as shown in finds from the Pengtoushan culture at Bashidang, [[Changde]], [[Hunan]]. By 5000 BC, rice had been domesticated at [[Hemudu culture]] near the [[Yangtze Delta]] and was being cooked in pots.<ref>Murphy (2007), 187&ndash;188.</ref> Although millet remained the main crop in northern China throughout history, several sporadic attempts were made by the state to introduce rice around the [[Bohai Gulf]] as early as 1st century.<ref>Brook (2004), 81&ndash;85.</ref> At present, rice remains the main diet in [[South China|southern]] and [[Northeast China|northeastern]] China as well as [[Korea]] and [[Japan]].

* '''[[Salt|Salt, use of]]''': The earliest salt use is argued to have taken place on [[Yuncheng|Lake Yuncheng]], [[Shanxi]] by 6000 BC.<ref>[http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/81/2/341 Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century]. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[July 5|7-5]].</ref> Strong archaeological evidence of salt making dating to 2000 BC is found in the ruins of Zhongba at [[Chongqing]]. The historical records show that salt and iron monopolies often provided the bulk of state revenue, and remained important to state finance until the 20th century.<ref>[http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/102/35/12618.pdf?ck=nck  Rowan Flad et al] (2005), 12618–12622.</ref><ref>[http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/6523/title/A_Seasoned_Ancient_State_Chinese_site_adds_salt_to_civilizations_rise A seasoned ancient state: Chinese site adds salt to civilization's rise]. Sciencenews.org. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[July 5|7-5]].</ref> The ''Discourse on Salt and Iron'', written by Huan Kuan during the 1st century BC relates a debate on the state monopoly over salt and iron production and distribution. 

[[Image:Meister nach Chang Hsüan 001.jpg|thumb|Ladies processing new [[silk]], early 12th century painting in the style of [[Zhang Xuan]], [[Song Dynasty]]]]
[[Image:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - pottery ding.jpg|thumb|A pottery [[Ding (vessel)|''ding'']] vessel used for cooking from the [[Yangshao culture]] (c. 5000 &ndash; c. 3000 BC)]]
[[Image:Masque Shang Musée Guimet 1107.jpg|thumb|A [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC) [[ivory]] carving showing the ''[[taotie]]'' motif, dated 12th to 11th century BC]] 
* '''[[Silk]]''': The oldest silk found in China comes from the [[List of Neolithic cultures of China|Chinese Neolithic period]] and is dated to about 3630 BC, found in [[Henan]] province.<ref name="schoeser 2007 17">Schoeser (2007), 17.</ref> Silk items excavated from the [[Liangzhu culture]] site at Qianshanyang, [[Wuxing District]], [[Zhejiang]] date to roughly 2570 BC, and include silk threads, a braided silk belt, and a piece of woven silk.<ref name="schoeser 2007 17"/> A bronze fragment found at the [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC) site at [[Anyang]] (or [[Yinxu]]) contains the first known [[Oracle bone script|written reference]] to silk.<ref>Simmons (1950), 87.</ref>

* '''[[Soybean|Soybean, cultivation of]]''': The cultivation of soybeans began in the eastern half of northern China by 2000 BC, but is almost certainly much older.<ref>Murphy (2007), 121.</ref> Liu et al (1997) stated that soybean was first originated in China and was domesticated about 3500 BC.<ref>Siddiqi (2001), 389</ref> By the 5th century, soybeans were being cultivated in much of eastern Asia, but the crop did not move beyond this region until well into the 20th century.<ref>Murphy (2007), 122–123.</ref> Written records of the cultivation and use of the soybean in China date back at least as far as the [[Western Zhou Dynasty]].<ref>Murphy (2007), 135.</ref>

* '''[[Steamer (appliance)|Steamer, pottery appliance for cooking]]''': Archaeological excavations shown that using steam to cook began with the pottery cooking vessels known as ''yan'' steamer; a ''yan'' composed of two vessesl, a ''zeng'' with perforated floor surmounted on a pot or caldron with a tripod base and a top cover. The earliest ''yan'' steamer dating from about 5000 BC was unearthed in the [[Banpo]] site.<ref>Chen (1995), 198.</ref> In the lower [[Yangzi River]], ''zeng'' pots first appeared in the [[Hemudu culture]] (5000&ndash;4500 BC) and [[Liangzhu culture]] (3200&ndash;2000 BC) and used to steam rice; there are also ''yan'' steamers unearthed in several Liangzhu sites, including 3 found at the Chuodun and Luodun sites in southern [[Jiangsu]].<ref>Cheng (2005), 102&ndash;107.</ref> In the [[Longshan culture]] (3000&ndash;2000 BC) site at Tianwang in western [[Shandong]], 3 large ''yan'' steamers were discovered.<ref>Underhill (2002), 156 & 174.</ref> During the [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC), symbols for different kinds of food appliances, including the ''yan'' steamer, were inscribed on the bronze vessels.<ref>Underhill (2002), 30.</ref> They were also found in the 13th century BC [[tomb of Fu Hao]].<ref>Underhill (2002), 215 & 217.</ref>

* '''[[Taotie|Taotie motif]]''': The ''taotie'' was a decorative mask motif found on artifacts. The earliest antecedent of ''taotie'' motif was found at the Gaomiao (5400&ndash;4800 BC) site in [[Hunan]] in 1991. The ''taotie'' motif are also found on the pottery and jade artifacts in the [[Hemudu culture]] (5000&ndash;4500 BC), [[Longshan culture]] (3000&ndash;2000 BC) in [[Shandong]], [[Shijiahe culture]] (2500&ndash;2000 BC) and [[Lower Xiajiadian culture]] (2200&ndash;1600 BC).<ref name="he 2002 52 59"/> The most complicated design of the ''taotie'' motif found in the Neothilic sites comes from the ceremonial jades of [[Liangzhu culture]] (3400&ndash;2250 BC) sites at Fanshan and Yaoshan.<ref name="li 1991 42 48">Li (1991), 42&ndash;48.</ref> The ''taotie'' motif of Longshan culture in Shandong and Bronze Age [[Erlitou]] site are considers as the mid-process example of late [[Shang Dynasty]].<ref name="he 2002 52 59"/><ref name="li 1991 42 48"/> Despite that ''taotie'' motif are commonly found on bronze vessels of the latter half of late [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC), it promptly went into decline and disappeared by the middle [[Western Zhou Dynasty]] (c. 1050&ndash;771 BC).<ref name="li 1991 42 48"/> The ''taotie'' was first mentioned by name in the ''[[Zuozhuan]]'', while the earliest description and literary description of its appearance on ''[[Ding (vessel)|ding]]'' comes from the ''[[Lushi Chunqiu|Master Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals]]''.<ref name="he 2002 52 59">He (2002), 52&ndash;59.</ref>

* '''[[Treetrunk coffin]]''': The treetrunk coffin, single trunk coffin or boat coffin was one of the common burials found mainly in the southern China. One of the few earliest boat coffins are found among the 92 burial tombs in the Songze culture (4000&ndash;3000 BC) site at [[Jiaxing]], [[Zhejiang]], similar finds can also be found in the middle phase of [[Dawenkou culture]] (4100&ndash;2600 BC) sites.<ref name="luan 2006 49 55"/> In 2006, a treetrunk coffin measuring 6.84 m in length, dating back to the [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC), are found in a site at [[Chengdu]], [[Sichuan]].<ref>[http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-12-17/49439.html 3000-Year-Old Boat Coffin Contents Suggest Owner of Prominence]. epochtimes.com. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[Aug 3|08-3]].</ref>

[[Image:CMOC Treasures of Ancient China exhibit - painted basin (1).jpg|thumb|A basin cover for a "coffin urn" from the Neolithic [[Yangshao culture]] (c. 5000 &ndash; c. 3000 BC), used for the burial of a child, from [[Shaanxi]]]]
* '''[[Urn|Urn, pottery burial]]''': The first evidence of pottery urn dating from about 7000 BC comes from the early [[Jiahu]] site, where a total of 32 burial urns are found,<ref>Hu (2005), 159.</ref> another early finds are in Laoguantai, [[Shaanxi]].<ref name="luan 2006 49 55"/> There are about 700 burial urns unearthed over the [[Yangshao culture|Yangshao]] (5000&ndash;3000 BC) areas and consisting more than 50 varieties of form and shape. The burial urns were used mainly for childs, but also sporadically for adults, as shown in the finds at Yichuan, Lushan and [[Zhengzhou]] in [[Henan]].<ref name="wang 1997 93 96"/> A secondary burials containing bones from child or adult are found in the urns in Hongshanmiao, Henan.<ref>Liu (2007), 132.</ref> Small hole was drilled in most of the child and adult burial urns, and is believe to enable the spirit to access.<ref>[http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/History617bye1969.html Red Pottery Urn Coffin]. cultural-china.com. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[Aug 3|08-3]]</ref> It is recorded in the ''[[Classic of Rites]]'' that the earthenware coffins were used in the time of legendary period,<ref>Legge (2004), 108.</ref> the tradition of burying in pottery urns lasted until the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC – 220 AD) when it gradually disappered.<ref name="luan 2006 49 55"/> Most of the burial urns, starting from the [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC), are found in areas of [[Hebei]] and [[Liaoning]].<ref>Zheng (2005), 48.</ref>

* '''[[Skull cup|Vessel, use of skull as]]''': The earliest archaeological evidence of vessels made of human skulls comes from a [[Longshan culture]] (3000 BC&ndash;2000 BC) site at Jiangou, [[Handan]], where two were found.<ref name="hao 1992 95 99">Hao (1992), 95&ndash;99.</ref> Another one at the northeastern quarter of the Bronze Age [[Erligang|Erligang site]] dated to 1460&ndash;1384 BC,<ref>Yuan (2005), 259.</ref> included refuse deposit of about 100 human skulls, mostly of young males that were sawn open at brow level.<ref>Luo (2004), 42.</ref><ref>Loewe (1999), 166.</ref> Most of those skull vessels were contributed from prisoners of war and were used in rituals for [[ancestor worship]] during the early [[Shang Dynasty]]. In literary records, writings concerning the use of skull vessel comes from the ''[[Lushi Chunqiu]]'', ''[[Han Feizi (book)|Hanfeizi]]'', ''[[Huainanzi]]'', ''[[Shiji]]'', ''Shuoyuan'' and ''[[Zhan Guo Ce]]'', which includes a reference to Zhibo (d. 455 BC), whose skull was made into a drinking cup by his enemy after being killed.<ref name="hao 1992 95 99"/><ref>[http://www.nucba.ac.jp/cic/pdf/njlcc032/02ZHAO.pdf Zhao] (2001), 21–42.</ref>

==Shang and later==
Inventions which made their first appearance in China after the Neolithic age, specifically during and after the [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC), are listed in alphabetical order below.
<!-- Unreferenced additions will be removed -->
===A===
* '''[[Acupuncture]]''': Acupuncture, the [[Traditional Chinese medicine|traditional Chinese medicinal]] practice of inserting needles into specific points of the body for therapeutic purposes and relieving pain, was first mentioned in the ''[[Huangdi Neijing]]'' compiled from the 3rd to 2nd centuries BC ([[Warring States Period]] to [[Han Dynasty]]).<ref name="omura 15">Omura (2003), 15.</ref> The oldest known acupuncture needles made of [[gold]], found in the tomb of [[Liu Sheng]] (d. 113 BC), date to the Western Han (202 BC &ndash; 9 AD); the oldest known stone-carved depiction of acupuncture was made during the Eastern Han (25&ndash;220 AD); the oldest known bronze statue of an acupuncture [[mannequin]] dates to 1027 during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279).<ref>Omura (2003), 19 & 22.</ref> Acupuncture is still used to treat ''pediatric nocturnal enuresis'', i.e. [[bedwetting]].<ref>Helmer (2006), 51, 107, & 120.</ref>

[[Image:Zodiaco Chino.jpg|thumb|[[Bronze mirror]] of the [[Sui Dynasty]] (581&ndash;618) showing the twelve divisions of the [[Chinese astrology|Chinese zodiac]], the latter of which goes back to the [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC) in China]]
[[Image:Ritual wine container with handle, Shang Dynasty.jpg|thumb|A cylindrical bronze wine container made during the late [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC); [[Gentry (China)|gentry scholars]] of the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) excavated a number of ancient items and judged their age by examining their inscriptions, decorative motifs, and physical forms, compiling this information in archaeological catalogues commissioned by the state. Although archaeological interest in China waned after the Song, it was revived again during the mid 17th century ([[Qing Dynasty]]), with pursuits such as using ancient inscriptions to verify and correct the meanings of [[Chinese characters|characters]] in [[Chinese dictionary|dictionaries]].<ref name="trigger 2006 74 75"/>]]
[[Image:Sui Yangdi Tang.jpg|thumb|[[Emperor Yang of Sui]] (r. 604&ndash;617), in a posthumous portrait painting by the [[Tang Dynasty|Tang]] artist [[Yan Liben]] (600&ndash;673); he had automatic-opening doors installed in the private studies of his palatial library]]
* '''[[Chinese astrology|Animal zodiac]]''': The earliest and most complete version of the animal zodiac mentions twelve animals which differ slightly (for instance, the dragon is absent, represented by a worm).<ref>Zhao (2000), 6&ndash;9.</ref> Each animal matches the [[earthly branches]] and were written on bamboo slips from [[Shuihudi Qin bamboo texts|Shuihudi]], dated to the late 4th century BC,<ref name="loewe 1999 847">Loewe (1999), 847.</ref> as well as from Fangmatan, dating to the late 3rd century BC.<ref name="loewe 1999 847"/> Before these archaeological finds, the ''Lun Heng'' written by [[Wang Chong]] (27 &ndash; c. 100 AD) during the 1st century provided the earliest transmitted example of a complete duodenary animal cycle.<ref>Sterckx (2002), 66&ndash;67.</ref>

* '''[[Archaeology|Archaeology, catalogues and epigraphy]]''': During the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279), the scholar [[Ouyang Xiu]] (1007&ndash;1072) analyzed alleged ancient artifacts bearing archaic [[Chinese bronze inscriptions|inscriptions in bronze and stone]], which he preserved in a collection of some 400 [[rubbing]]s;<ref name="clunas 2004 95">Clunas (2004), 95.</ref> Patricia Ebrey writes that he pioneered early ideas in [[epigraphy]].<ref>Ebrey (1999), 148.</ref> The ''Kaogutu'' (考古圖) or "Illustrated Catalogue of Examined Antiquity" (preface dated 1092) compiled by Lü Dalin (呂大臨) (1046&ndash;1092) is one of the oldest known [[catalogue]]s to systematically describe and classify ancient artifacts which were unearthed; it featured in writing and illustrations an assortment of 210 [[bronze]] items and 13 [[Chinese jade|jade]] items of government and private collections that dated to the [[Shang Dynasty|Shang]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC) to [[Han Dynasty|Han]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) dynasties.<ref name="trigger 2006 74"/> Another catalogue was the ''Chong xiu Xuanhe bogutu'' (重修宣和博古圖) or "Revised Illustrated Catalogue of Xuanhe Profoundly Learned Antiquity" (compiled from 1111 to 1125), commissioned by [[Emperor Huizong of Song]] (r. 1100&ndash;1125), and also featured illustrations of some 840 vessels and rubbings.<ref name="rudolph 1963 171"/><ref name="trigger 2006 74 75"/><ref name="clunas 2004 95"/> This catalogue was criticized by Hong Mai (洪迈) (1123&ndash;1202), who found that descriptions of certain ancient vessels dating to the Han Dynasty were incorrect when he compared them to actual Han Dynasty specimens he obtained for study.<ref name="rudolph 1963 171">Rudolph (1963), 171.</ref> Song scholars established a formal system of dating these artifacts by examining their inscriptions, decorative motif styles, and physical shapes.<ref name="trigger 2006 74"/> Zhao Mingcheng (趙明誠) (1081&ndash;1129) stressed the importance of utilizing ancient inscriptions to correct discrepancies and errors in later texts discussing ancient events, such as with dates, geographical locations of historical events, [[Genealogy|genealogies]], and official titles.<ref name="rudolph 1963 170">Rudolph (1963), 170.</ref><ref name="trigger 2006 74">Trigger (2006), 74.</ref><ref name="clunas 2004 95"/> Ancient inscriptions on vessels were also used to revive ancient rituals for use in ceremonies.<ref name="trigger 2006 74"/><ref name="fraser haber 1986 227">Fraser & Haber (1986), 227.</ref> Instead of stressing the revival of ancient rituals, [[Shen Kuo]] (1031&ndash;1095) was more interested in discovering ancient manufacturing techniques and functionality.<ref name="fraser haber 1986 227"/> Unlike many of his peers who attributed the crafting of ancient ritual vessels to sages of old, Shen asserted that they were merely products of [[Four occupations|ancient artisans]], just like in his time.<ref name="fraser haber 1986 227"/> Shen also incorporated his study of ancient relics [[Interdisciplinarity|into other disciplines]], such as [[Music of China|music]], [[Chinese mathematics|mathematics]], and [[optics]].<ref name="fraser haber 1986 227"/> Shen examined carved reliefs of the Zhuwei Tomb and concluded that they displayed Han Dynasty era clothing.<ref name="fraser haber 1986 227"/> Shen unearthed a [[surveying]] tool in a garden of [[Jiangsu]] which Joseph Needham asserts was [[Jacob's staff]].<ref name="needham volume 3 574"/> Bruce G. Trigger writes that interests in [[antiquarian]] studies of ancient inscriptions and artifacts waned after the Song Dynasty, but were revived by early [[Qing Dynasty]] (1644&ndash;1912) scholars such as [[Gu Yanwu]] (1613&ndash;1682) and Yen Rouju (1636&ndash;1704).<ref name="trigger 2006 74 75">Trigger (2006), 74&ndash;75.</ref> Craig Clunas also states that epigraphic studies weren't revived until the Qing Dynasty, but that printed copies of the ''Chong xiu Xuanhe bogutu'' were widely circulated in the 16th century during the [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644).<ref>Clunas (2004), 97.</ref>  Trigger asserts that [[archaeology]] as a discipline of its own never developed in China and was always considered a branch of [[historiography]] instead.<ref>Trigger (2006), 75&ndash;76.</ref>

* '''[[Artemisinin|Anti-malarial properties of artemisia]]''': The [[Malaria|antimalarial]] drug of compound [[artemisinin]] found in ''[[Artemisia annua]]'', the latter being a plant long used in [[traditional Chinese medicine]], was discovered in 1972 by [[Science and technology in the People's Republic of China|Chinese scientists in the People's Republic]] led by Tu Youyou (屠呦呦) and has been used to treat multi-drug resistant strains of ''[[Plasmodium falciparum]]'' malaria.<ref name="china daily modern inventions"/><ref>Croft (1997), 5007&ndash;5008.</ref>

* '''[[Armillary sphere|Armillary sphere, hydraulic-powered]]''': [[Hipparchus]] (c. 190 &ndash; c. 120 BC)<ref>Williams (2004), 131.</ref> (probably in ''[[Geographica]]'' from 1st century AD)<ref>Lasater (2008), 193 & 202.</ref> credited the Greek [[Eratosthenes]] (276–194 BC) as the first to invent the armillary sphere representing the [[celestial sphere]]. However, the Chinese astronomer Geng Shouchang of the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) invented it separately in China in 52 BC, while the polymath [[Zhang Heng]] (78&ndash;139 AD) was the first to apply motive power to the rotating armillary sphere by a set of complex gears rotated by a [[waterwheel]] which in turn was powered by the constant [[pressure head]] of an inflow [[Water clock|clepsydra clock]], the latter of which he improved with an extra compensating tank between the reservoir and the inflow vessel.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 30 & 479 footnote e.</ref><ref name="crespigny 2007 1050">Crespigny (2007), 1050.</ref><ref>Morton & Lewis (2005), 70.</ref><ref>Loewe (1968), 107.</ref><ref name="bowman 2000 595">Bowman (2000), 595.</ref><ref>Temple (1986), 37.</ref>

* '''[[Door|Automatic opening doors, foot-activated trigger]]''': [[Emperor Yang of Sui|Emperor Yang]] (r. 604&ndash;617) of the [[Sui Dynasty]] (581&ndash;618) had a private library installed in the Guanwen Hall of the palace at the capital of [[Chang'an|Daxing]] (modern [[Xi'an]]), having a total of fourteen studies with luxurious apparel and furniture.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 162">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 162.</ref> At every third study there was a square door with curtains suspended above it as well as two figurine statues of flying immortals.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 162"/> In the emperor's entourage were serving maids holding "perfume burners"; as he walked towards any of these entrances, they would walk in front of him and press their feet down on a trigger mechanism which not only caused the [[Xian (Taoism)|flying immortals]] to sweep down and pull the curtains out of the way, but made the door-halves swing backwards and opened all the cabinet doors to the book cases within the study.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 162"/> When the emperor exited the study, the trigger was activated again and everything returned to its closed original state.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 162"/> It should be noted the Chinese were not the first to invent automatic opening doors, which were invented for a 1st century [[Religion in ancient Rome|Roman temple]] designed by [[Heron of Alexandria]] (c. 10&ndash;70 AD), although his did not involve a foot-activated trigger mechanism,<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 162"/> but worked with the aid of steam power.<ref>Johnson (1999), 126.</ref>

===B===
[[Image:Hui zi.jpg|thumb|[[Huizi (currency)|Huizi currency]], issued in 1160]]
[[Image:TsurugaokaHachimanBarrels.jpg|thumb|Barrels of [[sake]] at [[Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū]], [[Kamakura]], [[Japan]]; sake is derived from a strong [[beer]] which existed in China since roughly the 11th century BC]]
[[Image:Yuan Dynasty - waterwheels and smelting.png|thumb|[[Blast furnace]] [[bellows]] operated by [[waterwheel]]s, from a book published by [[Wang Zhen (official)|Wang Zhen]] in 1313, [[Yuan Dynasty]]]]
[[Image:Wang Juzheng's Spinning Wheel, Close Up 2.jpg|thumb|''The Spinning Wheel'', by [[Song Dynasty|Northern Song]] (960&ndash;1127) artist Wang Juzheng; the Chinese invented the [[Belt (mechanical)|belt drive]] by the 1st century BC for silk [[quilling]] devices. This was essential for the invention of the later [[spinning wheel]], the latter invented in either [[China]] or [[India]] around the 11th century and was first mentioned in [[Europe]] in the statutes of a guild at [[Speyer]], [[Germany]] in about 1280.<ref>Temple (1986), 120&ndash;121.</ref>]]
[[Image:Li Anzhong's Bird on a Branch.gif|thumb|A [[bird-and-flower painting]] by Li Anzhong, early 12th century, album leaf on silk, 25.4 by 26.9 cm]]
[[Image:Chinese_Fining_and_Blast_Furnace.jpg|thumb|A print illustration from an encyclopedia published in 1637 by [[Song Yingxing]] (1587&ndash;1666), showing two men working a [[blast furnace]] on the right and the [[Puddling (metallurgy)|puddling process]] on the left.]]
[[Image:Qingming Festival 2.jpg|thumb|Chinese river ships from ''[[Along the River During Qingming Festival]]'', by [[Zhang Zeduan]] (1085&ndash;1145), [[Song Dynasty]]]]
* '''[[Banknote]]''': Paper currency was [[Economy of the Song Dynasty#Paper currency|first developed in China]]. Its roots were in merchant [[receipt]]s of deposit during the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907), as [[Four occupations#The shang (商)|merchants]] and [[wholesaler]]s desired to avoid the heavy bulk of [[Chinese coins|copper coinage]] in large commercial transactions.<ref>Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 156.</ref><ref>Bowman (2000), 105.</ref><ref name="gernet 1962 80">Gernet (1962), 80.</ref> During the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279), the central government adopted this system for their monopolized salt industry, but a gradual reduction in copper production—due to closed mines and an enormous outflow of Song-minted copper currency into the [[Japan]]ese, [[Southeast Asia]]n, [[Western Xia]], and [[Liao Dynasty]] economies—encouraged the Song government in the early 12th century to issue government-printed paper currency alongside copper to ease the demand on their state mints and debase the value of copper.<ref>Ch'en (1965), 615&ndash;621.</ref> In the early 11th century, the Song Dynasty government authorized sixteen private [[bank]]s to issue notes of exchange in [[Sichuan]], but in 1023 the government commandeered this enterprise and set up an agency to supervise the manufacture of banknotes there.<ref name="temple 1986 117">Temple (1986), 117.</ref> The earliest paper currency was limited to certain regions and could not be used outside specified bounds, but once paper was securely backed by gold and silver stores, the Song Dynasty government initiated a nationwide paper currency, sometime between 1265 and 1274.<ref name="gernet 1962 80"/> The concurrent [[Jin Dynasty (1115-1234)|Jin Dynasty]] (1115&ndash;1234) also printed paper banknotes by at least 1214.<ref>Gernet (1962), 80&ndash;81.</ref>

* '''[[Sake|Beer, alcohol content above 11% (i.e. sake)]]''': Ordinary [[beer]] in the ancient world, from [[Babylonia]] to [[Ancient Egypt]], had an alcoholic content of 4% to 5%, while no beer [[Western world|in the West]] reached an alcohol content above 11% until the 12th century, when [[Distilled beverage|distilled alcohol]] was made in [[Italy]].<ref>Temple (1986), 77 & 103.</ref> Ordinary beer was consumed in China during the [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC) and was even mentioned on Shang [[oracle bone]] inscriptions as offerings to spirits during sacrifices.<ref name="temple 1986 77">Temple (1986), 77.</ref> Robert Temple writes: "The major problem with ordinary beer is that the [[starch]] in grain cannot be [[Brewing#Fermenting|fermented]]. Thousands of years ago, it was found that sprouting grain contains a substance (the [[enzyme]] now known as [[amylase]]) which degrades the starch of grain into sugars which can then be fermented. This was the basis of ancient beer around the world."<ref name="temple 1986 77"/> Yet sometime around 1000 BC the Chinese created an alcoholic beverage which was stronger than 11%, a new drink which was [[Chinese poetry|mentioned in poetry]] throughout the [[Zhou Dynasty]] (c. 1050&ndash;256 BC).<ref name="temple 1986 77"/> The new process created ''xiao mi jiu'' (小米酒), which Temple describes: "This consisted of ground, partially cooked wheat (or occasionally millet) grains which had been allowed to go [[mold]]y. These molds produce the starch-digestive enzyme amylase more efficiently than does sprouting grain. [This drink] therefore was a mixture of molds plus [[yeast]]. The Chinese would mix it with cooked grain in water, which resulted in beer. The amylase broke the starch down into surgar and the yeast fermented this into alcohol."<ref name="temple 1986 77"/> The Chinese discovered that adding more cooked grain in water during fermentation increased alcohol content.<ref name="temple 1986 78">Temple (1986), 78.</ref> This process is the same one that later [[Japan]]ese utilized to make ''[[sake]]'', or ''Nihonshu'' 日本酒.<ref>Temple (1986), 77&ndash;78.</ref>

* '''[[Bellows|Bellows, hydraulic-powered]]''': Although it is unknown if metallurgic bellows (i.e. air-blowing device) in the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) were of the leather bag type or the wooden fan type found in the later [[Yuan Dynasty]] (1279&ndash;1368), the Eastern Han official [[Du Shi]] (d. 38 AD) applied the use of rotating [[waterwheel]]s to power the bellows of his [[blast furnace]] smelting [[Cast iron|iron]], a method which continued in use in China thereafter, as evidenced by subsequent records; it is a significant invention in that iron production yields were increased and it employed all the necessary components for converting rotary motion into [[reciprocating motion]].<ref>Wagner (2001), 77&ndash;80.</ref><ref>Crespigny (2007), 184.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 370&ndash;376.</ref><ref name="bowman 2000 595"/><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 225.</ref>

* '''[[Belt (mechanical)|Belt drive]]''': The mechanical belt drive, with a large wheel and small [[pulley]], was first mentioned by the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) author [[Yang Xiong]] (53&ndash;18 BC) in 15 BC, used for a [[quilling]] machine that wound [[silk]] fibers on to [[bobbin]]s for [[Weaving|weavers']] shuttles.<ref>Temple (1986), 54.</ref> It was also featured in a [[Three Kingdoms]] era book of 230&ndash;232, and was not only later refined as the [[chain drive]], but is an essential component to the invention of the [[spinning wheel]].<ref name="temple 1986 54 55">Temple (1986), 54&ndash;55.</ref> In 1090, Qin Guan's book on [[textile]]s and [[sericulture]] written during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) described a mechanical belt drive for a silk-reeling device.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 107&ndash;;108.</ref> An illustration of a woman operating a multiple-spindle spinning wheel with a continuous driving belt is featured in the ''Book of Agriculture'' published in 1313 by [[Wang Zhen (official)|Wang Zhen]] (fl. 1290&ndash;1333).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, PLATE CXLVII.</ref> This silk-handling machinery was a type of flyer which laid thread evenly on [[reel]]s.<ref name="needham volume 7 part 2 214">Needham (1986), Volume 7, Part 2, 214.</ref> By the 14th century, [[hydraulics|hydraulic power]] was applied to spinning [[mill]]s in China for this purpose.<ref name="needham volume 7 part 2 214"/>

* '''[[Bird-and-flower painting]]''': Bird-and-flower painting (花鳥畫) is an intimate style of nature painting which was developed in the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period]] (907&ndash;960) and blossomed during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) as a definitive court art favored by patrons such as [[Emperor Huizong of Song]] (r. 1100&ndash;1125).<ref name="university of washington bird and flower">University of Washington; A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese Civilization; Prepared by Patricia B. Ebrey and others and financed by the Education Division of the National Endowment for the Humanities. [http://depts.washington.edu/chinaciv/painting/4courbf.htm Bird and Flower Paintings]. Depts.washington.edu. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[09-04]].</ref> Beginning with the latter's reign, paintings such as these were often coupled with [[Chinese poetry|lines of poetry]] in small album leaves.<ref name="university of washington bird and flower"/> This unique style of Song painting was later revived by the [[Zhe School]] of art during the [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644).<ref>Clapp (1991), 222.</ref>

* '''[[Blast furnace]]''': Although [[cast iron]] tools and weapons have been found in China dating to the 5th century BC, the earliest discovered Chinese blast furnaces, which produced [[pig iron]] that could be remelted and refined as [[cast iron]] in the [[cupola furnace]], date to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, while the vast majority of early blast furnace sites discovered date to the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) period immediately following 117 BC with the establishment of state monopolies over the salt and iron industries during the reign of [[Emperor Wu of Han]] (r. 141&ndash;87 BC); most ironwork sites discovered dating before 117 BC acted merely as [[Foundry|foundries]] which made castings for iron that had been smelted in blast furnaces elsewhere in remote areas far from population centers.<ref name="wagner 7 36 37 64 68"/><ref>Pigott (1999), 183&ndash;184.</ref> 

* '''[[Bomb|Bomb, cast iron]]''': The first accounts of bombs made of [[cast iron]] shells packed with explosive [[gunpowder]]—as opposed to earlier types of casings—was written in the 13th century in China.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 170&ndash;174.</ref> The term was coined for this bomb (i.e. "thunder-crash bomb") during a [[Jin Dynasty, 1115-1234|Jin Dynasty]] (1115&ndash;1234) naval battle of 1231 against the [[Mongols]], yet the written account did not explicitly state that iron was used.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 171">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 171.</ref> The ''History of Jin'' 《金史》 (compiled by 1345) states that in 1232, as the Mongol general [[Subutai]] (1176&ndash;1248) descended on the Jin stronghold of [[Kaifeng]], the defenders had a "thunder-crash bomb" which "consisted of gunpowder put into an iron container...then when the fuse was lit (and the projectile shot off) there was a great explosion the noise whereof was like thunder, audible for more than a hundred ''[[Li (unit)|li]]'', and the vegetation was scorched and blasted by the heat over an area of more than [[Chinese units of measurement#Area|half a ''mou'']]. When hit, even [[Chinese armour|iron armour]] was quite pierced through."<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 171"/> The [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) official Li Zengbo wrote in 1257 that [[arsenal]]s should have several hundred thousand iron bomb shells available and that when he was in [[Jingzhou]], about one to two thousand were produced each month for dispatch of ten to twenty thousand at a time to [[Xiangyang]] and Yingzhou.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 173&ndash;174.</ref> The significance of this, as Joseph Needham states, is that a "high-[[nitrate]] gunpowder mixture had been reached at last, since nothing less would have burst the iron casing."<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 170">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 170.</ref>

* '''[[Borehole|Borehole drilling]]''': By at least the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD), the Chinese used deep borehole drilling for mining and other projects, such as using a [[derrick]] to lift liquid [[brine]] to the surface through a [[Pipeline transport|bamboo pipeline]] that led to a distilling furnace (which Michael Loewe says was heated by [[natural gas]]) where [[salt]] could be processed; scenes of this entire process are featured in artwork on Han tomb brick reliefs of [[Sichuan]] province, while Loewe states that borehole sites could reach as deep as 600 m (2000 ft).<ref name="loewe 1968 194">Loewe (1968), 194.</ref> K.S. Tom describes the drilling process: "The Chinese method of deep drilling was accomplished by a team of men jumping on and off a beam to impact the drilling bit while the boring tool was rotated by buffalo and oxen."<ref name="tom 1989 103">Tom (1989), 103.</ref> This was the same method used for extracting [[petroleum]] in [[California]] during the 1860s (i.e. "Kicking Her Down").<ref name="tom 1989 103"/> A Western Han Dynasty bronze foundry discovered in Xinglong, [[Hebei]] had nearby [[shaft mining|mining shafts]] (built to extract [[copper]] which could be smelt with [[tin]] to make bronze) which reached depths of 100 m (328 ft) into the earth with spacious mining areas; the shafts and rooms were complete with a timber frame, ladders, and iron tools.<ref name="loewe 1968 191">Loewe (1968), 191.</ref><ref name="wang 1982 105">Wang (1982), 105.</ref>

* '''[[Toothbrush|Bristle toothbrush]]''': According to a Library of Congress website, the Chinese have used the bristle toothbrush since 1498, during the reign of the [[Hongzhi Emperor]] (r. 1487&ndash;1505) of the [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644); it also adds that the toothbrush was not mass-produced until 1780, when they were sold by a William Addis of Clerkenwald, [[England]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=The Library of Congress|date=2007-04-04|url=http://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/tooth.html|title=Who invented the toothbrush and when was it invented?|accessdate=2008-04-12}}</ref> In accordance with the Library of Congress website, scholar John Bowman also writes that the bristle toothbrush using pig bristles was invented in China during the 1490s.<ref name="bowman 2000 601">Bowman (2000), 601.</ref> While Bonnie L. Kendall agrees with this, she noted that a predecessor existed in [[ancient Egypt]] in the form of a twig that was frayed at the end.<ref>Kendall (2006), 2.</ref>

* '''[[Bulkhead (partition)|Bulkhead partition]]''': The 5th century book ''Garden of Strange Things'' by Liu Jingshu mentioned that a ship could allow water to enter the bottom without sinking, while the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) author [[Zhu Yu (author)|Zhu Yu]] (fl. 12th century) wrote in his book of 1119 that the [[Hull (watercraft)|hulls]] of [[Junk (ship)|Chinese ships]] had a bulkhead build; these pieces of literary evidence for bulkhead partitions are confirmed by archaeological evidence of a 24 m (78 ft) long Song Dynasty ship dredged from the waters off the southern coast of China in 1973, the hull of the ship divided into twelve walled compartmental sections built [[Waterproofing|watertight]], dated to about 1277.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 391, 422, 462&ndash;463.</ref><ref>Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 159.</ref> Western writers from [[Marco Polo]] (1254&ndash;1324), to [[Niccolò Da Conti]] (1395&ndash;1469), to [[Benjamin Franklin]] (1706&ndash;1790) commented on bulkhead partitions, which they viewed as an original aspect of Chinese shipbuilding, as Western shipbuilding did not incorporate this hull arrangement until the early 19th century.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 420&ndash;422.</ref><ref>Gernet (1996), 327.</ref>

===C===
[[Image:Guo Shoujing-beijing.JPG|thumb|[[Guo Shoujing]] (1233&ndash;1316) established a calendar in 1281 which measured a year in roughly the same length as the Western [[Gregorian calendar]] of 1582]]
[[Image:Cast iron garment hook with gold and silver foil, Eastern Zhou Dynasty.jpg|thumb|A [[cast iron]] garment hook with gold and silver foil, from the [[Eastern Zhou Dynasty]], 4th century BC]]
[[Image:Wuxing.svg|thumb|The ''[[wu xing]]'', or Chinese Five Elements, with green representing wood and east, red representing fire and south, yellow representing earth and center, white representing metal and white, and black representing north and water]]
[[Image:Verseuse phénix Musée Guimet 2418.jpg|thumb|A late 10th century grey [[sandstone]] and[[celadon]]-glazed pitcher from the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279); the spout is in the form of a ''[[fenghuang]]'' head.]]
[[Image:Chain drive, Su Song's book of 1092.jpg|thumb|The endless power-transmitting [[chain drive]] from [[Su Song]]'s book of 1094 describing his [[clock tower]]<ref name="temple 1986 72">Temple (1986), 72.</ref>]]
[[Image:Bellows (PSF).svg|right|thumb|[[Bellows]] were used not only in [[History of ferrous metallurgy|metallurgy]] by the ancient Chinese, but also in [[chemical warfare]].]]
[[Image:Chopsticks (PSF).jpg|thumb|Illustration of chopsticks]]
[[Image:Ming Emperor Xuande playing Golf.jpg|thumb|The [[Xuande Emperor]] (r. 1425&ndash;1435) playing ''[[chuiwan]]'' with his [[eunuch]]s]]
[[Image:Wushu saber.jpg|thumb|A Chinese ''[[Dao (sword)|dao]]'' ([[sabre]]); co-fusion [[steel]], a mixture of [[wrought iron]] and [[cast iron]], was used to craft [[Chinese swords|these swords]] as well as [[sickle]]s by the 6th century]]
[[Image:Yan State Coins.jpg|thumb|[[Knife money]] from the [[State of Yan]], dated to the [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC)]]
[[Image:Window Crank on CTA 1-50 Series 30.jpg|thumb|A window crank; the Chinese have used the crank since the last 2,000 years at least]]
[[Image:ChineseCrossbow.JPG|thumb|A hand-held, trigger-operated [[crossbow]] from the 2nd century BC, [[Han Dynasty]]; as proven by the archaeological find at [[Qufu]], the Chinese have used the crossbow since at least the 6th century BC.<ref name="you 1994 80"/>]]
[[Image:Shuihu5.PNG|thumb|A 15th century [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644) woodblock print of the ''[[Water Margin]]'' novel showing a game of ''[[cuju]]'' football being played; the Chinese have been playing ''cuju'' football since the [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC), according to the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' compiled by 91 BC.]]
[[Image:Earthenware architecture models, Eastern Han Dynasty, 6.JPG|thumb|An earthenware model of a stove furnace from the [[Eastern Han Dynasty]] (25&ndash;220 AD); the Chinese have been using the [[cupola furnace]] since antiquity.]]
[[Image:Simon-stevin.jpeg|thumb|In his work of 1585, the [[Flemish people|Flemish]] mathematician [[Simon Stevin]] (1548&ndash;1620), pictured above, published the first significant work in [[Europe]] dealing with [[Decimal#Decimal fractions|decimal fractions]], yet their use in China spans back to at least the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD).<ref name="temple 1986 142 143"/>]]
[[Image:Principles of Correct Diet, Yuan Dynasty, 1330.jpg|thumb|The frontispiece to Hu Sihui's ''Principles of Correct Diet'' published in 1330 ([[Yuan Dynasty]]); the caption reads "Many diseases can be cured by diet alone," a belief which spanned back to at least the 3rd century AD in China.<ref name="temple 1986 131"/>]]
[[Image:ChineseDominoes.JPG|thumb|A standard thirty-two-piece set of [[Chinese dominoes]], which have existed since at least the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) and differ from [[dominoes]] found [[Western world|in the West]] by number of pieces and exclusion of blank face pieces; traditionally, Chinese dominoes were made of wood or [[ivory]].<ref name="lo 2000 401"/>]]
[[Image:Earthenware architecture models, Eastern Han Dynasty, 11.JPG|thumb|Ceramic models of watchtowers from the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) showing use of ''[[dougong]]'' brackets; ''dougong'' were used in [[Chinese architecture]] since roughly the 11th century BC, during the early [[Zhou Dynasty]].]]
[[Image:Tiangong Kaiwu Drawloom.jpg|thumb|right|A giant [[loom|drawloom]] for figure [[weaving]], from the [[China|Chinese]] ''Tiangong Kaiwu'' [[encyclopedia]] published by [[Song Yingxing]] in 1637]]
[[Image:Sublimation of calomel (mercurous chloride), Ming Dynasty.jpg|thumb|A [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644) illustration showing the process of [[Sublimation (chemistry)|sublimation]] of [[mercury(I) chloride]], the man on the left seen brushing the crystals from the sublimation lid by using a feather; the same process was used in the sublimation of crystals of [[Sex steroid|sex]] and [[Pituitary gland|pituitary]] hormones derived from evaporated human urine.<ref name="temple 1986 128">Temple (1986), 128.</ref>]]
[[Image:Bianzhong.jpg|thumb|Each [[bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng|bronze bell of Marquis Yi of Zeng]] (433 BC) bears an inscription describing the specific note it plays, its position on a [[Musical scale|12-note scale]], and how this scale differed from scales [[Warring States Period|used by other Chinese states]] of the time; before this discovery in 1978,<ref name="temple 1986 199"/> the oldest known surviving Chinese tuning set came from [[Guanzi (text)|a 3rd century BC text]] (which alleges was written by [[Guan Zhong]], d. 645 BC) with 5 tones and additions or subtractions of ⅓ of successive tone values which produce the [[Circle of fifths|rising fourths and falling fifths]] of [[Pythagorean comma|Pythagorean tuning]].<ref>McClain and Ming (1979), 206.</ref>]]
[[Image:Clock Tower from Su Song's Book.JPG|thumb|An original print illustration of 1094 showing the inner workings of [[Su Song]]'s (1020&ndash;1101) [[clock tower]], featuring an [[escapement]] mechanism and the world's oldest known [[chain drive]]]]
* '''[[Chinese calendar|Calendar year at 365.2425 days]]''': In the late [[Spring and Autumn Period]] (722&ndash;481 BC), the former Sifen calendar (古四分历) was established, and set the [[tropical year]] at 365.25 days (the same length of the [[Julian calendar]]).<ref name="deng 67">Deng (2005), 67.</ref> The Taichu calendar (太初历) of 104 BC under [[Emperor Wu of Han]] rendered the tropical year at roughly the same (365 <math>\tfrac{385}{1539}</math>).<ref name="deng 67"/> Many other calendars were established between then and the [[Yuan Dynasty]] (1271&ndash;1368), including those established by [[Li Chunfeng]] (602&ndash;670) and [[Yi Xing]] (683&ndash;727).<ref name="deng 67"/> In 1281, the Yuan astronomer [[Guo Shoujing]] (1233&ndash;1316) fixed the calendar at 365.2425 days, the same as the [[Gregorian calendar]] established in 1582; this calendar, the Shoushi calendar (授時曆), would be used in China for the next 363 years.<ref>Asiapac Editorial (2004), 132.</ref><ref>Deng (2005), 67&ndash;69.</ref> Guo Shoujing established the new calendar with the aid of his own achievements in [[spherical trigonometry]], which he derived largely from the work of [[Shen Kuo]] (1031&ndash;1095) who [[History of trigonometry|established trigonometry in China]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 3, 109&ndash;110.</ref><ref>Ho (2000), 105.</ref><ref>Restivo (1992), 32.</ref>

* '''[[Cast iron]]''': Confirmed by archaeological evidence, cast iron, made from melting [[pig iron]], was developed in China by the early 5th century BC during the [[Zhou Dynasty]] (1122&ndash;256 BC), the oldest specimens found in a tomb of Luhe County in [[Jiangsu]] province; despite this, most of the early [[blast furnace]]s and [[cupola furnace]]s discovered in China date after the state iron monopoly under [[Emperor Wu of Han|Emperor Wu]] (r. 141&ndash;87 BC) was established in 117 BC, during the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD); Donald Wagner states that a possible reason why no ancient Chinese [[bloomery]] process has been discovered thus far is because the iron monopoly, which lasted until the 1st century AD when it was abolished for private entrepreneurship and local administrative use, wiped out any need for continuing the less-efficient bloomery process that continued in use in other parts of the world.<ref>Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 30.</ref><ref name="wagner 7 36 37 64 68">Wagner (2001), 7, 36&ndash;37, 64&ndash;68.</ref><ref>Gernet (1996), 69.</ref><ref>Wagner (1993), 335.</ref><ref name="pigott 1999 177">Pigott (1999), 177.</ref> Wagner states that most iron tools in ancient China were made of cast iron in consideration of the low economic burden of producing cast iron, whereas most [[Military history of China|iron military weapons]] were made of more costly [[wrought iron]] and [[steel]], signifying that "high performance was essential" and preferred for the latter.<ref>Wagner (1993), 336.</ref> 

* '''[[Cardinal_direction#Far_East|Cardinal direction, use of colors for]]''': In ancient China, the use of five different soil colors corresponding to the four cardinal directions were used in construction of altars and mounds.<ref>Isabel (1995), 370.</ref><ref>Li (2002), 54. (For photo of Altar of Land and Grain five different soil colors).</ref><ref>Twitchett (1998), 874.</ref> The earliest archaeologial evidence of such example comes from a [[Spring and Autumn Period]] (722&ndash;481 BC) burial site located at Shuangdun, [[Anhui]].<ref>[http://news.xinhuanet.com/tech/2008-06/26/content_8440385.htm Tomb .1 of Shuangdun burial from Spring and Autumn Period] (Chinese). [[Xinhua]]. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[July 25|7-25]] </ref>  The mentions of the "five colors" are recorded in the ''[[Shujing]]'' and ''[[Zuozhuan]]'', while the earliest information on correlative colors associated with each four cardinal directions and center; east (blue), south (red), west (white), north (black) and center (yellow), comes from the ''Kaogongji'',<ref>Shao (2002), 52.</ref> an independent work complied in the [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC) before being attached to the ''[[Rites of Zhou]]'' in place of the original missing section "Winter Office" (lost in its entirety) by the mid 2nd century BC.<ref>Ko (2007), 265.</ref><ref>Lewis (2006), 177.</ref><ref>Loewe (1999), 457.</ref>

* '''[[Bonaventura Cavalieri|Cavalieri's principle]]''': This mathematical principle, which states that the volumes of two objects are equal if the areas of their [[Cross section (geometry)|corresponding cross sections]] are in all cases equal, is named after the [[Italian people|Italian]] mathematician [[Bonaventura Cavalieri]] (1598&ndash;1647), yet it was first pioneered in the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) mathematical treatise ''[[The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art]]'' (written by at least 179 AD), and commented on by the [[Cao Wei|Wei Dynasty]] (220&ndash;265) mathematician [[Liu Hui]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 3, 143.</ref>

* '''[[Celadon]]''': [[Variations of green|Named after a pale-tinted spring green color]], Wang Zhongshu (1982) asserts that shards having this type of [[Chinese ceramics|ceramic glaze]] have been recovered from [[Eastern Han Dynasty]] (25&ndash;220 AD) tomb excavations in [[Zhejiang]]; he also asserts that this type of ceramic became well known during the [[Three Kingdoms]] (220&ndash;265).<ref>Wang (1982), 1982.</ref> Richard Dewar (2002) disagrees with Wang's classification, stating that true celadon—which requires a minimum 1260° C (2300° F) furnace temperature, a preferred range of 2850° to 1305° C (2345° to 2381° F), and reduced firing—was not created until the beginning of the [[Northern Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1127).<ref name="dewar 2002 42">Dewar (2002), 42.</ref> The unique grey or green celadon glaze is a result of [[iron oxide]]'s transformation from [[ferric]] to [[ferrous]] iron (Fe<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> → FeO) during the firing process.<ref name="dewar 2002 42"/> [[Longquan celadon]] wares, which Nigel Wood (1999) writes were first made during the Northern Song, had bluish, blue-green, and olive green glazes and high [[silica]] and [[alkali]] contents which resembled later [[porcelain]] wares made at [[Jingdezhen]] and [[Dehua]] rather than [[stoneware]]s.<ref name="wood 1999 75 76">Wood (1999), 75&ndash;76.</ref>

* '''[[Chain drive|Chain drive, endless power-transmitting]]''': The Greek [[Philon of Byzantium]] (3rd or 2nd century BC)<ref>Ceccarelli (2004), 69.</ref> described a [[chain drive]] and [[windlass]] used in the operation of a [[polybolos]] (a repeating [[ballista]]),<ref>Campbell (2003), 7.</ref><ref>[http://www.thehurl.org/tiki-download_file.php?fileId=37 Soedel & Foley] (1979), 124&ndash;125.</ref> but the chain drive did not continuously transmit power from shaft to shaft.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 109&ndash;111.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 72"/> A continuously driven chain drive first appeared in 11th-century China. Perhaps inspired by [[chain pump]]s which had been known in China since at least the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) when they were mentioned by the Chinese philosopher [[Wang Chong]] (27&ndash;c.100 AD),<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 344.</ref> the endless power-transmitting chain drive was first used in the gearing of the [[clock tower]] built at [[Kaifeng]] in 1090 by the official, mathematician, and astronomer [[Su Song]] (1020&ndash;1101) during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279); in addition to the [[escapement]] mechanism invented earlier in the 8th century, the chain drive was used to mechanically rotate the tower's [[armillary sphere]] crowning the top (which imitated the movements of the stars in the [[celestial sphere]]) and move one of 600 mechanical gear teeth forward every 2 minutes and 24 seconds, thus each gear tooth represented <math>\tfrac{1}{600}</math> of a 24 hour day, [[striking clock|each hour announced by one of 133 clock jack figurines]] rotated on a mechanical wheel behind opening windows where they could be seen banging gongs, drums, bells, and holding plaques for special times of day.<ref>Fry (2001), 11.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 111, 165, 456&ndash;457.</ref><ref name="gernet 1996 341">Gernet (1996), 341.</ref>

* '''[[Chemical warfare|Chemical warfare using bellows, mustard smoke, and lime]]''': As written in the 4th century BC by the [[Mohism|Mohists]], followers of the philosophy of [[Mozi]] (c. 470 &ndash; c. 391 BC), the Chinese of the [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC) applied the use of burnt balls of the [[mustard plant]] (not to be confused with modern [[sulfur mustard]], or 'mustard gas') as a lethal agent in warfare.<ref name="temple 1986 215">Temple (1986), 215.</ref> During a [[siege]], the besieging force would often [[Mining (military)|dig mines under the walls]] to breach the fortifications of the defenders.<ref name="temple 1986 215"/> As written by the Mohists, the defenders also had the option of digging to meet the enemy's underground tunnel, where [[bellows]] connected to furnaces above could be used to pump toxic smoke of burnt mustard and other vegetable material into the shafts.<ref name="temple 1986 215"/> To fight off a peasant revolt in 178 AD during the late [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD), riding [[charioteer]]s of the Imperial forces used portable bellows to pump [[Lime (mineral)|lime smoke]] at the enemy, who were ultimately defeated.<ref name="temple 1986 217">Temple (1986), 217.</ref> Powdered lime was also used in lobbed [[tear gas]] bombs, such as when the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) general [[Yue Fei]] (1103&ndash;1142) used them with great success against the bandit leader Yang Yao in 1135; when the lime formed a thick fog in the air, Yang's "rebel soldiers could not open their eyes" according to the account of his campaign.<ref name="temple 1986 217"/>

* '''[[Chinese remainder theorem]]''': The Chinese remainder theorem, including [[Modular arithmetic|simultaneous congruences]] in [[number theory]], was first created by the mathematician [[Sun Tzu (mathematician)|Sunzi]] in the 3rd century AD, whose ''Mathematical Classic by Sun Zi'' (孙子算经, ''Sunzi suanjing'') posed the problem: "There is an unknown number of things, when divided by 3 it leaves 2, when divided by 5 it leaves 3, and when divided by 7 it leaves a remainder of 2. Find the number."<ref name="ho 1991 516">Ho (1991), 516.</ref> This method of calculation was used in calendrical mathematics by [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) mathematicians such as [[Li Chunfeng]] (602&ndash;670) and [[Yi Xing]] (683&ndash;727) in order to determine the length of the "Great Epoch", the lapse of time between the conjunctions of the moon, sun, and Five Planets ([[Naked-eye planet|those discerned by the naked eye]]).<ref name="ho 1991 516"/> Thus, it was strongly associated with the [[divination]] methods of the ancient ''[[Yijing]]''.<ref name="ho 1991 516"/> Its use was lost for centuries until [[Qin Jiushao]] (c. 1202&ndash;1261) revived it in his ''[[Mathematical Treatise in Nine Sections]]'' of 1247, providing [[constructive proof]] for it.<ref name="ho 1991 516"/> 

* '''[[Chopsticks]]''': The historian [[Sima Qian]] (145&ndash;86 BC) wrote in the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' that [[King Zhou of Shang]] was the first to make chopsticks out of [[ivory]] in the 11th century BC; the most ancient archaeological find of a pair of chopsticks, made of bronze, comes from Shang Tomb 1005 at Houjiazhuang, [[Anyang]], dated roughly 1200 BC. By 600 BC, the use of chopsticks had spread to [[Yunnan]] (Dapona in [[Dali]]),<ref>Lu (2004), 209&ndash;216.</ref><ref>[http://italian.cri.cn/441/2008/06/19/[email protected] Le due leggende sulle bacchette cinesi] cri.cn. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[July 20|7-20]]</ref> and [[Töv Province]] by 1st century.<ref>[http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/museums/ubhist/xiongnu.html The National Museum of Mongolian History]. washington.edu. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[July 20|7-20]].</ref> The earliest known textual reference to the use of chopsticks comes from the ''[[Han Feizi (book)|Han Feizi]]'', a philosophical text written by [[Han Fei]] (c. 280&ndash;233 BC) in the 3rd century BC.<ref name="needham volume 6 part 5 104 footnote">Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 5, 104, footnote 161.</ref>

* '''[[Chromium|Chromium, use of]]''': The use of chromium was invented in China no later than 210 BC, the date when the [[Terracotta Army]] was interred at a site not far from modern [[Xi'an]]; modern archaeologists discovered that bronze-tipped [[crossbow]] bolts at the site showed no sign of corrosion after more than 2,000 years of being interred, the reason being that the Chinese had coated the bronze tips of their crossbow bolts in chromium; chromium was not used anywhere else until the experiments of [[Louis Nicolas Vauquelin]] (1763&ndash;1829) in 1797&ndash;1798.<ref>Cotterell (2004), 102.</ref>

* '''[[Chuiwan|Chuiwan (Chinese golf)]]''': ''Chuiwan'', a game similar to the [[Scotland|Scottish]]-derived sport of [[golf]], was first mentioned in China by Wei Tai (fl. 1050&ndash;1100) in his ''Dongxuan Records'' (東軒錄);<ref>[http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/ASSH%20Bulletins/No%2014/ASSHBulletin14c.pdf Ling] (1991), 12&ndash;23.</ref> it was popular amongst men and women in the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) and [[Yuan Dynasty]] (1279&ndash;1368), while it was popular among urban men in the [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644) in much the same way that [[tennis]] was for urban [[Early Modern Europe|Europeans]] during the [[Renaissance]] (according to Andrew Leibs).<ref name="leibs 2004 30">Leibs (2004), 30.</ref> In 1282, Ning Zhi published the ''Book of Chuiwan'', which described the rules, equipment, and playing field of ''chuiwan'', as well as included commentary of those who mastered its tactics.<ref name="leibs 2004 30"/> ''Chuiwan'' clubs, 10 in all for each player, were stored in a brocaded case.<ref name="leibs 2004 30 31"/> The ''chuiwan'' clubs [[Emperor of China|used by the emperor]] were lavishly decked in [[gold]] and [[Chinese jade|inlaid with jade]].<ref name="leibs 2004 30 31">Leibs (2004), 30&ndash;31.</ref> The game was played on flat and sloping grassland terrain and—much like the [[tee]] of modern golf—had a "base" area where the first of three strokes were played.<ref>Leibs (2004), 31.</ref>

* '''[[Imperial examination|Civil service examinations]]''': In the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD), the ''[[xiaolian]]'' system of recruiting government officials through formal recommendations was the chief method of filling bureaucratic posts, although there was an [[Taixue|Imperial Academy]] to train potential candidates for office and some offices required its candidates to pass formal written tests before appointment.<ref>Crespigny (2007), 1222 & 1232.</ref><ref>Bielenstein (1980), 9 & 19.</ref><ref>Wang (1949), 152.</ref><ref>Loewe (1968), 45.</ref> However, it was not until the [[Sui Dynasty]] (581&ndash;618) that [[civil service]] examinations became open to all adult males not belonging to the [[Four occupations|merchant class]] (although having wealth or noble status were not requirements) and were used as a universal prerequisite for appointments to office, at least in theory.<ref name="ebrey 2006 97">Ebrey (2006), 97.</ref><ref>Gasciogne and Gasciogne (2003), 95.</ref> During the Sui and [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907), the civil service system was actually implemented on a much smaller scale than during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279), when an elite core of dynastic-founding and professional families lost their majority in government to a broad strata of lesser [[Gentry (China)|gentry families]] from throughout the country.<ref>Hartwell (1982), 416&ndash;420.</ref><ref>Ebrey (1999), 145&ndash;146.</ref> To ensure that examinations were relatively fair (despite difficult requirements and privilege of the better educated), the authorities employed numerous methods such as hiring a bureau of [[copyist]]s to copy each candidate's examination answers to avoid favoritism by graders who could recognize one's signature [[Chinese calligraphy|calligraphy style]].<ref>Fairbank (2006), 94.</ref><ref>Gernet (1962), 65.</ref>

* '''[[Steelmaking|Co-fusion steel process]]''': Although both Robert Temple and [[Joseph Needham]] speculate that it could have existed beforehand, the first clear written evidence of the fusion of [[wrought iron]] and [[cast iron]] to make [[steel]] comes from the 6th century AD in regards to the [[Taoism|Daoist]] swordsmith Qiwu Huaiwen, who was put in charge of the arsenal of [[Northern Wei]] general [[Gao Huan]] (496&ndash;597, later honored as Emperor Xianwu by [[Northern Qi]]) from 543 to 550 AD.<ref name="temple 1986 68">Temple (1986), 68.</ref><ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 34">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 34.</ref> The [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) ''Newly Reorganized Pharmacopoeia'' of 659 also described this process of mixing and heating wrought iron and cast iron together, stating that the steel product was used to make [[sickle]]s and [[Dao (sword)|Chinese sabers]].<ref name="temple 1986 68"/> In regards to the latter text, [[Su Song]] (1020&ndash;1101) made a similar description and noted the steel's use for [[Chinese swords|making swords]].<ref name="temple 1986 68"/> In his encyclopedia of 1637, the [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644) author [[Song Yingxing]] (1587&ndash;1666) was the first to describe the process at length, stating that the wrought iron was first beaten into tiny thin plates, packed into wrought iron sheets, and then pressed down with cast iron piled on top.<ref name="temple 1986 68"/> The cast iron would melt first in the furnace, "dripping and soaking" into the wrought iron; once united, they were taken out and forged, heated, and hammered in a process repeated numerous times.<ref name="temple 1986 68"/> Temple and Needham both state that this anticipated the [[open hearth furnace]] later invented by [[Carl Wilhelm Siemens]] (1823&ndash;1883).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 34"/><ref name="temple 1986 68 69">Temple (1986), 68&ndash;69.</ref>

* '''[[Knife money|Coin, knife and spade-shaped]]''': Robert S. Wicks states that the [[Cowry|cowry shell]] was used as a primitive form of currency during the [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC).<ref>Wicks (1992), 28.</ref> During the [[Zhou Dynasty]] (c. 1050&ndash;256 BC) the use of [[bronze]] coins in [[Chinese coins|various shapes and sizes]], such as circular coins with either a rounded or square hole in the center (to fit a string through),<ref>Hartill (2005), 80&ndash;83.</ref> came into general use. The [[knife]]-shaped and [[spade]]-shaped coins, styles unique to China, also came into use during the Zhou period; as proven by archaeological excavations, these coin were common in the [[Yan (state)|State of Yan]], [[Qi (state)|State of Qi]], [[Zhao (state)|State of Zhao]], [[Han (state)|State of Han]], [[Chu (state)|State of Chu]], [[Liang (state)|State of Liang]], and [[Qin (state)|State of Qin]], with dates ranging from the [[Spring and Autumn Period]] (722&ndash;481 BC) to the [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC).<ref>Hartill (2005), 4&ndash;76.</ref> The historian [[Sima Qian]] (145&ndash;86 BC) in his ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' (91 BC) wrote that in ancient times, tortoise shells, cowry shells, knives, and gold were used as forms of currency.<ref>Hartill (2005), 4.</ref>

* '''[[Coke (fuel)|Coke as fuel]]''': By the 11th century, during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279), the demands for [[charcoal]] used in the [[blast furnace|blast]] and [[cupola furnace]]s of the iron industry led to large amounts of [[deforestation]] of prime timberland; to avoid excessive deforestation, the Song Chinese began using coke made from [[bituminous coal]] as fuel for their metallurgic furnaces instead of charcoal derived from wood.<ref name="ebrey walthall palais 158">Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 158.</ref><ref name="ebrey 1999 144">Ebrey (1999), 144.</ref><ref name="hobson 2004 53">Hobson (2004), 53.</ref>

* '''[[Contour canal]]''': After numerous conquests and consolidation of [[Qin Dynasty|his empire]], China's first emperor [[Qin Shi Huang]] (r. 221&ndash;210 BC) commissioned the engineer Shi Lu (fl. late 3rd century BC) to build a new waterway canal which would pass through a mountain range and link together the [[Xiang River]] and [[Lijiang River]].<ref name="day mcneil 1996 636"/><ref name="temple 1986 182">Temple (1986), 182.</ref> The result of this project was the [[Lingqu Canal]], complete with thirty-six [[Lock (water transport)|lock gates]], and since it closely follows a [[contour line]] (i.e. following the contours of the [[Mountain pass|natural saddle in the hills]]), it is the oldest known contour canal in the world.<ref name="day mcneil 1996 636">Day & McNeil (1996), 636.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 182 183">Temple (1986), 182&ndash;183.</ref> According to [[Sima Qian]] (145&ndash;86 BC) in his ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' (compiled by 91 BC), the canal project was initiated to effectively send supplies of grain south to the armies of [[Zhao Tuo]] in the conquest of the [[Yue (peoples)|Yue peoples]].<ref name="temple 1986 182"/>

* '''[[Crank (mechanism)|Crank handle]]''': The earliest known depicted crank handle in art comes from a 1st century BC [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) green-glazed pottery tomb model of a farmyard, complete with a rotary grain mill, a man operating a foot tilt hammer for pounding grain, and to his left a [[winnowing]] machine with a crank handle used to [[Fan (mechanical)|operate the fan]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 118 & PLATE CLVI.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 46">Temple (1986), 46.</ref> The crank handle in later Imperial China (Tang and Song dynasties) was also used in grain mills, silk-reeling and hemp-spinning machines, the hydraulic-powered flour-sifter, the hydraulic powered [[bellows]], the water well [[windlass]], and other devices.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 116&ndash;119.</ref>

* '''[[Crossbow|Crossbow, handheld]]''': In China, bronze [[History of crossbows|crossbow]] bolts dating as early as mid 5th century BC were found at a [[Chu (state)|State of Chu]] burial site in Yutaishan, [[Hubei]].<ref>Wagner (1993), 153, 157&ndash;158.</ref> The earliest handheld crossbow stocks with bronze trigger, dating from the 6th century BC, comes from Tomb 3 and 12 found at [[Qufu]], [[Shandong]], capital of the [[Lu (state)|State of Lu]].<ref name="you 1994 80">You (1994), 80.</ref><ref>[http://www.atarn.org/chinese/bjng_xbow/bjng_xbow.htm A Crossbow Mechanism with Some Unique Features from Shandong, China]. Asian Traditional Archery Research Network. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[Aug 20|08-20]].</ref> Other early finds of crossbows were discovered in Tomb 138 at Saobatang, [[Hunan]] dated to mid 4th century BC.<ref>Mao (1998), 109&ndash;110.</ref><ref>Wright (2001), 159.</ref> [[Repeating crossbow]]s, first mentioned in the ''[[Records of the Three Kingdoms]]'', were discovered in 1986 in Tomb 47 at Qinjiazui, Hubei dated to around 4th century BC.<ref>Lin (1993), 36.</ref> The earliest textual evidence of the handheld crossbow [[Battle of Maling|used in battle]] dates to the 4th century BC.<ref name="wright 2001 42">Wright (2001), 42.</ref> Handheld crossbows with complex bronze trigger mechanisms have also been found with the [[Terracotta Army]] in the tomb of [[Qin Shihuang]] (r. 221&ndash;210 BC) that are similar to specimens from the subsequent [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD), while crossbowmen described in the Han Dynasty learned drill formations, some were even mounted as [[Cavalry#East Asia|cavalry units]], and Han Dynasty writers attributed the success of numerous [[Sino-Xiongnu War|battles against the Xiongnu]] to massed crossbow fire.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 6, 124&ndash;128.</ref><ref>Lewis (2000), 45.</ref> [[Chao Cuo]] (d. 154 BC) wrote a memorial to the throne in 169 BC which included his assertion that the Chinese crossbow was superior to the [[Xiongnu]] bow.<ref>Di Cosmo (2002), 203.</ref> In a cross comparison with a contemporary civilization which created an early crossbow, the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] had a crossbow known as the ''[[gastraphetes]]'' ("belly-bow", so named because the shooter had to draw the bow by pressing his stomach against the concave rear), which was described in [[Heron of Alexandria|Heron's]] ''Belopoeica'' (1st century AD),<ref>Campbell (2003), 3&ndash;6</ref> yet some scholars assert that the handheld crossbow (as invented in China) was not seen in Europe until the 10th century AD.<ref>Needham (1986)Volume 5, Part 6, 170&ndash;172</ref><ref>Brodie & Brodie (1973), 20 & 35.</ref><ref>DeVries (2003), 127&ndash;128.</ref> Unlike the Chinese crossbow, the heavy weight and bulk of the ''gastraphetes'' necessitated a prop to keep it standing, i.e. by mounting it on a defensive wall or using a portable prop.<ref>Campbell (2003), 4.</ref>

* '''[[Cuju|Cuju (football)]]''': The game of [[football]] known as ''cuju'' was first mentioned in China by two historical texts; the ''[[Zhan Guo Ce]]'' (compiled from the 3rd to 1st centuries BC) and the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' (published in 91 BC) by [[Sima Qian]] (145&ndash;86 BC).<ref name="speak 1999 32">Speak (1999), 32.</ref> Both texts recorded that during the [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC) the people of [[Linzi]] city, capital of the [[Qi (state)|State of Qi]], enjoyed playing ''cuju'' along with partaking in many other pastimes such as [[cockfight]]ing.<ref name="speak 1999 32"/> Besides being a recreational sport, playing ''cuju'' was also considered a military training exercise and means for soldiers to keep fit.<ref name="speak 1999 32"/> Both Sima Qian<ref>Watson (1961 II), 178.</ref> and [[Ban Gu]] (32&ndash;92 AD) in his ''[[Book of Han]]'' wrote that the general [[Huo Qubing]] (140&ndash;117 BC), after leading his troops north to attack the nomadic [[Xiongnu]], allowed his soldiers to construct a playing field for ''cuju'' football.<ref name="speak 1999 32"/>

* '''[[Cupola furnace]]''': Vincent C. Pigott states that the cupola furnace existed in China at least by the [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC),<ref name="pigott 1999 191">Pigott (1999), 191.</ref> while Donald B. Wagner writes that some [[iron ore]] melted in the [[blast furnace]] may have been [[cast iron|cast directly into molds]], but most, if not all, iron smelted in the blast furnace during the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) was remelted in a cupola furnace; it was designed so that a [[cold blast]] injected at the bottom traveled through [[tuyere]] pipes across the top where the charge (i.e. of [[charcoal]] and scrap or [[pig iron]]) was dumped, the air becoming a [[hot blast]] before reaching the bottom of the furnace where the iron was melted and then drained into appropriate molds for casting.<ref>Wagner (2001), 75&ndash;76.</ref> Pigott states that even in modern cupola furnaces, sometimes an excess of injected [[oxygen]] will cause enough [[decarburization]] that a resulting lump of low-carbon iron will appear in the furnace, similar to the [[wrought iron]] of the [[bloomery]]; although the ancient Chinese had produced wrought iron (no doubt, Pigott says, from the cupola furnace) from about the same time (c. 500 BC) cast iron appeared during the very late [[Spring and Autumn Period]] (722&ndash;481 BC), there is no direct evidence that the bloomery ever existed in China.<ref name="pigott 1999 177 191">Pigott (1999), 177 & 191.</ref>

===D===

* '''[[Decimal#Decimal fractions|Decimal fractions]]''': As proven by inscriptions from the 13th century BC, the [[decimal]] system existed in China since the [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC).<ref name="temple 1986 139">Temple (1986), 139.</ref> The earliest evidence of a decimal [[Fraction (mathematics)|fraction]], where the fraction's [[denominator]] is a [[power]] of ten, appears on an inscription of a standard measure of volume used by the mathematician and astronomer [[Liu Xin]] (c. 46 BC &ndash; 23 AD), dated precisely 5 AD.<ref name="temple 1986 142 143">Temple (1986), 142&ndash;143.</ref> The first significant piece of Chinese literature to feature decimal fractions was the ''[[The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art]]''.<ref name="temple 1986 143">Temple (1986), 143.</ref> This text was first mentioned in 179 AD,<ref name="needham volume 3 24 25">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 24&ndash;25.</ref> although [[Liu Hui]] (fl. 3rd century AD) asserts that some of its material predates the [[Burning of books and burying of scholars|infamous Qin book burning in 213 BC]] (i.e. older than the oldest surviving Chinese mathematical treatise, the ''[[Book on Numbers and Computation]]'', 202&ndash;186 BC).<ref>Straffin (1998), 165.</ref> Liu Hui used decimal fractions with measurements and as solutions to [[equation]]s.<ref name="temple 1986 143"/> At first decimal fractions were written in word form, since it was Han Yan (fl. late 8th century) of the [[Tang Dynasty]] (607&ndash;907) who first used modern decimal notation to write out decimal fractions.<ref name="temple 1986 143"/> Decimal fractions were vital to the work of [[Song Dynasty|Song]] (960&ndash;1279) mathematicians such as [[Yang Hui]] (1238&ndash;1298) and [[Qin Jiushao]] (c. 1201&ndash;1261).<ref name="temple 1986 143"/> [[Jamshīd al-Kāshī]] (1380&ndash;1429), director of the astronomical observatory at [[Samarkand]], adopted the use of decimal fractions; they were first mentioned in [[Europe]] by Christoff Rudolff of [[Augsburg]] in his ''Exempel-Buechlin'' of 1530, yet not given serious attention until the 1585 work of the [[Flemish people|Flemish]] mathematician [[Simon Stevin]] (1548&ndash;1620).<ref name="temple 1986 143"/>

* '''[[Nutrition disorder|Deficiency diseases, correction by proper diet]]''': As early as the 4th century BC, [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC), records indicate that [[Dietician|Imperial Dieticians]] were appointed at royal courts.<ref name="temple 1986 131">Temple (1986), 131.</ref> The first explicit description of a regulated diet used to curb certain diseases is found in the ''[[Jinkui Yaolue|Systematic Treasury of Medicine]]'' written by [[Zhang Zhongjing]] (c. 150 &ndash; c. 219) during the late [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD).<ref name="temple 1986 131"/> Although Zhang did not understand the true nature of [[vitamin]]s, he prescribed foods now known to be rich in certain vitamins, which were discovered to be useful after much trial and error.<ref name="temple 1986 131"/> The [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) official and poet [[Han Yu]] (768&ndash;824) observed that the deficiency disease [[beriberi]] (caused by lack of [[Thiamin|Vitamin B<sub>1</sub>]]) was far more prevalent south of the [[Yangzi River]] than north of it, an observation confirmed in the 20th century.<ref name="temple 1986 131"/> The [[Yuan Dynasty]] (1271&ndash;1368) physician and Imperial Dietician Hu Sihui (fl. 1314&ndash;1330) published his book ''Principles of Correct Diet'' which compiled a large amount of previous material written on the subject.<ref name="temple 1986 131"/> In it, Hu identified the two types of beriberi (today known as "wet" and "dry" types) and prescribed remedies of diets rich in Vitamin B<sub>1</sub> and other vitamins.<ref name="temple 1986 131"/> Later, [[Christiaan Eijkman]] (1958&ndash;1930) was awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]] in 1929 for discovering that beriberi was caused by a poor diet lacking the essential Vitamin B<sub>1</sub>.

* '''[[Diabetes|Diabetes, recognition and treatment of]]''': In ancient China, diabetes was aptly called 'dissolutive thirst' due to diabetic patients' excessive thirst and passing of urine.<ref name="temple 1986 132">Temple (1986), 132.</ref> The ''[[Huangdi Neijing]]'' compiled by the 2nd century BC during the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) identified diabetes as a disease suffered by those who had made an excessive habit of eating sweet and fatty foods, while the ''Old and New Tried and Tested Perscriptions'' written by the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) physician Zhen Quan (d. 643) was the first known book to mention an excess of [[sugar]] in the [[urine]] of diabetic patients.<ref name="temple 1986 132"/><ref name="medvei 1993 49">Medvei (1993), 49.</ref> While his book is now lost, quotations of it were preserved in the ''Important Medical Formulae and Prescriptions Now Revealed by the Governor of a Distant Province'', written by Wang Tao in 752.<ref name="temple 1986 132"/> The Tang physician [[Sun Simiao]] (581&ndash;682) wrote in his ''Thousand Golden Remedies'' of 655 that for diabetic patients "three things must be renounced, wine, sex, and eating salted, starchy cereal products; if this regimen can be observed, cure may follow without drugs."<ref name="temple 1986 133">Temple (1986), 133.</ref> Robert Temple writes that this is similar to the modern method of avoiding alcohol and [[starch]]y foods.<ref name="temple 1986 133"/> The sweetness of urine in diabetic patients is also noted in an ancient text of [[India]], but unlike the Chinese texts its date is ambiguous.<ref name="temple 1986 133"/> Sweetness in urine of diabetic patients was discovered in [[Europe]] by [[Thomas Willis]] (1621&ndash;1675) around 1660 and published in 1679, yet this was not associated with sugar until 1776 in a work by Matthew Dobson; in 1815 this sugar was finally specified as [[glucose]].<ref name="temple 1986 133"/>

* '''[[Chinese dominoes|Dominoes, Chinese]]''': The [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644) author Xie Zhaozhe (1567&ndash;1624) initiated the legend that [[dominoes]] were first presented to the imperial court in 1112.<ref name="lo 2000 401">Lo (2000), 401.</ref> However, the oldest confirmed written mention of dominoes in China comes from the ''Former Events in Wulin'' (i.e. the capital [[Hangzhou]]) written by the [[Yuan Dynasty]] (1271&ndash;1368) author Zhou Mi (1232&ndash;1298), who listed "''pupai''" (gambling plaques or dominoes) as well as [[dice]] as items sold by peddlers during the reign of [[Emperor Xiaozong of Song]] (r. 1162&ndash;1189).<ref name="lo 2000 401"/> Andrew Lo asserts that Zhou Mi meant dominoes when referring to ''pupai'', since the Ming author Lu Rong (1436&ndash;1494) explicitly defined ''pupai'' as dominoes (in regards to a story of a suitor who won a maiden's hand by drawing out four winning ''pupai'' from a set).<ref name="lo 2000 401"/> The earliest known manual written about dominoes is the ''Manual of the Xuanhe Period'' (1119&ndash;1125) written by Qu You (1347&ndash;1433).<ref name="lo 2000 401"/> In the ''Encyclopedia of a Myriad of Treasures'', Zhang Pu (1602&ndash;1641) described the game of laying out dominoes as ''pupai'', although the character for ''pu'' had changed (yet retained the same pronunciation).<ref name="lo 2000 401"/> Traditional Chinese domino games include [[Tien Gow]], [[Pai Gow]], [[Che Deng]], and others. It should be noted that the thirty-two-piece Chinese domino set (made to represent each possible face of two thrown dice and thus have no blank faces) differs from the twenty-eight-piece domino set found in [[Western world|in the West]] during the mid 18th century (in [[France]] and [[Italy]]).<ref>Pickover (2002), 141.</ref> 

* '''[[Dougong]]''': A ''dougong'' is a [[Bracket (architecture)|building bracket]] which is unique to [[Chinese architecture]]. Since at least the [[Western Zhou Dynasty]] (c. 1050&ndash;771 BC), they were placed between the top of a column and a crossbeam to support the concave roofs of beam-in-tier buildings which were archetypal of Chinese architecture.<ref name="fletcher 693">Fletcher (1996), 693.</ref> Each dougong is formed by double bow-shaped arms (拱, ''gong'') supported by a wooden block (斗, ''dou'') on each side.<ref name="fletcher 693"/> ''Dougong'' were also used for decorative and ceremonial rather than entirely pragmatic purposes of support, such as on solid brick [[Chinese pagoda|pagodas]] like the [[Iron Pagoda]] built in 1049. The ''[[Yingzao Fashi]]'' building manual published in 1103 by the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) official Li Jie [[:Image:Yingzao Fashi 3.JPG|featured illustrations and descriptions of ''dougong'']].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 100.</ref>

* '''[[Loom|Drawloom]]''': The earliest confirmed drawloom fabrics come from the [[Chu (state)|State of Chu]] and date circa 400 BC.<ref name="broudy 1979 124">Broudy (1979), 124.</ref> Most scholars attribute the invention of the drawloom to the ancient Chinese, although some speculate an independent invention from ancient [[Syria]] since drawloom fabrics found in [[Dura-Europas]] are thought to date before 256 AD.<ref name="broudy 1979 124"/><ref>Forbes (1987), 218 & 220.</ref> Dieter Kuhn states that an analysis of texts and textiles from the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) proves that the figured fabrics of that era were also crafted with the use of a drawloom.<ref name="beaudry 2006 146">Beaudry (2006), 146.</ref> The drawloom was certainly known in [[Persia]] by the 6th century AD.<ref name="broudy 1979 124"/> Eric Broudy asserts there is virtually no evidence of its use in [[Europe]] until the 17th century, while the button drawloom was allegedly invented by Jean le Calabrais in the 15th century.<ref>Broudy (1979), 130&ndash;133.</ref> Mary Carolyn Beaudry disagrees, stating that it was used in the medieval [[Italy|Italian]] silk industry.<ref name="beaudry 2006 146"/>

===E===
* '''[[Eight-legged essay]]''': The eight-legged essay was a style of [[essay]] that had to be mastered by candidates (for bureaucratic office) in the [[Imperial examination|civil service examinations]]. Its name derived from the eight sections it was divided by: an opening (破題), amplification (承題), preliminary exposition (起講), initial argument (起股), central argument (中股), latter argument (後股), final argument (束股), and conclusion (大結). It was introduced by [[Wang Anshi]] (1021&ndash;1086), [[Chancellor of China|a chancellor]] of the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279), and was used by the [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] (1368&ndash;1644) and [[Qing Dynasty|Qing]] (1644&ndash;1912) governments.<ref>Lui (1974), 391&ndash;392.</ref> In the examination, each candidate was required to write three essays of this type for the [[Four Books]] (of [[Zhu Xi]]) and four essays of this type for the [[Five Classics]] of antiquity.<ref>Lui (1974), 391.</ref> 

* '''[[Endocrinology|Endocrinology, isolation of sex and pituitary hormones from urine]]''': A [[Eight Immortals of Huainan|group of leading scholars]] under [[Liu An]] (179&ndash;122 BC), a King of [[Huainan]] during the [[Han Dynasty|Western Han]] (202 BC &ndash; 9 AD), compiled the ''[[Huainanzi]]'' by 139 BC, which coined the phrase 'autumn minerals' for crystals similar to hoar-frost of autumn and that had "white color and solidity."<ref name="temple 1986 127">Temple (1986), 127.</ref> In 25 BC, the minister Gu Yong gave a speech to the court railing against [[magician]]s, [[Daoism|Daoists]], and [[Alchemy|alchemists]], saying of Daoists: "from dark and muddy [that is, concentrated] [[urine]] they can make a hard white ice-like [crystalline] substance."<ref name="temple 1986 127"/> The [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) poet [[Bai Juyi]] (722&ndash;846) mentioned that his poet friend [[Yuan Zhen]] (779&ndash;831) had prepared the 'autumn mineral' drug for his illness.<ref name="temple 1986 127"/> The first explicit [[recipe]] for making the 'autumn mineral' is found in [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) author Zhang Shengdao's ''Valuable Tried and Tested Prescriptions'' of 1025, with ten other recipes found in thirty-nine other books between then and 1833.<ref name="temple 1986 127"/> The oldest recipe mentioned called for 568 liters (150 gallons) of male urine to be placed in a giant evaporating pan with an earthenware [[still]] mounted on the top.<ref name="temple 1986 127"/> After heating, a dry, powdered residue could be obtained, which was then heated over a stove of charcoal to achieve [[Sublimation (chemistry)|sublimation]]; the product of this, only 85 g (3 oz), was ground into a powder, mixed with the skin of [[Phoenix dactylifera|palm dates]], and made into pills the size of [[mung bean]]s.<ref name="temple 1986 127"/> Another process published in 1110 specified the use of [[gypsum]] (containing [[calcium sulfate]]) as well as [[saponin]] from the beans of ''Gleditschia sinensis'' to extract hormones from urine, a process of using natural soaps which was not discovered elsewhere until the use of [[digitonin]] by [[Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus|Adolf Windaus]] (1876&ndash;1959) in 1909.<ref name="temple 1986 128 129">Temple (1986), 128&ndash;129.</ref> In 1927, [[Selmar Ascheim]] (1878&ndash;1965) and [[Bernhard Zondek]] (1891&ndash;1966) discovered that urine of [[pregnancy|pregnant women]] had a high concentration of [[Sex steroid|steriod sex hormones]]; a subsequent discovery was made that urine contained sex hormones of [[androgen]]s and [[estrogen]]s, as well as the [[Pituitary gland|pituitary]] hormone [[gonadotrophin]].<ref name="temple 1986 127"/> In modern medicine, the extraction of these hormones from urine is a standard practice, yet centuries before this the Chinese had used it to treat [[hypogonadism]], [[Erectile dysfunction|impotence]], [[spermatorrhea]], [[dysmenorrhea]], [[leukorrhea]], and even stimulating the growth of [[beard]]s (since they knew that [[castration]] resulted in the loss of ability to grow a beard).<ref>Temple (1986), 130.</ref>

* '''[[Equal temperament]]''': During the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD), the [[Music theory|music theorist]] and mathematician [[Jing Fang]] (78&ndash;37 BC) extended [[Chromatic scale|the 12 tones]] found in the 2nd century BC ''[[Huainanzi]]'' to 60.<ref>McClain and Ming (1979), 207&ndash;208.</ref> While generating his 60-divisional tuning, he discovered that 53 [[just fifth]]s is approximate to 31 [[octave]]s, calculating the difference at <math>\tfrac{177147}{176776}</math>; this was the exact same value for [[53 equal temperament]] calculated by the [[Germans|German]] mathematician [[Nicholas Mercator]] (c. 1620&ndash;1687) as 3<sup>53</sup>/2<sup>84</sup>, a value known as Mercator's Comma.<ref>McClain and Ming (1979), 212.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 218&ndash;219.</ref> The [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644) music theorist [[Zhu Zaiyu]] (1536&ndash;1611) elaborated in three separate works beginning in 1584 the tuning system of equal temperament; in an unusual event in music theory's history, the [[Flemish people|Flemish]] mathematician [[Simon Stevin]] (1548&ndash;1620) discovered the mathematical formula for equal temperament at roughly the same time (within 1 to 25 years of Zhu), yet he did not publish his work and it remained unknown until 1884; therefore, it is debatable who discovered equal temperament first, Zhu or Stevin.<ref>Kuttner (1975), 166&ndash;168.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 227&ndash;228.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 209"/> In order to obtain [[Interval (music)|equal intervals]], Zhu divided the octave (each octave with a ratio of 1:2, which can also be expressed as 1:2<sup>12/12</sup>) into twelve equal [[semitone]]s while each length was divided by the 12th root of 2.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 223">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 223.</ref> He did not simply divide the string into twelve equal parts (i.e. 11/12, 10/12, 9/12, etc.) since this would give unequal temperament; instead, he altered the ratio of each semitone by an equal amount (i.e. 1:2 <sup>11/12</sup>, 1:2<sup>10/12</sup>, 1:2<sup>9/12</sup>, etc.) and determined the exact length of the string by dividing it by <sup>12</sup>&radic;<span style = "text-decoration:overline">2</span> (same as 2<sup>1/12</sup>).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 223"/> The ''Harmonie Universelle'' (1636) written by [[Marin Mersenne]] (1588&ndash;1648) was the first publication in Europe outlining equal temperament, a new system of tuning that was passionately defended by [[Johann Sebastian Bach|J.S. Bach]] (1685&ndash;1750) in his ''[[Well-Tempered Clavier]]'' of 1722.<ref name="temple 1986 209">Temple (1986), 209.</ref>

* '''[[Escapement]]''': An escapement mechanism was first developed by the Buddhist monk, court astronomer, mathematician and engineer [[Yi Xing]] (683&ndash;727) of the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) for his water-powered celestial globe in the tradition of [[Zhang Heng]] (78&ndash;139), and could be found in later Chinese clockworks such as the [[clock tower]]s of both [[Zhang Sixun]] (fl. late 10th century) and [[Su Song]] (1020&ndash;1101).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 89, 445&ndash;456, 473&ndash;475.</ref><ref>Fry (2001), 10.</ref><ref>Bodde (1991), 140.</ref><ref>Bowman (2000), 105.</ref><ref name="gernet 1996 341"/><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 781, 786&ndash;787.</ref> Yi Xing's escapement allowed for a bell to be rung automatically every hour, and a drum beaten automatically every quarter hour, essentially a [[striking clock]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 473&ndash;474.</ref> Unlike the modern escapement which employs a suspended oscillating [[pendulum]] resting and releasing its hooks on a small rotating gear wheel, the early Chinese escapement employed the use of [[gravity]] and [[hydraulics]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 460 462">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 460&ndash;462.</ref> In Su Song's clock tower, scoop containers fixed to the spokes of a vertical [[waterwheel]] (which acted like a gear wheel) would be filled one by one with siphoned water from a [[Water clock|clepsydra tank]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 460">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 460.</ref> When the weight of the water in the scoop filled to an excess, it overcame a counterweight that in turn tripped a lever allowing the scoop to rotate on a pivot and drain its water.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 460"/> However, as the scoop fell, it tripped a coupling tongue that temporarily pulled down on a long vertical chain, the latter yanking down on a balancing lever which would pull upward on a small chain connected to a locking arm, the latter lifting momentarily to release the top arrested spoke before coming back down to repeat the entire process over again.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 460"/> It should be pointed out that the Chinese intermittently working liquid-driven escapement had "only the name in common" with the true mechanical escapement of later medieval mechanical clocks which worked instead with weights, producing continuous but discrete beats.<ref name="David Landes 18f.">David Landes: “Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World”, rev. and enlarged edition, Harvard University Press, Cambridge 2000, ISBN 0674002822, p.18f.</ref><ref name="Ricardo Duchesne 77f.">Ricardo Duchesne: “Asia First?”, ''The Journal of the Historical Society'', Vol. 6, No. 1 (March 2006), pp. 69-91 (77f.)</ref> 

* '''[[Shell (projectile)|Exploding cannonballs]]''': The ''[[Huolongjing]]'' military manual compiled by [[Jiao Yu]] (fl. 14th to early 15th century) and [[Liu Ji]] (1311&ndash;1375) in the mid 14th century described the earliest known exploding cannonballs, which were made of cast iron with a hollow core packed with gunpowder; Jiao and Liu wrote that when fired, they could set enemy camps ablaze; the earliest evidence for exploding cannonballs in Europe date to the 16th century.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 264.</ref><ref>Cowley (1996), 49.</ref> The ''Huolongjing'' also specified the use of 'blinding' and 'poison' gunpowder filled into exploding shells; the effects of this [[chemical warfare]] was described as such: "Enemy soldiers will get their faces and eyes burnt, and the smoke will attack their noses, mouths, and eyes."<ref name="temple 1986 217"/>

===F===
[[Image:Field mill in the Chinese Qiqi tushuo, 1627.jpg|thumb|The [[Field mill (carriage)|field mill]] in the Chinese book ''Yuanxi Qiqi Tushuo Luzui'' ("Collected Diagrams and Explanations of the Wonderful Machines of the Far West"), by [[Johann Schreck]] and Wang Zheng, published 1627]] 

* '''[[Field mill (carriage)]]''': In the ''Yezhongji'' ('Record of Affairs at the Capital Ye of the Later Zhao Dynasty') written by Lu Hui (fl. 350 AD), various mechanical devices are described which were invented by two [[Later Zhao]] (319&ndash;351) engineers known as Xie Fei, a Palace Officer, and Wei Mengbian, the Director of the Imperial Workshops.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 159&ndash;160, 256&ndash;257.</ref> One of these is the field mill, which was essentially a cart with [[millstone]]s placed onto the frame; these were mechanically rotated by the movement of the cart's terrain wheels in order to grind wheat and other cereal crops.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 256">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 256.</ref> A similar vehicle these two invented was the "pounding cart", which had wooden statues mounted on the top which were actually mechanical figures who operated real [[Trip hammer|tilt hammers]] in order to [[Husk|hull]] rice; again, the device only functioned when the cart was moved forward and the wheels turned.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 256"/> The field mill lost its use in China sometime after the Later Zhao, but it was invented separately in [[Europe]] in 1580 by the [[Italy|Italian]] military engineer Pompeo Targone.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 255">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 255.</ref> It was featured in a treatise by Vittorio Zonca in 1607, and then in a Chinese book of 1627 (concerning [[Western world|Western]] technology) that was compiled and translated by the [[Germans|German]] [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] [[Johann Schreck]] (1576&ndash;1630) and the [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644) Chinese author Wang Zheng (1571&ndash;1644), although by then it was considered by the Chinese to be an original Western contraption.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 255 256">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 255&ndash;256.</ref>

* '''[[Finery forge]]''': In addition to accidental lumps of low-carbon [[wrought iron]] produced by excessive injected air in Chinese [[cupola furnace]]s, the ancient Chinese also created wrought iron by using the finery forge at least by the 2nd century BC, the earliest specimens of [[Cast iron|cast]] and [[pig iron]] fined into wrought iron and [[steel]] found at the early [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) site at Tieshengguo.<ref name="pigott 1999 186">Pigott (1999), 186.</ref> Pigott speculates that the finery forge existed in the previous [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC), due to the fact that there are wrought iron items from China dating to that period and there is no documented evidence of the [[bloomery]] ever being used in China.<ref name="pigott 1999 186 187">Pigott (1999), 186&ndash;187.</ref> The fining process involved liquifying cast iron in a fining hearth and [[decarburization|removing carbon]] from the molten cast iron through [[Redox|oxidation]].<ref name="pigott 1999 186"/> Wagner writes that in addition to the Han Dynasty hearths believed to be fining hearths, there is also pictoral evidence of the fining hearth from a [[Shandong]] tomb mural dated 1st to 2nd century AD, as well as a hint of written evidence in the 4th century AD Daoist text ''[[Taiping Jing]]''.<ref>Wagner (2001), 80&ndash;83.</ref> Both Wagner and Pigott write that the fining hearth was a key feature of traditional Chinese iron smelting in recent centuries.<ref name="pigott 1999 186"/><ref>Wagner (2001), 80.</ref>
[[Image:Chinesenewyearfireworkman.jpg|thumb|Local man setting off [[fireworks]] during [[Chinese New Year]] in [[Shanghai]]; the Chinese have used fireworks for entertainment since at least the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279), coinciding with the use of [[gunpowder]] weapons]]
[[Image:Angler on a Wintry Lake, by Ma Yuan, 1195.jpg|thumb|"Angler on a Wintry Lake," painted in 1195 by [[Ma Yuan (painter)|Ma Yuan]], featuring the oldest known depiction of a [[fishing reel]], although the oldest description of a fishing reel in China dates to the 3rd century AD]]
[[Image:Chinese Flamethrower.JPG|thumb|Chinese [[flamethrower]] from the ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]'' manuscript of 1044, [[Song Dynasty]]]]
[[Image:Australian sheep blowfly.jpg|thumb|By the 13th century, the Chinese used the [[blow-fly]] as an agent to solve murder cases in early [[forensic entomology]]]]
[[Image:sheng.london.arp.jpg|thumb|right|[[Sheng (instrument)|Sheng player]] Guo Yi beside the River Thames, London, England.]]
[[Image:Gas bottles for portable stove.jpg|thumb|Modern [[gas cylinder]]s; the Chinese used a bamboo version of this by at least the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907)]]
[[Image:Rotating gimbal-xyz.gif|thumb|A rotating [[gimbal]]]]
[[Image:Go board.jpg|thumb|The [[Go (board game)|''go'' board game]]]]
[[Image:Bodhisattva musicien Musée Guimet 2418.jpg|thumb|Rock carving of a [[bodhisattva]] playing a ''[[guqin]]'', [[Northern Wei Dynasty]] (386&ndash;534 AD).]] 
[[Image:Yuan chinese gun.jpg|thumb|A bronze [[hand cannon]] from the [[Yuan Dynasty]] (1271&ndash;1368), one of the oldest in the world; the oldest specimen dates to about 1288, when the first textual reference to the hand cannon appears in Chinese literature]]
[[Image:Krakowcarriagehorsesalpha.jpg|thumb|A horse wearing a decorative harness with a [[horse collar]]; the Chinese have utilized the horse collar certainly by the 5th century AD, and perhaps earlier.]]
[[Image:Cernuschi Museum 20060812 147.jpg|thumb|A [[Sui Dynasty]] (581&ndash;618 AD) [[cart]] figurine pulled by a [[bull]]]]
[[Image:Ma Lin 001.jpg|thumb|A [[Song Dynasty|Song]] painting by Ma Lin, dated 1246, using [[India ink]] on [[silk]]]]
[[Image:EM smallpox, grown via tissue, isolate by centrifuge.jpg|thumb|Microsopic view of [[smallpox]]]]

[[Image:JadeBurialSuit.JPG|thumb|A [[jade burial suit]] from the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD), located at the [[National Museum of China|Museum of Chinese History, Beijing]]]]
[[Image:Tiangong Kaiwu Ship.jpg|thumb|Two-masted Chinese junk from the ''Tiangong Kaiwu'' published by [[Song Yingxing]], 1637]]
[[Image:Chinese Kite.jpg|thumb|A Chinese kite in flight]]
[[Image:Self-tripped trespass land mine, Huolongjing.jpg|thumb|The 'self-tripped trespass [[land mine]]', from the ''[[Huolongjing]]'', 14th century]]
[[Image:Junk (PSF).png|thumb|Chinese ships employed [[leeboard]]s since the mid 8th century in order to stay balanced and keep on course while [[Windward and leeward|battered on one side by fierce winds]] at sea.]]
[[Image:Earthenware figures playing liubo, Han Dynasty.JPG|right|thumb|A pair of [[Eastern Han Dynasty]] (25&ndash;220 AD) tomb statuettes playing the game ''[[liubo]]'']]

[[Image:MahjongSetup.JPG|thumb|The [[:Category:Chinese games|Chinese game]] of ''majiang'' (麻將), commonly referred to as [[mahjong]] in [[English language|English]], has been played since at least the 19th century and has its roots in earlier Chinese [[card game]]s]]
[[Image:More otho flying.JPG|thumb|right|Engineer [[Otto Lilienthal]] on a [[Hang gliding|hang glider]] in Germany in 1891; the earliest confirmed account of manned flight with kites comes from China during the mid 6th century AD.]]
[[Image:Map of Fengshan County, Taiwan Prefectural Gazetteer, 1696.jpg|thumb|Example of a Chinese printed map in a [[gazetteer]], showing Fengshan County of [[Taiwan]] Prefecture, published in 1696; the first known printed map from China comes from a [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) encyclopedia of the 12th century]]
[[Image:Guardian figures, earthenware with pigment, Tang Dynasty.JPG|thumb|Wooden statues of tomb guardians from the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907); mechanical-driven wooden statues served as cup-bearers, wine-pourers, and others in this age]]
[[Image:Bamboo book - binding - UCR.jpg|thumb|A [[Qianlong Emperor|Qianlong era]] (1735&ndash;1796) traditional bamboo style book of [[Sun Tzu|Sunzi's]] ''[[The Art of War]]'', dated to the 6th century BC, and is the oldest known [[military strategy]] treatise in the world]]
[[Image:Yingzao Fashi 1.JPG|thumb|A [[Cross section (geometry)|cross section]] of a [[Chinese architecture|Chinese hall]], from the ''[[Yingzao Fashi]]'' architectural treatise published by Li Jie in 1103, during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279); this book explicitly laid out an eight-graded modular system of architecture for timber halls and pavilions of different sizes]]
[[Image:Li Cheng Buddhist Temple in Moutain All.jpg|thumb|A quintessential ''[[shan shui]]'' style painting, by [[Li Cheng]] (919&ndash;967) of the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period]] (907&ndash;960)]]
[[Image:Chinese Multistage Rocket.JPG|thumb|A [[multistage rocket]] from the 14th century military manuscript ''[[Huolongjing]]'', [[Ming Dynasty]]]]
[[Image:Borehole.jpg|thumb|A modern [[Geothermal power|geothermal borehole]]; the Chinese dug boreholes since the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) to collect [[natural gas]] as fuel for boiling [[brine]] in producing [[salt]].]]
[[Image:Chinese Naval Mine.JPG|thumb|A [[naval mine]] from the ''[[Huolongjing]]'', mid 14th century.]]
[[Image:Zhaozhou Bridge.jpg|thumb|The [[Zhaozhou Bridge]] of [[Zhao County]], [[Hebei]], completed by 605, making it the oldest fully-stone open-spandrel segmental arch bridge]]
[[Image:Pagoda at Lingyan Si.jpg|thumb|The nine-story [[Pizhi Pagoda]], built of stone and brick from 1056 to 1063 AD during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279); it's octagonal base plan became popular in Chinese pagodas a century earlier]]
[[Image:九章算術.gif|right|thumb|A page from ''[[The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art]]'', commented on by [[Liu Hui]] in 263]]
[[Image:Pinhole-camera.svg|thumb|Principle of a [[pinhole camera]]; light rays from an object pass through a small hole to form an inverted image.]]
[[Image:Ming Dynasty playing card, c. 1400.jpg|thumb|Chinese [[playing card]] dated c. 1400 AD, [[Ming Dynasty]]]]
[[Image:Plat rond Dynastie Tang Musée Guimet 2418.jpg|thumb|A ''[[sancai]]'' porcelain dish from the [[Tang Dynasty]], 8th century]]
[[Image:Canallock.png|thumb|A plan and side view of a canal [[pound lock]], essentially a double-gate canal lock used to regulate water levels in segmented canal chambers for the safe passage of ships, first invented by the 10th century engineer Qiao Weiyo for a section of [[Grand Canal (China)|China's Grand Canal]]]]
[[Image:FFM-HanWeingefäß.JPG|thumb|[[Joseph Needham]] and Robert Temple write that the development of the [[raised-relief map]] in China may have been influenced by [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash;220 AD) incense burners and jars such as this, showing artificial mountains as a lid decoration; these were often used to depict the mythical [[Mount Penglai|Penglai Island]].<ref name="needham volume 3 580 581">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 580&ndash;581.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 179"/>]]
[[Image:Yungkee-menu.jpg|thumb|A restaurant [[menu]] from Hong Kong; the first menus appeared in China during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279).]]
[[Image:'Flying Crow With Magic Fire', a winged rocket bomb.jpg|thumb|The 'flying crow with magic fire' winged rocket bomb from the ''[[Huolongjing]]'', mid 14th century, compiled by [[Liu Ji]] and [[Jiao Yu]]]]
[[Image:Chinese cargo ships, Song DynastyGuo Zhongshu-Traveling on the River in Snow.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Song Dynasty]] painting on silk of two [[Junk (ship)|Chinese cargo ships]] accompanied by [[Sampan|a smaller boat]]; notice the large stern-mounted [[rudder]] on the ship shown in the foreground]]

* '''[[Fire lance]]''': The fire lance was a proto-gun developed in the 10th century with a tube of first bamboo and later on metal that shot a weak [[gunpowder]] blast of flame and shrapnel; its earliest representation comes from [[:image:FireLanceAndGrenade10thCenturyDunhuang.jpg|a painting found]] at [[Dunhuang]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 224&ndash;225, 232&ndash;233, 241&ndash;244.</ref><ref>Embree (1997), 185.</ref><ref>Cowley (1996), 38.</ref>

* '''[[Fireworks]]''': Fireworks first appeared in China during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279), in the early age of [[gunpowder]]. The common people in the Song era could purchase simple fireworks from market vendors; these were made of sticks of [[bamboo]] packed with gunpowder,<ref>Gernet (1962), 186.</ref> although grander displays were known to be held. In 1110, a large fireworks display in a martial demonstration was held to entertain [[Emperor Huizong of Song|Emperor Huizong]] (r. 1100&ndash;1125) and his court, accompanied by dancers moving through colored smoke.<ref>Kelly (2004), 2.</ref> In 1264, Empress Dowager Gong Sheng became frightened during a feast held in her honor (by her son [[Emperor Lizong of Song|Emperor Lizong]]) when a fast rocket-propelled "ground rat" was lit off.<ref>Crosby (2002), 100&ndash;103.</ref> Rocket propulsion was soon applied to warfare, and by the time of the mid 14th century there were many types of rocket launchers available.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 485&ndash;489.</ref>

* '''[[Fishing reel]]''': In literary records, the earliest evidence of the fishing reel comes from a 4th century AD<ref>Birrell (1993), 185.</ref><ref>Hucker (1975), 206.</ref> work entitled ''Lives of Famous Immortals''.<ref>Ronan (1994), 41.</ref><ref>Temple (1986), 88.</ref> The earliest known depiction of a fishing reel comes from a [[Southern Song]] (1127&ndash;1279) painting done in 1195 by [[Ma Yuan (painter)|Ma Yuan]] (c. 1160&ndash;1225) called "Angler on a Wintry Lake," showing a man sitting on a small [[sampan]] boat while casting out his [[fishing line]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 100">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 100 & PLATE CXLVII.</ref> Another fishing reel was featured in a painting by [[Wu Zhen]] (1280&ndash;1354).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 100"/> The book ''Tianzhu lingqian'' (Holy Lections from Indian Sources), printed sometime between 1208 and 1224, features two different [[Woodcut|woodblock print illustrations]] of fishing reels being used.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 100"/> An [[Armenia]]n parchment Gospel of the 13th century shows a reel (though not as clearly depicted as the Chinese ones).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 100"/> The ''[[Sancai Tuhui]]'', a [[Chinese encyclopedias|Chinese encyclopedia]] published in 1609, features the next known picture of a fishing reel and vividly shows the [[windlass]] pulley of the device.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 100"/> These five pictures mentioned are the only ones which feature fishing reels before the year 1651 (when the first [[England|English]] illustration was made); after that year they became commonly depicted in world art.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 100"/> 

* '''[[Flamethrower|Flamethrower, double piston]]''': Although the single piston flamethrower was first developed in the [[Byzantine Empire]] during the 7th century,<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 77&ndash;78.</ref> the 10th century Chinese flamethrower, or ''[[Pen Huo Qi]]'', boasted a continuous stream of flame by employing double [[piston]] [[syringe]]s (which had been known since the [[Han Dynasty]]) spouting [[Greek fire]] which had been imported from China's maritime trade contacts in the Middle East; its first description came in 919, its first use in battle in 932 during the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period]] (907&ndash;960), and its first drawn illustration found in the early [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) military manuscript ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]'' of 1044, which also described the device in full.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 81&ndash;84.</ref><ref>Gernet (1996), 310.</ref>

* '''[[Flare (pyrotechnic)|Flare, military signalling]]''': The earliest recorded use of a flare for signalling purposes was the 'signal bomb' used by the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) Chinese as the [[Mongol]]-led [[Yuan Dynasty]] (1271&ndash;1368) besieged [[Yangzhou]] in 1276.<ref name="temple 1986 234">Temple (1986), 234.</ref> These soft-shelled bombs, timed to explode in mid-air and perhaps producing a vibrant colored burst like contemporary Chinese [[firework]]s produced, were used to send messages to a detachment of troops far in the distance.<ref name="temple 1986 234"/>

* '''[[Forensic entomology|Forensic entomology, utilization to solve crimes]]''': The [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) [[forensic science]] work ''[[Collected Cases of Injustice Rectified]]'' published by [[Song Ci]] in 1247 contains the oldest known case of forensic entomology.<ref name="haskell 2006 432">Haskell (2006), 432.</ref> In a murder case of 1235, a villager was stabbed to death and authorities determined that his wounds were inflicted by a [[sickle]]; this was a tool used for cutting rice at harvest time, a fact which led them to suspect a fellow peasant worker was involved.<ref name="haskell 2006 432"/> The local magistrate had the villagers assemble in the town square where they would temporarily relinquish their sickles.<ref name="haskell 2006 432"/> Within minutes, a mass of [[Blow-fly|blow flies]] gathered around one sickle and none other, attracted to the scent of traces of [[blood]] unseen by the naked eye.<ref name="haskell 2006 432"/> It became apparent to all that the owner of that sickle was the culprit, the latter pleading for mercy as he was detained by authorities.<ref name="haskell 2006 432"/>

* '''[[Free reed aerophone]]''': The musical [[pipe organ]] employing metal [[piston]] [[bellows]] had a long history [[Western world|in the West]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 211"/> It was an invention of the [[History of Alexandria|Hellenic Alexandrians]] and was [[De architectura|described in minute detail]] by the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] engineer [[Vitruvius]] in the late 1st century BC, although it is now more commonly associated with the [[Christian liturgy]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 211">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 211.</ref> However, the Western pipe organ did not make use of [[Reed (instrument)|the reed]], which the ancient Chinese [[mouth organ]] employed.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 211"/> The latter instrument, called a [[Sheng (instrument)|sheng]] and made traditionally of [[bamboo]] pipes, was first mentioned in the ''[[Shi Jing]]'' of the [[Zhou Dynasty]] (c. 1050&ndash;256 BC).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 211"/> The Chinese sheng is considered the ancestor of the [[harmonica]], [[harmonium]], [[concertina]], [[accordian]], and [[:Category:Free reed aerophones|all other reed organ instruments]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 211"/> A free [[reed organ]] was invented in the [[Muslim world|Arab world]] in the 13th century, while the German [[Heinrich Traxdorf]] (fl. 15th century) of [[Nuremberg]] built one around 1460 AD.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 211&ndash;212.</ref> It is thought that the classical Chinese sheng travelled west through [[Russia]] during the 19th century, as it was described then in [[Saint Petersburg]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 211"/>

===G===
* '''[[Gas cylinder]]''': From deep [[borehole]]s drilled during the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD), the Chinese had used [[Pipeline transport|bamboo pipelines]] to transport [[natural gas]] to [[stove]]s where [[cast iron]] pans were used to boil [[brine]] and extract [[salt]].<ref name="temple 1986 78 79">Temple (1986), 78&ndash;79.</ref> A [[gazetteer]] written before the 10th century during the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) stated that a 'fire well' of Linqiong in what is now [[Sichuan]] reached depths of 182 m (600 ft) and spouted flames at the top.<ref name="temple 1986 79 80">Temple (1986), 79&ndash;80.</ref> It stated that people used the gas from this 'fire well' to fill portable tubes which could be carried around over a hundred ''[[Li (unit)|li]]'' (dozens of km or mi) and still be lit at the end to produce a flame.<ref name="temple 1986 79 80"/> Robert Temple assumes that [[Tap (valve)|some sort of tap]] was used for this.<ref name="temple 1986 80">Temple (1986), 80.</ref> A 17th or 18th century gazetteer from the [[Qing Dynasty]] (1644&ndash;1912) states that a leather bag could be filled with natural gas, punctured with a tiny hole, touched by fire, and instantly give heat and light.<ref name="temple 1986 80 81">Temple (1986), 80&ndash;81.</ref> A [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) book of 980 also records the use of [[petroleum]] (which the Chinese called "stone lacquer") in portable bamboo tubes which could be used for lighting at night "in the same manner as ordinary people carry torches."<ref name="temple 1986 80"/> A 16th century book from the [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644) also states that petroleum was used as fuel in [[lamp]]s which could substitute for [[candle]]s.<ref name="temple 1986 80"/>

* '''[[Gaussian elimination]]''': First published [[Western world|in the West]] by [[Carl Friedrich Gauss]] (1777&ndash;1855) in 1826, the algorithm for [[System of linear equations|solving linear equations]] known as Gaussian elimination is named after this [[Kingdom of Hanover|Hanoverian]] mathematician, yet it was first expressed as the Array Rule in the Chinese ''[[Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art]]'', written at least by 179 AD during the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) and commented on by the 3rd century mathematician [[Liu Hui]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 3, 24&ndash;25, 121.</ref><ref>Shen, Crossley, and Lun (1999), 388.</ref><ref>Straffin (1998), 166.</ref>

* '''[[Gimbal|Gimbal ('Cardan' suspension)]]''': The gimbal is known as the 'Cardan' suspension after [[Gerolamo Cardano]] (1501&ndash;1576), yet it was known long before him.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 228&ndash;229.</ref> [[Joseph Needham]] writes that the earliest confirmed use of gimbals in Europe is the 9th century [[recipe]] book ''Little Key of Painting'' ([[Latin]]: ''Mappae Clavicula''), which mentioned a vase surrounded by rings which allowed it to be undisturbed when in a rolling motion.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 229 & 231.</ref> Needham and [[George Sarton]] both write that an [[Arabic]] translation—dated to roughly the era of [[Al-Ma'mun]] (r. 813&ndash;833)—of an [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] work now lost (i.e. ''Pneumatica'') by [[Philo of Byzantium]] (c. 280 &ndash; c. 220 BC) contains a description of gimbals used to support an inkpot that could wet a pen on any of its sides, yet Needham suspects Arabic [[Interpolation (manuscripts)|interpolation]] and doubts total authenticity, while Sarton asserts that for the most part the Arabic translation is faithful to Philo's lost original, hence Philo should be credited with the invention of the gimbal.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 236.</ref><ref>Sarton (1959), 349&ndash;350.</ref> Around 180 AD, the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) inventor [[Ding Huan]] (丁緩)—who also created a [[Fan (mechanical)|rotary fan]] and [[zoetrope]] lamp—invented a 'Perfume Burner for use among Cushions', or 'Bedclothes Censer'.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 233">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 233.</ref> This [[Censer|incense burner]] had a series of metal rings which could be moved in any direction while the burner in the middle remained constantly level.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 233"/> This is the first clear reference in China of the gimbal, although there is a hint in the writing of [[Sima Xiangru]] (179&ndash;117 BC) that this device existed in the 2nd century BC (i.e., 'the metal rings burning perfume').<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 233&ndash;234.</ref> The gimbal incense burner is mentioned in subsequent dynasties, while silverwork specimens of gimbal incense burners from the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) still exist.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 234 235">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 234&ndash;235.</ref> In the [[Liang Dynasty]] (502&ndash;557) there is mention of gimbals used in hinges for doors and windows, while an unnamed artisan presented a warming [[stove]] to [[Wu Zetian]] (r. 690&ndash;705) in 692 which employed gimbals to keep it constantly balanced.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 234">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 234.</ref>  

* '''[[Go (board game)]]''': Although ancient Chinese legend (perhaps contrived during the [[Han Dynasty]]) has it that the [[Yao (ruler)|mythological ruler Yao]] came down to earth [[Tian|from the Heavens]] around 2200 BC carrying with him a ''go'' board and stone player's pieces, it is known from existing literature that the ''go'' board game existed since at least the 10th century BC during the [[Zhou Dynasty]] (c. 1050&ndash;256 BC) and was even mentioned in writing by the philosophers [[Confucius]] (551&ndash;479 BC) and [[Mencius]] (371&ndash;289 BC), although the latter two had a slightly negative opinion of it.<ref>Lasker (1960), xiii.</ref><ref>Shotwell, Yang, and Chatterjee (2003), 133.</ref>

* '''[[Guqin]]''': The ''guqin'' is one of the oldest stringed [[zither]] instruments from China and has existed since at least the [[Shang Dynasty]] (c. 1600 &ndash; c. 1050 BC), as a Shang [[oracle bone]] contains [[Oracle bone script|the oldest known inscription]] of the Chinese character for [[Wiktionary:琴|''qin'' (琴)]].<ref name="san diego museum">San Diego Chinese Historical Museum. (May&ndash;August 2001). [http://www.sdchm.org/exhibit_template.php?exhibit=Gu%20Qin:%20Traditional%20Chinese%20Zithers Gu Qin: Traditional Chinese Zithers]. Sdchm.org. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[08-03]].</ref> The oldest example of a guqin comes from the [[tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng]] (433 BC); [[Bo Lawergren]] argues they may have developed from Middle Eastern [[harp]]s like ''[[konghou]]'', which was also found in [[Qiemo County|Qiemo]], [[Xinjiang]] dating to 400&ndash;200 BC.<ref>[http://www.silkqin.com/09hist/origins.htm Origins of the Qin]. silkqin.com Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[08-22]].</ref> It was said to be popular in the [[Zhou Dynasty]] (c. 1050&ndash;256 BC), while the oldest known written [[tablature]] for the ''guqin'' dates to the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD).<ref name="san diego museum"/> The ''guqin'' became a musical instrument highly associated with [[Gentry (China)|China's gentry class]] when it was exalted as one of the [[Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar]] as well as one of the gentry's "nine guests" described by [[Shen Kuo]] (1031&ndash;1095);<ref>Lian (2001), 20.</ref> it was even featured in painted artwork, [[:Image:Songhuizong8.jpg|such as in a 12th century piece by Emperor Huizong himself]].

===H===

* '''[[Hand cannon]]''': The earliest metal-barrel hand cannons dating to the 13th century are attested to by archaeological evidence from a [[Heilongjiang]] excavation as well as written evidence in the ''Yuanshi'' (1370) concerning Li Tang, an [[Jurchens|ethnic Jurchen]] commander under the [[Yuan Dynasty]] (1271&ndash;1368) who in 1288 suppressed the rebellion of the Christian prince Nayan with his "gun-soldiers" or ''chongzu'', this being the earliest known event where this phrase was used.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 293&ndash;294.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 245">Temple (1986), 245.</ref> The bronze Yuan Dynasty gun from Heilongjiang which dates to about 1288 is a little over 0.3 m (1 ft) in length and weighs 3.6 kg (8 lbs).<ref name="temple 1986 245"/> It has a small [[touch hole]] for ignition and an even bore except for the bulbous enlargement around the explosion chamber, a design which allowed the weapon to brace the force of the internal explosion.<ref name="temple 1986 245"/>

* '''[[Plough#Heavy ploughs|Heavy moldboard iron plow]]''': Although use of the simple [[Ard (plough)|wooden ard]] in China must have preceded it, the earliest discovered Chinese iron plows date to roughly 500 BC, during the [[Zhou Dynasty]] (1122&ndash;256 BC) and were flat, V-shaped, and mounted on wooden poles and handles.<ref name="greenberger 2006 11">Greenberger (2006), 11.</ref><ref>Bray (1978), 9 & 19&ndash;21.</ref> By the 3rd century BC, improved iron casting techniques led to the development of the heavy moldboard plow, seen in [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) artwork such as tomb carved bricks.<ref name="greenberger 2006 11"/> The moldboard allowed the Chinese to turn farm soil without clogging the [[plowshare]] with dirt, which was flung off the wheelbarrow via slanted wings on both sides.<ref>Greenberger (2006), 11&ndash;12.</ref> While the frame of excavated plowshares dating to the [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC) were made mostly of perishable wood except for the iron blade, the frame of excavated plowshares dating to the Han Dynasty were made entirely of solid iron with the moldboard attached to the top to turn the soil.<ref>Wang (1982), 53&ndash;54.</ref>

* '''[[Skim Horner]]''': Although named after [[English people|English]] mathematician [[William George Horner]] (1786&ndash;1837), the Horner scheme, an [[algorithm]] used to estimate the root of an equation and evaluate [[polynomial]]s in [[Monomial basis|monomial form]], was actually first invented in China to find the [[cube root]] of the number 1,860,867 (the answer given being 123).<ref name="temple 1986 142">Temple (1986), 142.</ref> This is found in the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) work ''[[The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art]]'', commmented on by [[Liu Hui]] (fl. 3rd century) in 263 AD.<ref name="temple 1986 142"/> The original ''Nine Chapters'' found the root of equations through continued fractions, just like the later [[Italian people|Italian]] mathematician [[Joseph Louis Lagrange]] (1736&ndash;1813), while Liu Hui achieved this by increasing [[decimal]]s, just like William George Horner in his work of 1819.<ref name="temple 1986 142"/>

* '''[[Horse collar]]''': A significant improvement of the [[Horse harness|ancient breast harness]] was the horse collar. Robert Temple speculates that a [[Han Dynasty]] brick from the 1st century BC shows the first depiction of a horse collar.<ref name="temple 1986 23">Temple (1986), 23.</ref> It was certainly depicted in a [[Northern Wei]] (386&ndash;534) mural at [[Dunhuang]], China, dated 477&ndash;499; the latter artwork does not feature the essential collar cushion behind the cross bar, though, while a later [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) mural of about 851 AD accurately displays the cushioned collar behind the cross bar.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 319 323">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 319&ndash;323.</ref><ref>Schur (1998), 66.</ref> It should be noted that an earlier painting of the [[Sui Dynasty]] (581&ndash;618) accurately depicted the horse collar as it is seen today, yet the illustration shows its use on a [[camel]] instead of a horse.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 326">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 326 & Plate CCXXI.</ref>

* '''[[Horse harness|Horse harness, ("trace" or "breast")]]''': Throughout the ancient world, the 'throat-and-girth' harness was used for harnessing horses that pulled [[cart]]s; this greatly limited a horse's ability to exert itself as it was constantly choked at the neck.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 305">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 305.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 20">Temple (1986), 20.</ref> A painting on a [[lacquerware]] box from the [[Chu (state)|State of Chu]], dated to the 4th century BC, shows the first known use of a yoke placed across a horses's chest, with traces connecting to the chariot shaft.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 310">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 310.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 21">Temple (1986), 21.</ref> The hard yoke across the horse's chest was gradually replaced by a breast strap, which was often depicted in carved reliefs and stamped bricks of tombs from the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 308 312">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 308&ndash;312.</ref> Eventually, the [[horse collar]] was invented in China, at least by the 5th century.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 319 323"/><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 22&ndash;23.</ref>

* '''[[Hybrid rice]]''': A team of agricultural scientists headed by [[Yuan Longping]] (b. 1930) developed a new type of rice called hybrid rice in 1973 which allows for roughly 12,000 kg (26,450 lbs) of rice to be grown per hectare (10,000 m<sup>2</sup>).<ref name="china daily modern inventions">[[China Daily]] (February 10, 2007). [http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-02/10/content_806437.htm 4 Great Modern Inventions Selected]. Chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[06-18]].</ref> Hybrid rice has proven to be greatly beneficial in areas where there is little arable land, and has been adopted by several Asian and African countries.<ref name="china daily modern inventions"/>

===I===
* '''[[India ink]]''': Although named after [[carbonaceous]] pigment materials originating from [[India]], Indian ink first appeared in China; some scholars say it was made as far back as the 3rd millennium BC, while others state it was perhaps not invented until the [[Cao Wei|Wei Dynasty]] (220&ndash;265 AD).<ref>Gottsegen (2006), 30.</ref><ref>Smith (1992), 23.</ref><ref>Sun & Sun (1997), 288.</ref><ref>Woods & Woods (2000), 51&ndash;52.</ref> Although early ink mixtures contained the [[soot]] of [[pine]], the scholar-official [[Shen Kuo]] (1031&ndash;1095) was the first to create an India ink from the soot of [[petroleum]], which [[Li Shizhen]] (1518&ndash;1593) later wrote was lustrous like [[lacquer]] and superior to ink made from pine soot.<ref name="sivin 1995 24">Sivin (1995), III, 24.</ref><ref>Menzies (1994), 24.</ref><ref>Deng (2005), 36.</ref><ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 75 76">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 75&ndash;76.</ref>

* '''[[Inoculation|Inoculation, treatment of smallpox]]''': Joseph Needham and Robert Temple state that a case of inoculation for smallpox may have existed in the late 10th century during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279), yet they rely on a book ''Zhongdou xinfa'' (種痘心法) written in 1808 by Zhu Yiliang for this evidence.<ref name="temple 1986 136">Temple (1986), 136.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 6, 154.</ref> Wan Quan (1499&ndash;1582) wrote the first clear reference to smallpox inoculation in his ''Douzhen xinfa'' (痘疹心法) of 1549.<ref name="needham volume 6 part 6 134"/> The process of inoculation was also vividly described by Yu Chang in his ''Yuyi cao'' (寓意草), or ''Notes on My Judgment'' published in 1643, and Zhang Yan in his ''Zhongdou xinshu'' (種痘新書), or ''New book on smallpox inoculation'' in 1741.<ref>Temple (1986), 136&ndash;137.</ref> As written by Yu Tianchi in his ''Shadou jijie'' (痧痘集解) of 1727, which was based on Wang Zhangren's ''Douzhen jinjing lu'' (痘疹金鏡錄) of 1579, the technique of inoculation to avoid smallpox was not widespread in China until the reign of the [[Longqing Emperor]] (r. 1567&ndash; 1572) during the [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644).<ref name="temple 1986 137">Temple (1986), 137.</ref><ref name="needham volume 6 part 6 134">Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 6, 134.</ref> The Chinese method was to avoid using smallpox material of those who had the full-blown disease (i.e. ''Variola major'') due to the risk of transmitting it; instead they used a cotton plug inserted into the nose of an already inoculated person with minor scabbing (i.e. ''Variola minor'') to obtain their material.<ref name="temple 1986 136"/> Once someone's [[Immune system|body builds up an immunity]] to the minor case of smallpox, that person will never contract the disease again.<ref>Temple (1986), 135&ndash;137.</ref>

===J===

* '''[[Jacob's staff]]''': The [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) official [[Shen Kuo]] (1031&ndash;1095), an [[antiquarian]] who pursued studies of [[Archaeology|archaeological]] finds, unearthed an ancient crossbow-like mechanism from a garden in [[Jiangsu]] which had on its stock a graduated sighting scale in minute measurements.<ref name="needham volume 3 574">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 574.</ref> He wrote that while viewing the whole of a mountain, the distance on the instrument was long, but while viewing a small part of the mountainside the distance was short due to the device's cross piece that had to be pushed further away from the observer's eye, with the graduation starting on the further end.<ref name="needham volume 3 574"/> He wrote that if one placed an arrow on the device and looked past its end, the degree of the mountain could be measured and thus its height could be calculated.<ref name="needham volume 3 574"/> Shen wrote that this was similar to mathematicians who used right-angled triangles to measure height.<ref name="needham volume 3 574"/> Joseph Needham writes that what Shen had discovered was Jacob's staff, a [[surveying]] tool which was not known in Europe until the [[Jew|Jewish]] mathematician [[Levi ben Gerson]] (1288&ndash;1344) of [[Provence]], [[France]] described it in 1321.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 3, 573.</ref>

* '''[[Jade burial suit]]''': Burial suits [[Chinese jade|made of jade]] existed in China during the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD). Confirming ancient records about Han royalty and nobility buried in jade burial suits, archaeologists discovered in June of 1968 the tombs and jade burial suits of Prince [[Liu Sheng]] (d. 113 BC) and his wife [[Dou Wan]] in Hebei province.<ref name="tom 1989 112">Tom (1989), 112.</ref> Liu's suit, in twelve flexible sections, comprised 2,690 square pieces of green jade with holes punctured in the four corners of each piece so that they could be sewn together with gold thread.<ref name="tom 1989 112 113">Tom (1989), 112&ndash;113.</ref> The total weight of the gold thread used in his suit was 1,110 g (39 oz).<ref name="tom 1989 113">Tom (1989), 113.</ref> Princess Dou Wan's suit had 2,156 pieces of jade stitched together with 703 g (24.7 oz) of gold thread.<ref name="tom 1989 113"/> Although jade burial outer wears and head masks appear in tombs of the early Han Dynasty, burial suits did not appear until the reign of [[Emperor Wen of Han]] (r. 180&ndash;157 BC), with the earliest being found in the [[Xuzhou|Shizishan]] site. A total of 22 Western Han (202 BC &ndash; 9 AD) and 27 Eastern Han (25&ndash;220 AD) complete and partial jade burial suits were uncovered between 1954 and 1996. They are found mainly in [[Hebei]], [[Shandong]], [[Jiangsu]] and [[Henan]], as well as at [[Xianyang|Yangjiawan]], [[Bozhou|Dongyuan]], [[Guangzhou]], [[Mawangdui]], [[Mianyang]] and [[Qujing|Shizhaishan]]. The jade burial suit gradually disappeared when it was forbidden in 222 by [[Emperor Wen of Wei]].<ref>Shi (2003), 63&ndash;65.</ref> 

* '''[[Junk (ship)]]''': The Chinese ''junk'', derived from the [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] term ''junco'' (which in turn was adapted from the [[Javanese language|Javanese]] ''djong'' meaning "ship"),<ref>Block (2003), 123.</ref> was a ship design unique to China, although many other ship types in China (such as the towered ''[[lou chuan]]'') preceded it.<ref>Turnbull (2002), 4, 15&ndash;16.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 678.</ref> Its origins could be seen in the latter half of the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD), when ship designs began to have square-ended [[Bow (ship)|bows]] and [[stern]]s with flat bottom [[Hull (watercraft)|hulls]].<ref>Turnbull (2002), 14.</ref> Unlike the earliest shipbuilding traditions of the [[Western world]] and [[South Asia]], the junk had a (flat or slightly rounded) [[Carvel (boat building)|carvel-shaped hull]] which lacked a [[keel]] and [[sternpost]] (necessitating [[block and tackle]] or socket-and-jaw attachment of the Chinese [[rudder]]).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 390&ndash;391.</ref> Since there is no keel in the design, [[Bulkhead (partition)|solid transverse bulkheads]] take the place of structural ribs.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 3 391">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 391.</ref> As written by Wan Zhen (fl. 3rd century AD) in his ''Strange Things of the South,'' by his day the junk employed [[Junk Rig|for-and-aft rigs]] with [[Lugger|lug sails]], while the larger four-masted vessels could carry up to 700 people as well as 235,868 kg (260 t) of cargo.<ref name="temple 1986 187">Temple (1986), 187.</ref>

===K===
* '''[[Kite]]''': As written in the ''[[Mozi]]'', the philosopher, artisan, and engineer [[Lu Ban]] (fl. 5th century BC) from the [[Lu (state)|State of Lu]] created a wooden bird that remained flying in the air for three days, essentially a kite; there is written evidence that kites were used as rescue signals when the city of [[Nanjing]] was besieged by [[Hou Jing]] (d. 552) during the reign of [[Emperor Wu of Liang]] (r. 502&ndash;549), while similar accounts of kites used for military signalling are found in the [[Tang Dynasty|Tang]] (618&ndash;907) and [[Jin Dynasty (1115-1234)|Jin]] (1115&ndash;1234) dynasties; kite flying as a pastime can be seen in painted murals of [[Dunhuang]] dating to the [[Northern Wei]] (386&ndash;534) period, while descriptions of flying kites as a pastime have been found in [[Song Dynasty|Song]] (960&ndash;1279) and [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] (1368&ndash;1644) texts.<ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 295.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), 577&ndash;578.</ref> 

===L===

* '''[[Land mine]]''': Textual evidence suggests that the first use of a land mine in history was by a [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) brigadier general known as Lou Qianxia, who used an 'enormous bomb' (''huo pao'') to kill intruding [[History of the Song Dynasty#Mongol invasion and end of the Song Dynasty|Mongol soldiers]] invading [[Guangxi]] in 1277.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 175&ndash;176, 192.</ref> However, the first detailed description of the land mine was given in the ''[[Huolongjing]]'' text written by [[Jiao Yu]] (fl. 14th to early 15th century) and [[Liu Ji]] (1311&ndash;1375) during the late [[Yuan Dynasty]] (1271&ndash;1368) and early [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 24&ndash;25, 176, 192.</ref> Jiao and Liu wrote that land mines were spherical, made of [[cast iron]], and their fuses ignited by a mechanism tripped by enemy movement; although Jiao and Liu did not describe this trip mechanism in full detail, a later text of 1606 revealed that enemy movement released a pin that allowed hidden underground weights to fall and spin a chord around an axle that rotated a spinning wheel acting as a [[flint]] to spark a train of fuses.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 193 & 199.</ref>

* '''[[Leeboard]]''': To avoid [[leeward]] drift caused by the force of wind while sailing, the leeboard was invented; it was essentially a board lowered onto the side of the ship opposite to the direction of the wind, helping the ship to stay upright and on course.<ref name="temple 1986 188">Temple (1986), 188.</ref> Paul Johnstone and Sean McGrail state that an odd-looking second paddle on [[Dong Son drum|a bronze drum]] of the [[Dong Son culture]] (centered in the [[Red River Delta]] of northern [[Vietnam]]) may depict a leeboard in use as early as 300 BC.<ref name="johnstone mcgrail 2001 218">Johnstone & McGrail (2001), 218.</ref> Robert Temple points out that the first written evidence for the leeboard dates to 759 AD, found in the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907 AD) book ''Manual of the White and Gloomy Planet of War'' by Li Quan.<ref name="temple 1986 188 189">Temple (1986), 188&ndash;189.</ref> Li stated that boards for warships "held the ships, so that even when wind and wave arise in fury, they are neither driven sideways, nor overturn."<ref name="temple 1986 188 189"/> Leeboards are featured shortly after in 9th century engraved artwork found at the [[Borobudur]] monument built during the [[Sailendra]] dynasty of [[Central Java]] ([[Indonesia]]).<ref name="johnstone mcgrail 2001 218"/> Leeboards were first used [[Western world|in the West]] by the [[Dutch (ethnic group)|Dutch]], sometime during the 15th to 16th centuries (possibly used on early Dutch [[Cog (ship)|cogs]], or perhaps influenced by a Chinese origin).<ref name="temple 1986 189">Block (2003), 119&ndash;120.</ref><ref name="mcgrail">McGrail (2004), 237.</ref>

* '''[[Liubo]]''': The now defunct board game ''liubo'' for the most part remains an enigma for modern scholars still deciphering exactly how it was played; its association with both [[gambling]] and [[divination]] make it a unique game.<ref>Loewe (1986), 141.</ref><ref name="loewe 1968 144 145">Loewe (1968), 144&ndash;145.</ref> The earliest two ''liubo'' game boards are found in the [[Zhongshan (state)|Zhongshan]] Tomb 3 at [[Shijiazhuang]], [[Hebei]].<ref name="li 2004 8 9 13">Li (2004), 8&ndash;9 & 13.</ref><ref>Handler (2001), 181.</ref> Similar finds, dating from the mid 4th century BC, are also found in the [[Chu (state)|Chu]] Tomb 197 and 314 at [[Jiangling]], [[Hubei]].<ref name="li 2004 8 9 13"/><ref>Loewe (1999), 839.</ref> ''Liubo'' game boards have been found in several [[Western Han]] (202 BC &ndash; 9 AD) tombs; 1 wooden board at Jiangdu in [[Jiangsu]]; 1 wooden board in Tomb 8 at Fenghuangshan in Hubei; 1 lacquered set of ''liubo'' in Tomb 3 at [[Mawangdui]] in [[Hunan]]; 1 lacquered board in Tomb 1 at Dafentou in [[Yunnan]]; 1 bronze board at Xilin in [[Guangxi]].<ref>Li (2005), 66&ndash;68.</ref> During the Han Dynasty, an argument over the divination portents of the game as a result of a playing session led to a fight between [[Emperor Jing of Han|a Western Han crown prince]] and Liu Xian (劉賢), where the latter was killed in the scuffle which (in part) prompted his father Liu Pi (劉濞), the King of Wu, to rebel against central Han authority in the [[Rebellion of the Seven States]] (154 BC).<ref>Loewe (1986), 141.</ref> The historian Michael Loewe asserts that the set pieces of ''liubo'' were symbolic of the forces of the Chinese Five Elements, ''[[wu xing]]''.<ref name="loewe 1968 144 145"/>

===M===

* '''[[Makyoh|'Magic mirrors']]''': In about 800 AD, during the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907), a book entitled ''Record of Ancient Mirrors'' described the method of crafting solid [[bronze mirror]]s with decorations, written characters, or patterns on the reverse side that could cast these in a reflection on a nearby surface as light struck the front, polished side of the mirror; due to this seemingly [[Transparency (optics)|transparent effect]], they were called 'light-penetration mirrors' by the Chinese.<ref name="temple 1986 66">Temple (1986), 66.</ref> Unfortunately, this Tang era book was lost over the centuries, but magic mirrors were described in the ''[[Dream Pool Essays]]'' by [[Shen Kuo]] (1031&ndash;1095), who owned three of them as a family [[heirloom]].<ref name="temple 1986 67">Temple (1986), 66&ndash;67.</ref> Perplexed as to how solid metal could be transparent, Shen guessed that some sort of [[quench]]ing technique was used to produce tiny wrinkles on the face of the mirror too small to be observed by the eye.<ref name="temple 1986 67"/> Although his explanation of different cooling rates was incorrect, he was right to suggest the surface contained minute variations which the naked eye could not detect; these mirrors also had no transparent quality at all, as discovered by [[William Henry Bragg|William Bragg]] in 1932 (after an entire century of them baffling Western scientists).<ref name="temple 1986 66 67">Temple (1986), 66&ndash;67.</ref> Robert Temple describes their construction: "The basic mirror shape, with the design on the back, was cast flat, and the convexity of the surface produced afterwards by elaborate scraping and scratching. The surface was then polished to become shiny. The stresses set up by these processes caused the thinner parts of the surface to bulge outwards and become more convex than the thicker portions. Finally, a [[Mercury (element)|mercury]] amalgam was laid over the surface; this created further stresses and preferential buckling. The result was that imperfections of the mirror surface matched the patterns on the back, although they were too minute to be seen by the eye. But when the mirror reflected bright sunlight against a wall, with the resultant magnification of the whole image, the effect was to reproduce the patterns ''as if'' they were passing through the solid bronze by way of light beams."<ref name="temple 1986 67"/>

* '''[[Magnetic levitation|Maglev wind power generators]]''': In 2006, a new type of [[wind power]] generator employing [[magnetic levitation]] (maglev) was showcased at the Wind Power Asia Exhibition in [[Beijing]].<ref name="people's daily maglev">[[People's Daily]]. (July 2, 2006). [http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200607/02/eng20060702_279235.html Chinese company develops high-efficient wind power generator]. English.peopledaily.com. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[08-10]].</ref><ref name="xinhua maglev">[[Xinhua News Agency]] (October 5, 2007). [http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-11/05/content_7016626.htm China to mass produce maglev wind power generators]. News.xinhua.com. Retrieved on [[2008]]-[[08-10]].</ref> Li Guokun was the chief scientific developer of the new maglev wind power generator, in collaboration with the Guangzhou Energy Research Institute under the [[Chinese Academy of Sciences]] and the Zhongke Hengyuan Energy Technology Company based in [[Guangzhou]].<ref name="people's daily maglev"/><ref name="xinhua maglev"/> Li Guokun states that traditional [[wind turbine]]s need high wind speeds to start, due to friction caused by their bearings.<ref name="people's daily maglev"/><ref name="xinhua maglev"/> The new frictionless maglev wind generator requires wind speeds of only 1.5 m per second (or 5 km an hour) to start and are expected to cut operational costs for [[wind farms]] by half, i.e. overall cost of roughly 0.4 [[Chinese yuan]] per [[kilowatt hour]].<ref name="people's daily maglev"/><ref name="xinhua maglev"/>

* '''[[Mahjong]]''': Jelte Rep writes that the [[gambling]] game of mahjong ([[Traditional Chinese]]: 麻將; [[Pinyin]]: májiàng), which employs [[Mahjong tiles|a set of over a hundred tiles]], was first invented in 1846 by Zhen Yumen, a [[Qing Dynasty]] (1644&ndash;1912) diplomatic official from [[Ningbo]].<ref name="rep 2007 52">Rep (2007), 52.</ref> However, Rep traces the origins of the game to a [[card game]] of the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) which used thirty-two wood or ivory pieces in the shape of cards.<ref name="rep 2007 51">Rep (2007), 51.</ref> This evolved into the forty-card game of ''madiao'' (馬吊) during the [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644), which had four [[Suit (cards)|suits of cards]] instead of the three found in modern mahjong.<ref name="rep 2007 51"/>

* '''[[Hang gliding|Manned flight with kites]]''': Although [[Ge Hong]] (284&ndash;364 AD) made a hint in his writing about manned flights using kites, the first solid proof dates to the [[Northern Qi]] (550&ndash;577) era.<ref name="temple 1986 175 176">Temple (1986), 175&ndash;176.</ref> An ancient Chinese tradition of piety called 'the liberation of living creatures', where fish and birds were released after capture, was corrupted by the notoriously cruel [[Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi]] (r. 550&ndash;559). While executing the entire [[Tuoba]] family which had ruled the previous dynasty of [[Eastern Wei]] (534&ndash;550), Emperor Wenxuan used the concept of 'the liberation of living creatures' when he launched Tuoba family members from the top of the 30 m (100 ft) tall Golden Phoenix Tower (near [[Ye, China]]) as test pilots for his manned flying kites.<ref name="temple 1986 175 176"/> According to the account, Emperor Wenxuan first had the prisoners "harnessed with great bamboo mats as wings, and ordered them to fly to the ground from the top of the tower;" all of these men died.<ref name="temple 1986 175">Temple (1986), 175.</ref> However, Wenxuan wanted a greater spectacle, and by the last year of his reign had the prisoners harnessed into large kites shaped as owls; the former Eastern Wei prince [[Yuan Huangtou]] (d. 559) reportedly flew about 3.2 km (2 mi) before landing, yet was captured and handed over to Bi Yiyun, head official of the [[censorate]], who shortly after had him executed.<ref name="temple 1986 176">Temple (1986), 176.</ref> Records of this account were preserved in the historical work ''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'' compiled by Chancellor [[Sima Guang]] (1019&ndash;1086) in 1084.<ref name="temple 1986 176"/> The later traveler [[Marco Polo]] (1254&ndash;1324) remarked that the crews of Chinese merchant ships always had a fool or drunkard who would be a candidate for being placed into a "hurdle" made of willow stems which was flown in the air by eight cords and used as a means of [[fortune-telling]] for commercial prospects.<ref>Temple (1986), 177&ndash;178.</ref>

* '''[[Economic geography|Map, economic]]''': [[History of cartography#China|A set of seven geographical maps]] from the [[Qin (state)|State of Qin]], dated to the 4th century BC during the [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC), display a region centered around the [[Jialing River]].<ref name="hsu 1993 92">Hsu (1993), 92.</ref> Mei-ling Hsu writes that since two of these maps feature labeled sites where timber was gathered and the [[Li (unit)|measured distances]] between these timber sites, they can be viewed as economic maps.<ref name="hsu 1993 93">Hsu (1993), 93.</ref> These predate the economic maps of the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] geographer [[Strabo]] (c. 64 BC &ndash; c. 24 AD).<ref name="hsu 1993 93"/>

* '''[[History of cartography#China|Map, oldest printed]]''': As proven by archaeological excavation in China, the oldest known Chinese maps were made by [[cartographer]]s of the [[Qin (state)|State of Qin]] during the 4th century BC,<ref>Hsu (1993), 90&ndash;93.</ref> yet maps were not printed for the first time until the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) encyclopedist Yang Jia included one in his printed encyclopedia of 1155 AD.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 3, 549, Plate LXXXII.</ref>

* '''[[Match|Match, non-friction]]''': The earliest type of match for lighting fire was made in China by 577 AD, invented by [[Northern Qi]] (550&ndash;577) court ladies as they desperately looked for materials to light fires for cooking and heating as enemy troops of [[Northern Zhou]] (557&ndash;581) and the [[Chen Dynasty]] (557&ndash;589) besieged their city from outside.<ref name="temple 1986 98">Temple (1986), 98.</ref> Early matches in China were made of pinewood sticks impregnated with [[sulfur]] and needed a slight touch of an already existing flame to light.<ref name="temple 1986 98"/> This was written in the ''Records of the Unwordly and Strange'' by Tao Gu in 950 ([[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period]]), who also wrote that they were once called "light-bringing slaves" before they were commercially marketed as the 'fire inch-stick'.<ref name="temple 1986 98"/> The self-striking, friction match was not made until 1827, an invention of [[John Walker (inventor)|John Walker]].

* '''[[Field mill (carriage)|Mechanical theater, carriage-driven]]''': The inventors of the [[field mill]] mentioned above, Xie Fei and Wei Mengbian of the [[Later Zhao]] (319&ndash;351 AD), also invented an intricate mechanical theater mounted on a carriage, its figures operated by motive power (i.e. simply advancing the carriage forward).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 159">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 159.</ref> From 335 to 345 AD, they worked at the court of the ethnic-[[Jie (ethnic group)|Jie]] emperor [[Shi Hu]] (334&ndash;349).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 159"/> The vehicle they crafted was a four-wheeled and 6 m (20 ft) long carriage that was about 3 m (10 ft) wide.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 159"/> On it rested a large [[Chinese Buddhism|golden Buddha statue]] with a [[Daoism|Daoist]] statue continually rubbing his front with his mechanical hand.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 159"/> The Buddha was also surrounded by ten wooden Daoists who rotated around him in a circuit, periodically bowing to him, saluting him, and throwing [[incense]] into a [[censer]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 159"/> Above the Buddha were nine dragon-headed faucets which spouted water.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 159"/> Like the field house and the pounding cart of these two inventors, when the carriage halted, so did all of its moving components of mechanical statues and spouting faucets.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 160.</ref>

* '''[[Automaton|Mechanical cup-bearers and wine-pourers on automatic-traveling boats]]''': The mechanical engineer Huang Gun served the court of [[Emperor Yang of Sui]] (r. 604&ndash;617) and wrote the book ''Shuishi Tujing'' on his inventions, which his colleague Du Bao enlarged and commented on.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 160">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 160.</ref> He constructed seven small boats, called 'wine boats', that were as large as 3 m (10 ft) long and 1.8 m (6 ft) wide which supported a number of mechanical figures of wooden statues called 'hydraulic elegances', each about 0.6 m (2 ft) tall, some of them animals but most in human form consisting of singing girls, musicians playing actual instruments, dancers and tumblers, oarsmen busy rowing, cup-bearers, and wine-pourers all moving simultaneously as if alive.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 160"/> These boats were set to travel at timed intervals along circuits made of winding stone channels and canals in palace courtyards and gardens (designed by Tang Haogui), where guests would gather for special occasions.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 160"/> The cup-bearer stood at the bow of each ship and beside him the wine-pourer; when the ship made automatically-timed periodic stops where guests were seated, the cup-bearer automatically stretched out his arm with a full cup of wine.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 160"/> When the guest was done emptying his cup, he placed the cup back into the figure's hands; the latter then waited as the wine-pourer filled a second cup to be emptied.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 160"/> When this guest had been served, the wine boat automatically moved onwards to the next stop.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 160"/> Joseph Needham speculates that the 'wine boats' may have been [[Paddle steamer|paddle-wheel-driven]];<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 161 & 417.</ref> as Robert Temple notes, the paddle wheel ship was already known in China since the [[Liu Song Dynasty]] (420&ndash;479).<ref name="temple 1986 192">Temple (1986), 192.</ref> Aside from the partial remains of the ''Shuishi Tujing'', an account of these 'wine boats' was also preserved by Huang Gun's contemporary [[Yan Shigu]] (581&ndash;645).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 160 (footnote c and d)</ref>

* '''[[Military strategy|Military strategy treatise]]''': The earliest known book on [[military strategy]], ''[[The Art of War]]'', was written by [[Sun Tzu|Sun Wu]] (c. 544&ndash;496 BC), better known as Sunzi ("Master Sun"), during the 6th century BC.<ref>Giles (2007), VII&ndash;VIII.</ref> The earliest known reference to Sunzi was in the 2nd century BC text of the ''[[Huainanzi]]'' (compiled no later than 122 BC),<ref>Giles (2007), XIV.</ref> while a biography of Sunzi was featured in [[Sima Qian]]'s (c. 145&ndash;86 BC) ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' compiled from 109 to 91 BC.<ref>Giles (2007), XI&ndash;XII.</ref> The [[Yinqueshan Han Slips|oldest known copy of Sunzi's ''Art of War'']] (on bamboo strips) was found in a 1972 archaeological excavation at Mount Yinque (near [[Linyi]], [[Shandong]]) of a [[Han Dynasty|Western Han]] (202 BC &ndash; 9 AD) tomb dated c. 140&ndash;118 BC.<ref name="tan 2002 18">Tan (2002), 18.</ref> The oldest version of another famous ''Art of War'' by Sunzi's descendant [[Sun Bin]] (d. 316 BC) was also found in the same tomb.<ref name="tan 2002 18"/>

* '''[[Chinese architecture|Modular system of architecture, eight standard grades]]''': Although other texts preceded it, such as the 'National Building Law' of the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) which was partially preserved in other texts, the ''[[Yingzao Fashi]]'' published in 1103 by the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) scholar-official [[Architecture of the Song Dynasty#Literature|Li Jie]] (1065&ndash;1110) is the oldest known Chinese architectural treatise that has survived fully intact.<ref name="guo 1998 1 3">Guo (1998), 1&ndash;3.</ref> It contains descriptions and illustrations detailing the ''cai fen'' system (材份制) of eight standard dimensions for [[module]] components of timber architecture and structural [[carpentry]].<ref name="guo 1998 6 7">Guo (1998), 6&ndash;7.</ref> The eight standard grades of module timber components in the ''Yingzao Fashi'', with grade <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">I</font> being the largest and grade <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">VIII</font> the smallest, were used to determine the ultimate proportions and scale of a building as a whole, as all timber hall types—[[Chinese Palaces|palaces]], [[mansion]]s, [[House|ordinary houses]], and [[Chinese pavilion|pavilions]]—were hierarchically categorized along the lines of which ''cai fen'' grade was employed.<ref name="guo 1998 7 8">Guo (1998), 7&ndash;8.</ref> For example, palace type buildings used only grades <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">I</font> through <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">V</font>, while mansion type buildings never used components larger than grade <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">III</font> and no less than grade <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">VI</font>.<ref name="guo 1998 7">Guo (1998), 7.</ref> In this system of structural carpentry, the smallest grade of <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times">VIII</font> is represented by one ''cai''; one ''cai'' is equal to the modern equivalent of 15 cm (5.9 in), while one ''cai'' is also divided into fifteen ''fen'' (hence the title of this modular system).<ref name="guo 1999 97">Guo (1999), 97.</ref>

* '''[[Shan shui|Mountain-and-water painting]]''': The Chinese upheld a long tradition of [[landscape art]] before the emergence in the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period]] (907&ndash;960) of the distinctive ''shan shui'' (山水), or mountain-water, style which aimed to "encapsulate the [[cosmos]]" according to Sarah Allan,<ref>Allan (1997), 56</ref> and not merely represent natural [[scenery]]. She writes that mountains and rivers were chosen to symbolize permanence and change, respectively, with an occasional anonymous person strolling in a vast landscape to emphasize that people belong "naturally within the cosmos rather than given unusual prominence;" in other words, these paintings deemphasize a human-centered world.<ref>Allan (1997), 56&ndash;57</ref> It should be noted that, although this style of painting persisted into the following eras, there were continuing artistic trends amongst the [[Gentry (China)|gentry elite]] which diverged from it. In the era of [[Song Dynasty|Northern Song]] (960&ndash;1127), the [[scholar-bureaucrat]] most often painted huge sweeping landscape scenes with tiny human figures placed into a much larger whole, emphasizing their overriding concern to tackle the largest nationwide issues and reforming society from the top down.<ref name="ebrey 1999 163">Ebrey (1999), 163.</ref> During the [[Song Dynasty|Southern Song]] (1127&ndash;1279), statesmen more often painted intimately close scenes where human figures were the central focus with a surrounding environment lacking similar detail, emphasizing their [[Neo-Confucianism|Neo-Confucian]] concern of reforming society from the bottom up and from the local level.<ref name="ebrey 1999 163"/>

* '''[[Seed drill|Multiple-tube seed drill]]''': The wooden seed drill existed in China by the 3rd century BC, while the multiple-tube iron seed drill was first invented in China by the 2nd century BC, during the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD).<ref name="greenberger 2006 12">Greenberger (2006), 12.</ref><ref>Cotterell (2004), 46.</ref> The seed drill allowed for greater speed and regulation of [[Crop rotation|distributing seeds in lined rows of crops]] instead of casting them out onto the farm field.<ref name="greenberger 2006 12"/>

* '''[[Multistage rocket]]''': Although there is still some ambiguity as to whether the earliest [[rocket]]s of the 13th century were first developed in [[Europe]] (i.e. 'ignis volantis in aere' in the work of Marcus Graecus around 1232, although Needham and Davis assert it was most likely a [[fire lance]]), the [[Middle East]] (i.e. 'sahm al-Khitāi' or 'arrows of China' as referred to by Hasan al-Rhammāh in 1280) or [[China]] (i.e. 'di lao shu' or 'ground rat' mentioned in 1264 or the 'chong' [[mortar]] used by the armies of the [[Song Dynasty]] and invading [[Mongols]] during the 1270s), sometime during the [[Yuan Dynasty]] (1271&ndash;1368) the term '[[fire arrow]]' once implied to mean incendiary arrows during the [[Tang Dynasty]] was then used to describe the true rocket, producing a headache, as Needham says, for historians;<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 472&ndash;474.</ref><ref>Crosby (2002), 100&ndash;103.</ref><ref name="gernet 1996 311">Gernet (1996), 311.</ref> the ''[[Huolongjing]]'' written by [[Jiao Yu]] (fl. 14th to early 15th century) and [[Liu Ji]] (1311&ndash;1375) during the early [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644) described several types of rockets,<ref>Needham, Volume 5, Part 7, 473&ndash;505.</ref> one of them being a multistage rocket known as the 'huo long chu shui' or 'fire dragon issuing from the water' which, despite its name, was not launched from beneath the water from a primitive submarine but rather at near water-level maintaining a flat trajectory; defined as a two-stage rocket, it employed [[booster rocket]]s that, when about to burn out of use, ignited a swarm of smaller rocket arrows fired from the front end of the missile shaped as a dragon's mouth.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 505&ndash;510.</ref><ref>Temple (1986), 240&ndash;241.</ref>

===N===

* '''[[Natural gas|Natural gas as fuel]]''': Robert Temple asserts that the 4th century BC ([[Warring States Period]]) is a conservative estimate for the time in which the Chinese began using natural gas as fuel and light.<ref name="temple 1986 78"/> He states that systematic [[borehole]] drilling for [[brine]] extraction by the 1st century BC ([[Han Dynasty]]) led to the discovery of many "fire wells" in [[Sichuan]] which yielded natural gas.<ref name="temple 1986 78">Temple (1986), 78.</ref> As recorded in the 2nd century AD, this led to a systematic search for natural gas.<ref name="temple 1986 78"/> Both brine and natural gas were [[Pipeline transport|piped through bamboo tubes]]; from small boreholes the gas could be piped directly to burners where the brine was emptied into [[cast iron]] evaporation pans for boiling and producing [[salt]], but the pungent gas piped from depths of some 2,000 ft had to be first mixed with air lest an explosion occur.<ref name="temple 1986 78 79">Temple (1986), 78&ndash;79.</ref> To remedy this, the Chinese piped the gas first into a large wooden, cone-shaped chamber placed 3 m (10 ft) below ground level where another pipe could convey air, thus turning the chamber into a large [[carburetor]].<ref name="temple 1986 78 79"/> To avoid fires from a sudden surplus of gas, an additional "sky thrusting pipe" was used as an [[exhaust system]].<ref name="temple 1986 79">Temple (1986), 79.</ref> 

* '''[[Naval mine]]''': The ''[[Huolongjing]]'' military manuscript written by [[Jiao Yu]] (fl. 14th to early 15th century) and [[Liu Ji]] (1311&ndash;1375) also describes naval mines used at sea or on rivers and lakes; made of [[wrought iron]] and enclosed in an ox bladder, it was a timed device in that a burning [[joss stick]] floating above the mine determined when the fuse was to be ignited; the text explicitly mentions that without air and doused in water the fuse would not burn, so the fuse was protected by a long [[waterproof]] tube made out of goat's intestine; a later model shown in [[Song Yingxing]]'s (1587&ndash;1666) encyclopedia of 1637 shows the ox bladder replaced with a [[Lacquerware|lacquered leather]] bag while the mine is ignited by a rip cord pulled from the shore to rotate a flint-and-steel firing mechanism.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 203&ndash;205.</ref>

* '''[[Negative and non-negative numbers|Negative numbers, symbols for and use of]]''': In the ''[[Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art]]'' compiled during the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) by 179 AD and commented on by [[Liu Hui]] (fl. 3rd century) in 263,<ref name="needham volume 3 24 25"/> negative numbers appear as black rods and positive numbers as red rods in the Chinese [[counting rods]] system.<ref name="temple 1986 141">Temple (1986), 141.</ref> Liu Hui also used slanted counting rods to denote negative numbers.<ref name="temple 1986 141"/> Negative numbers denoted by a "+" sign also appear in the ancient [[Bakhshali manuscript]] of [[India]], yet scholars disagree as to when it was compiled, giving a collective range of 200 to 600 AD.<ref name="teresi 2002 65 66">Teresi (2002), 65&ndash;66.</ref> Negative numbers were known in India certainly by about 630 AD, when the mathematician [[Brahmagupta]] (598&ndash;668) used them.<ref name="temple 1986 141"/> Negative numbers were first used in Europe by the [[Roman Greece|Greek]] mathematician [[Diophantus]] (fl. 3rd century) in about 275 AD, yet were considered absurd [[Western world|in the West]] until [[Ars Magna (Gerolamo Cardano)|''The Great Art'']] written in 1545 by the [[Italy|Italian]] mathematician [[Girolamo Cardano]] (1501&ndash;1576).<ref name="temple 1986 141"/>

===O===

* '''[[Zhaozhou Bridge|Open-spandrel segmental arch bridge, fully stone]]''': The earliest known fully-stone open-spandrel segmental arch bridge is the [[Zhaozhou Bridge]] in southern [[Hebei]] province, China, completed in 605 by the [[Sui Dynasty]] (581&ndash;618) engineer Li Chun.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 177&ndash;179.</ref><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 434.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 69">Temple (1986), 69.</ref> The bridge span is 37.5 m (123 ft) and the structure relatively light in weight due to the four semi-circular arch spandrels which allow for additional flood waters to pass through.<ref name="temple 1986 69"/> Other Chinese bridges would be influenced by this design, such as the open-spandrel Yongtong Bridge of Zhaoxian, Hebei built in 1130,<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, Plate CCCL</ref> and the simple segmental arch [[Lugou Bridge]] built in 1698 (originally in 1189).<ref name="temple 1986 70">Temple (1986), 70.</ref> The latter, located just west of [[Beijing]], features eleven segmental arches, each with a span of 18.8 m (62 ft) in a total bridge span of 213 m (700 ft).<ref name="temple 1986 70 71">Temple (1986), 70&ndash;71.</ref>

===P===
* '''[[Chinese pagoda|Pagoda, hybrid of the stupa and ''que'' tower]]''': The [[pagoda]], a [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] monument where sacred relics are housed, was first developed in [[History of India|ancient India]] as a dome-like structure with a circular base commonly referred to as the [[stupa]].<ref name="fu 2002 85">Fu (2002), 85.</ref> After [[Chinese Buddhism|Buddhism spread to China]] during the [[Han Dynasty|Eastern Han]] (25&ndash;220 AD) period, the Chinese adopted this idea of a religious structure to house sacred Buddhist relics, yet they [[Sinicization|sinicized]] its design by fusing it with the design of the square-based ''que'' tower, a common building type in traditional [[Chinese architecture]].<ref name="fu 2002 85"/> The unique [[Chinese pagoda]] thus became a multi-storied tower rather than an elongated dome-like structure as seen in the original stupa.<ref name="fu 2002 85"/>

* '''[[Numerical approximations of π|Pi calculated as <math>\tfrac{355}{113}</math>]]''': The ancient [[Egyptian mathematics|Egyptians]], [[Babylonian mathematics|Babylonians]], [[Indian mathematics|Indians]], and [[Greek mathematics|Greeks]] had [[Chronology of computation of π|long made approximations for π]] by the time the Chinese mathematician and astronomer [[Liu Xin]] (c. 46 BC &ndash; 23 AD) improved the old Chinese approximation of simply 3 as π to 3.1547 as π (with evidence on vessels dating to the [[Wang Mang]] reign period, 9&ndash;23 AD, of other approximations of 3.1590, 3.1497, and 3.1679).<ref>Neehdam (1986), Volume 3, 99&ndash;100.</ref><ref name="berggren borwein borwein 2004 27"/> Next, [[Zhang Heng]] (78&ndash;139 AD) made two approximations for π, by proportioning the celestial circle to the diameter of the earth as <math>\tfrac{736}{232}</math> = 3.1724 and using (after a long algorithm) the [[square root]] of 10, or 3.162.<ref name="berggren borwein borwein 2004 27">Berggren, Borwein & Borwein (2004), 27</ref><ref>Arndt and Haenel (2001), 177</ref><ref>Wilson (2001), 16.</ref> In his commentary on the [[Han Dynasty]] mathematical work ''[[The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art]]'', [[Liu Hui]] (fl. 3rd century) [[Liu Hui's π algorithm|used various algorithms]] to render multiple approximations for pi at 3.142704, 3.1428, and 3.14159.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 3, 100&ndash;101.</ref> Finally, the mathematician and astronomer [[Zu Chongzhi]] (429&ndash;500) approximated pi to an even greater degree of accuracy, rendering it <math>\tfrac{355}{113}</math>, a value known in Chinese as [[Milü|Milü ("detailed ratio")]].<ref>Berggren, Borwein & Borwein (2004), 24&ndash;26.</ref> This was the best [[Rational number|rational]] approximation for pi with a [[denominator]] of up to four digits; the next rational number is <math>\tfrac{52163}{16604}</math>, which is the [[Continued fraction#Best rational approximations|best rational approximation]]. Zu ultimately determined the value for π to be between 3.1415926 and 3.1415927.<ref>Berggren, Borwein & Borwein (2004), 26.</ref> Zu's approximation was the most accurate in the world, and would not be achieved elsewhere for another millennium,<ref>Berggren, Borwein & Borwein (2004), 20.</ref> until [[Madhava of Sangamagrama]]<ref>Gupta (1975), B45&ndash;B48</ref> and [[Jamshīd al-Kāshī]]<ref>Adolf P. Youschkevitch and Boris A. Rosenfeld, ''Al-Kashi'', p. 256</ref> in the early 15th century.

* '''[[Pinhole camera]]''': The [[Greek philosophy|Greek]] philosopher [[Aristotle]] (384&ndash;322 BC) observed that the spaces between the leaves of trees acted as tiny pinholes which cast the image of a partial [[solar eclipse]] onto the ground.<ref name="clee 2005 6">Clee (2005), 6.</ref> He also used a metal plate with a small pinhole to project an image of a solar eclipse onto the ground.<ref name="clee 2005 6"/> The ancient [[Chinese philosophy|Chinese]] philosopher [[Mozi]] (c. 470 BC &ndash; c. 391 BC)—founder of [[Mohism]] during the establishment of the [[Hundred Schools of Thought]]—lived just before the time of Aristotle and it was in his ''Mojing'' (perhaps compiled by his disciples) that a pinhole camera was described.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 82">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 82.</ref> The ''Mojing'' stated that the "collecting place" (pinhole) was an empty hole "like the sun and moon depicted on the imperial flags," where an image could be inverted at an intersecting point which "affects the size of the image."<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 82"/> The ''Mojing'' seems to be in line with the [[Epicureanism|Epicurean theory]] of light traveling into the eye (and not vice versa like in [[Pythagoreanism]]),<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 85">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 85.</ref> since the ''Mojing'' states that the reflected light shining forth from an "illuminated person" becomes inverted when passing through the pinhole, i.e. "The bottom part of the man becomes the top part (of the image) and the top part of the man becomes the bottom part (of the image)."<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 82"/> In his ''[[Book of Optics]]'' (1021), [[Ibn al-Haytham]] (965&ndash;1039) wrote of his experimentation with [[camera obscura]], which was followed by [[Shen Kuo]] (1031&ndash;1095), the latter who alluded that the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) author [[Duan Chengshi]] (d. 863)—in his ''[[Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang]]''—described inverted images of [[Chinese pagoda]]s.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 97&ndash;98.</ref>

* '''[[Playing card]]s''': The first reference to the card game in world history dates no later than the 9th century, when the ''Collection of Miscellanea at Duyang'', written by Su E (fl. 880), described the Wei clan (family of Princess Tongchang's husband) of the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907 AD) enjoying the "leaf game" in 868.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 131 132">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 131&ndash;132.</ref><ref name="zhou 1997 34">Zhou (1997), 34.</ref><ref>Lo (2000), 390.</ref> The ''Yezi Gexi'' was a book on the card came which was allegedly written by a Tang woman and commented on by Chinese scholars in subsequent dynasties.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 132">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 132.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 116"/> In his ''Notes After Retirement'', the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) scholar [[Ouyang Xiu]] (1007&ndash;1072) asserted that playing card games existed since the mid Tang Dynasty and associated this invention with the simultaneous evolution of the common Chinese writing medium from paper rolls to sheets of paper that could be printed.<ref name="zhou 1997 34"/><ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 132"/><ref name="temple 1986 116">Temple (1986), 116.</ref> During the [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644), characters from popular [[novel]]s such as the ''[[Water Margin]]'' were widely featured on the faces of playing cards.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 132"/><ref name="temple 1986 116"/> By the 11th century playing cards could be found throughout the Asian continent.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 309">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 1, 309.</ref> Playing cards were some of the first printed materials in Europe, appearing by the 14th century (i.e. in [[Spain]] and [[Germany]] in 1377, in [[Italy]] and [[Belgium]] in 1379, and in [[France]] in 1381) and produced by European [[woodblock printing]] before the innovation of the [[printing press]] by [[Johannes Gutenberg]] (c. 1400&ndash;1468).<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 309"/><ref name="temple 1986 116 117">Temple (1986), 116&ndash;117.</ref>

* '''[[Porcelain]]''': [[Chinese ceramics|Although glazed ceramics existed beforehand]], S.A.M. Adshead writes that the earliest type of vitrified, translucent ceramics that could be classified as true porcelain was not made until the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907).<ref>Adshead (2004), 80.</ref> Nigel Wood states that true porcelain was manufactured in [[Northern and southern China|North China]] from roughly the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century, while true porcelain was not manufactured in [[Northern and southern China|South China]] until about 300 years later, during the early 10th century.<ref>Wood (1999), 49.</ref>

* '''[[Pound lock]]''': Although the one gate canal [[flash lock]] existed in China beforehand, the two-gate pound lock was invented in China in 984 by an official of [[Huainan]] and engineer named Qiao Weiyo, during the early [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279), so that ships could safely travel along canal waterways having gated and segmented chambers where water levels could be regulated.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 3 350 352">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 350&ndash;352.</ref><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 582.</ref><ref>Temple (1986), 196.</ref> The economic and transport benefits of this innovation were described by the polymath official and inventor [[Shen Kuo]] (1031&ndash;1095) in his ''[[Dream Pool Essays]]''.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 3 350 352"/><ref>Temple (1986), 197.</ref>

* '''[[Ma Jun|Puppet theater, waterwheel-powered]]''': The mechanical toys of [[Roman Egypt]], especially the weight-driven [[puppet]] theater of [[Heron of Alexandria]] (c. 10&ndash;70 AD), are well known and discussed by historians such as Beck, Prou, and de Rochas d'Aiglun.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 156">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 156.</ref> In China, [[Zhang Heng]] (78&ndash;139) wrote of plays with artificial fish and dragons, while a 6th century text ''Xijing Zaji'' states that when Liu Bang (reigned as [[Emperor Gaozu of Han]] from 202&ndash;195 BC) came upon the treasury of the deceased [[Qin Shihuang]] (r. 221&ndash;210) in 206 BC, he found an entire mechanical [[orchestra]] of 1 m (3 ft) tall puppets dressed in [[silk]] and playing [[Free reed aerophone|mouth organs]], all powered by pulling ropes and blowing into tubes.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 158">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 158.</ref> As written in the ''[[Records of the Three Kingdoms]]'', the engineer [[Ma Jun]] (fl. 220&ndash;265)—already associated with the [[Differential (mechanical device)|differential gear system]] of the [[South Pointing Chariot]]—invented a mechanical theater powered by a rotating wooden [[waterwheel]] for the entertainment of [[Cao Rui|Emperor Ming's]] (r. 226&ndash;239 AD) court.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 158"/> With the waterwheel in motion, a number of mechanical puppets performed tricks, such as singing girls who played music and danced, other puppets who would beat drums and sound flutes when one puppet entered the scene, puppets dancing on balls, throwing swords, hanging upside down on rope ladders, etc.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 158"/> Other mechanical puppets dressed as government officials did tasks in their offices, puppets dressed as laborers did jobs of pounding and grinding ([[trip hammer]] and [[millstone]]), while others watched [[cockfight]]ing, all moving simultaneously.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 158"/> Water-powered puppet theaters in the tradition of Ma Jun were created in later dynasties as well.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 164">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 164.</ref>

===Q===
===R===

* '''[[Raised-relief map]]''': In his 1665 paper for the ''[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society]]'', [[John Evelyn]] (1620&ndash;1706) believed that wax models imitating nature and bas relief maps were something entirely new from [[France]].<ref name="needham volume 3 579">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 579.</ref> Some later scholars attributed the first raised-relief map to one Paul Dox, who represented the area of [[Kufstein]] in his raised-relief map of 1510.<ref name="needham volume 3 579"/><ref name="temple 1986 181">Temple (1986), 181.</ref> The 20th century historian [[George Sarton|G. Sarton]] pointed to the writing of [[Ibn Battuta]] (1304&ndash;1368 or 1377), the latter who witnessed a raised-relief map while on [[Gibraltar]] in the 14th century.<ref name="needham volume 3 579"/><ref name="temple 1986 181"/> However, the raised-relief map may have existed in China since the 3rd century BC, if the accounts in the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' (by [[Sima Qian]], 91 BC) about [[Qin Shi Huang]]'s (r. 221&ndash;210 BC) tomb prove correct (when it is excavated).<ref name="temple 1986 179">Temple (1986), 179.</ref> It is known that [[Ma Yuan (Han Dynasty)|Ma Yuan]] (14 BC &ndash; 49 AD) created a raised-relief map in 32 AD made out of rice, a type of map described in detail during the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) by Jiang Fang in his ''Essay on the Art of Constructing Mountains with Rice'' (c. 845).<ref name="temple 1986 179"/> Xie Zhuang (421&ndash;466) of the [[Liu Song Dynasty]] (420&ndash;479) created a 0.93 m<sup>2</sup> (10 ft<sup>2</sup>) wooden raised-relief map of the empire (showing mountains and rivers) which could be taken apart and pieced together like a giant [[jigsaw puzzle]].<ref name="temple 1986 179"/> While on a court assignment of inspection along the [[Song Dynasty|Song Empire's]] (960&ndash;1279) frontier, the [[polymath]] scholar and official [[Shen Kuo]] (1031&ndash;1095) created a three-dimensional, raised-relief map depicting miniature roads, rivers, mountains and passes composed of wood, glue-soaked sawdust, beeswax, and wheat paste.<ref name="sivin III 22">Sivin (1995), III, 22.</ref><ref>Ebrey, Walthall, and Palais (2006), 162.</ref><ref name="needham volume 3 580">Needham (1986), Volume 3, 580.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 180">Temple (1986), 180.</ref> His wooden model pleased [[Emperor Shenzong of Song]] (r. 1067&ndash;1085), who later ordered that all the prefects administering the frontier regions should prepare similar wooden maps which could be sent to the capital and stored in an archive.<ref name="needham volume 3 580"/> In 1130, Huang Shang made a  wooden raised-relief map which later caught the attention of the [[Neo-Confucianism|Neo-Confucian]] philosopher [[Zhu Xi]] (1130&ndash;1200), who tried to acquire it but instead made his own map out of sticky clay and wood.<ref name="needham volume 3 580"/><ref name="temple 1986 180"/> The map, made of eight pieces of wood connected by hinges, could be folded up and carried around by one person.<ref name="needham volume 3 580"/>

* '''[[Menu|Restaurant menu]]''': During the early [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279), urban shopkeepers of the [[Four occupations|merchant middle class]] often had little time to eat at home, so they ventured out to eat at a variety of places such as temples, taverns, tea houses, food stalls, and [[restaurant]]s which provided business for nearby brothels, singing-girl houses, and [[Culture of the Song Dynasty#Performing arts|drama theatres]]; this along with [[Society of the Song Dynasty#Ethnic, foreign and religious minorities|traveling foreigners]] and Chinese who migrated to urban centers from regions with different cooking styles encouraged a demand for a variety of flavors served at urban restaurants, giving rise to the menu.<ref>West (1997), 70&ndash;76.</ref><ref>Gernet (1962), 133&ndash;134, 137.</ref>

* '''[[Huolongjing#Fire arrows and rockets|Rocket bombs, aerodynamic wings and explosive payloads]]''': In 1741, [[Amédée-François Frézier]] (1682&ndash;1773) was the first in [[Europe]] to construct rocket bombs with [[Aerodynamics|aerodynamic wings and fins]] to maintain a steady and stable [[trajectory]] when fired.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 495.</ref> However, the first known rockets fitted with aerodynamic wings are described as the 'flying crows with magic fire' in the oldest strata of the ''[[Huolongjing]]'' (early-to-mid 14th century), compiled by [[Jiao Yu]] and [[Liu Ji]] during the early [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644).<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 498 501">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 498&ndash;501.</ref> The body of the rocket was shaped like a bird (specifically a [[crow]]), packed with [[gunpowder]], and made of [[bamboo]] [[lath]]s forming a long basketwork frame that was reinforced with [[glue]]d paper.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 500">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 7, 500.</ref> A decorative head and tail were attached to the front and back ends, while the wings were nailed to the sides.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 500"/> Under each wing were two slanting rockets to propel the weapon; a main fuse was lit that ignited a fourfold fuse connected to each rocket and running through a drilled hole in the back of the bird.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 500"/> The book then claims that the rocket, after being launched high into the air and aimed at encampments or enemy boats, [[Warhead|automatically produced an explosion upon impact]] that could be seen from considerably long distances.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 502">Needham (1986), Volume 5, Part 2, 502.</ref> The ''Wubeizhi'', published in 1621, described a weapon called the 'free-flying enemy-pounding thunder-crash bomb', which was another winged rocket secured with oily paper and had a tubed rocket built into the rear of the bomb.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 502"/> When the composition of the rocket was burnt out in flight, the rocket automatically ignited and released a poisonous blast of smoke and [[caltrop]]s with poisoned tips.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 7 502"/>

* '''[[Fan (mechanical)|Rotary fan, manual and water-powered]]''': For purposes of [[air conditioning]], the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) craftsman and engineer Ding Huan (fl. 180 AD) invented a manually-operated rotary fan having seven wheels that measured 3 m (10 ft) in diameter; in the 8th century, during the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907), the Chinese applied [[Hydraulics|hydraulic power]] to rotate the fan wheels for air conditioning, while the rotary fan became even more common during the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 99, 134, 151, 233.</ref><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 210.</ref> The first rotary fan used in Europe was for mine ventilation during the 16th century, as illustrated by [[Georg Agricola]] (1494&ndash;1555).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 154">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 154.</ref>

* '''[[Rudder|Rudder, stern-mounted and vertical axial]]''': Lawrence V. Mott, who defines a steering oar as a rudder, states the [[ancient Egypt]]ian use of stern-mounted rudders can be traced back to the [[Sixth dynasty of Egypt|6th dynasty]] (2350-2200 BC).<ref name="mott 2 3 92">Mott (1991), 2&ndash;3, 92, 84, 95f.</ref> Mott states that the method of attachment for rudders in the Arab, Chinese, and European worlds differed from each other, leading him to doubt the spread of the Chinese system of attachment by socket-and-jaws or [[block and tackle]] (versus European [[pintle]]-and-[[gudgeon]] invented by c. 1180 AD).<ref name="mott 2 3 92"/><ref name="adshead 2000 156"/>  In regards to Mott's definition of a steering oar as a rudder, [[Joseph Needham]], [[Richard Lefebvre des Noëttes]], K.S. Tom, Chung Chee Kit, S.A.M. Adshead, Paul Johnstone and Sean McGrail state that a steering oar is not a rudder; the steering oar has the capacity to interfere with handling of the sails (limiting any potential for long ocean-going voyages) while it was fit more for small vessels on narrow, rapid-water transport; the rudder did not disturb the handling of the sails, took less energy to operate by its [[helmsman]], was better fit for larger vessels on ocean-going travel, and first appeared in China.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 627&ndash;628.</ref><ref>Chung (2005), 152.</ref><ref name="tom 1989 103">Tom (1989), 103.</ref><ref>Johnstone & McGrail (1988), 191.</ref><ref name="adshead 2000 156">Adshead (2000), 156.</ref> Leo Block writes of the use of the steering oar in the ancient [[History of the Mediterranean region|Mediterranean world]] (specifically in regards to the [[Phoenicia]]ns, 1550&ndash;300 BC): "A single sail tends to turn a vessel in an upwind or downwind direction, and rudder action is required to steer a straight course. A steering oar was used at this time because the rudder had not yet been invented. With a single sail, a frequent movement of the steering oar was required to steer a straight course; this slowed down the vessel because a steering oar (or rudder) course correction acts like a break."<ref>Block (2003), 8&ndash;9.</ref> The oldest depicted rudders at the back of a ship, without the use of [[oar]]s or a steering oar, comes from several ceramic models of Chinese ships made during both the Western and Eastern eras of the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 649&ndash;650.</ref><ref>Fairbank (2006), 192.</ref><ref>Tom (1989), 103.</ref><ref name="deng 1997 42">Deng (1997), 42.</ref> According to the scholars Zhang Zunyan and Vassilios Christides, there is literary evidence to suggest that the axial stern rudder existed in China since the 1st century BC,<ref>Christides (1996), 66&ndash;67.</ref> while Gang Deng asserts the first reference was made in the ''[[Huainanzi]]'' of the 2nd century BC,<ref name="deng 1997 42"/> and K.S. Tom says the first clear reference dates to the 5th century AD.<ref name="tom 1989 103"/> However, K.S. Tom points to the fact that all Chinese pottery models of ships before this Guangzhou tomb model show steering oars instead of a rudder, which he states is strong evidence for the rudder's invention only by the 1st century AD.<ref>Tom (1989), 103&ndash;104.</ref> Jacques Gernet states that while the Chinese had invented the rudder in the 1st century AD, it was not completely fixed to the sternpost of Chinese ships until the end of the 4th century.<ref>Gernet (1996), 378.</ref> The bulkhead ship design of the ''[[junk (ship)|junk]]'', which appeared roughly the same time as the rudder, provided the essential vertical components for the hinged axial rudder.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 3 391"/> Deng points out that an Eastern Han (25&ndash;220) model distinctly shows a rudder located in its own separate cabin, suggesting that helmsmanship had already become an established profession.<ref name="deng 1997 42"/> Following the invention of the balanced rudder pivoted on an axis, Tom and Deng state that the Chinese then innovated the fenestrated rudder by the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279), with deliberate puncturing and boring out of holes in shapes such as diamonds, which, according to Tom, made the rudder "easier to steer, reduced turbulence drag, did not affect efficiency and was hydrodynamically sound."<ref name="tom 1989 104">Tom (1989), 104.</ref><ref name="deng 1997 42"/>

===S===
[[Image:EastHanSeismograph.JPG|thumb|A replica of [[Zhang Heng]]'s (78&ndash;139 AD) [[seismometer]] that employed a pendulum sensitive to [[inertia]] of ground tremors; while placed in [[Luoyang]] in 133, it detected an [[earthquake]] 400 to 500 km (250 to 310 mi) away in [[Gansu]]]] 
[[Image:Su Song Star Map 1.JPG|thumb|One of five printed star maps from [[Su Song]]'s (1020&ndash;1101) celestial atlas, included in his book on [[horology]] first printed in 1094]]
[[Image:Scunthorpe Molten Steel.jpg|thumb|Molten [[steel]]; the Chinese produced steel from [[cast iron]] in a process of [[decarburization]] since the 2nd century BC]]
[[Image:SancaiHorseTang7-8thCentury.JPG|thumb|A [[sancai]]-glazed horse statue from the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) showing a rider's [[stirrup]] connected to the [[saddle]]]]
[[Image:Luding bridge.jpg|thumb|The [[Luding Bridge]] in [[Sichuan]], an iron-chain suspension bridge]]
[[Image: Chajing.jpeg|thumb|right|A page of ''[[The Classic of Tea]]'' by the [[Tang Dynasty|Tang]] connoisseur of tea, [[Lu Yu]] (733&ndash;804)]]
[[Image:Kone med stor struma.jpg|thumb|A woman with [[goiter]]; the Chinese treated goiter with [[iodine]]-rich [[thyroid]] hormones since the 7th century AD during the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907).]]
[[Image:Tofu in miso soup by cathykid in Taipei.jpg|thumb|[[Tofu]] in [[miso soup]]; the Chinese invented tofu as early as the 2nd century BC during the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) if the traditional accounts about [[Liu An]] are correct.]]
[[Image:Figures in a cortege, tomb of Li Xian, Tang Dynasty.jpg|thumb|right|A wall mural of [[Li Xian]]'s tomb at [[Qianling Mausoleum]] (dated 706 AD), where the tomb murals and structural designs corresponded with the appearances and layouts, respectively, of actual residences where the tomb occupants had once lived during the [[Tang Dynasty]]]]
[[Image:Songrivership3.jpg|thumb|right|A Chinese [[Song Dynasty]] naval river ship with a Xuanfeng traction trebuchet catapult, taken from the ''[[Wujing Zongyao]]'', 1044 AD]]
[[Image:Hydraulic-Powdered Trip Hammers.jpg|thumb|Hydraulic-powered [[trip hammer]]s, from a [[Ming Dynasty]] encyclopedia published in 1637 by [[Song Yingxing]] (1587&ndash;1666)]] 
[[Image:Bo of Duke of Qin.jpg|thumb|An ornate bronze bell belonging to [[Duke Mu of Qin]] (d. 621 BC) from the [[Spring and Autumn Period]] (722&ndash;481 BC)]]
[[Image:Andrea Doria USCG 1.jpg|thumb|The underwater salvage operation for the [[SS Andrea Doria]], seen here sinking on [[July 25]], [[1956]], was similar to the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) Chinese underwater salvage of iron oxen statues from a river bed.]]

* '''[[Seismometer]]''': The official, astronomer, and mathematician [[Zhang Heng]] (78&ndash;139) of the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) invented the first seismometer in 132, a large metal urn-shaped instrument which employed either a suspended [[pendulum]] or [[inverted pendulum]] acting on inertia (i.e. ground tremors from [[earthquake]]s) to dislodge a metal ball by a lever trip device; this ball would fall out of dragon-shaped metal mouth into the corresponding metal toad mouth indicating the exact cardinal direction of where a distant earthquake had occurred in order for the state to send swift aid and relief to the affected regions; several subsequent recreations of his device were employed by Chinese states up until the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907), when use of the device fell into obscurity, a fact noted even by the writer Zhou Mi around 1290, during the [[Yuan Dynasty]] (1271&ndash;1368).<ref>Minford & Lau (2002), 307.</ref><ref>Balchin (2003), 26–27.</ref><ref>Needham (1986), Volume 3, 627&ndash;635.</ref><ref>Krebs (2003), 31.</ref><ref>Wright (2001), 66.</ref><ref>Huang (1997), 64.</ref><ref>Yan (2007), 131&ndash;132.</ref><ref name="tom 1989 104"/>

* '''[[South Pointing Chariot]]''': Although the claim of [[Cao Wei|Wei Dynasty]] statesman [[Ma Jun]] (fl. 220&ndash;265) that the South Pointing Chariot was first invented by the mythological [[Yellow Emperor]] are dubious, his South Pointing Chariot was successfully designed and tested in 255 AD with many later models recreated in subsequent dynasties; this device was a wheeled vehicle with [[Differential (mechanical device)|differential gears]] that ensured a mounted wooden figurine would always point in the southern direction no matter how the vehicle turned, in essence a non-magnetic [[compass]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 40, 286&ndash;298.</ref><ref>Day & McNeil (1996), 461.</ref><ref>Tom (1989), 98.</ref> The ''[[Book of Song]]'' written in the 6th century states that the device was successfully reinvented by the mathematician and astronmer [[Zu Chongzhi]] (429&ndash;500) during the [[Liu Song Dynasty]] (420&ndash;479).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 287.</ref> The [[Japan]]ese historical text ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'', compiled by 720, states that the device was crafted and presented as a gift to [[Emperor Tenji]] (661&ndash;672) on two different occasions (658 and 666) by the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) [[Chinese Buddhism|Chinese Buddhist]] monks Zhi Yu and Zhi You.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 289.</ref> The wheeled vehicle device was described in intricate detail in the historical text covering the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279), i.e. the ''Song Shi'' (compiled 1345); for example, it revealed the number of gear teeth on each mechanical gear wheel, the diameter of each gear wheel, and how these gear wheels were properly positioned.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 291&ndash;292.</ref>

* '''[[Star catalogue]]''': China's earliest known astronomers were [[Gan De]] of the [[Qi (state)|Qi State]] and [[Shi Shen]] of the [[Wei (state)|Wei State]], who created the earliest known star catalogues during the 4th century BC, roughly two centuries before the star catalogue of the Greek astronomer and mathematician [[Hipparchus]] (c. 190&ndash;c. 120 BC).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 3, 295.</ref><ref name="bowman 2000 594">Bowman (2000), 594.</ref> The star catalogue became a permanent feature of [[Chinese astronomy]] and some were quite large, such as the star catalogue of [[Zhang Heng]] (78&ndash;139) who catalogued 14,000 stars (2,500 of these he placed in a 'brightly shining' category) and recognized 124 constellations.<ref name="crespigny 2007 1050">Crespigny (2007), 1050.</ref><ref name="balchin 2003 27">Balchin (2003), 27.</ref>

* '''[[Star chart|Star chart, oldest printed]]''': Although certainly not the oldest existing star charts in the world, the star charts of the astronomer, official, and engineer [[Su Song]] (1020&ndash;1101) are the oldest ''[[History of typography in East Asia|printed]]'' star charts in the world.<ref name="sivin 1995 32">Sivin (1995), III, 32.</ref> His celestial atlas of five star charts were included in his book covering the workings of his [[clock tower]], written by 1092 and published in 1094 with several later editions published in the 12th, 17th, and 19th centuries.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 448.</ref> Su's star charts also feature the corrected position of the [[pole star]] as fixed by his contemporary [[Shen Kuo]] (1031&ndash;1095) by three degrees (i.e. halfway between -350 degrees and [[Polaris]]).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 3, 278.</ref>

* '''[[Steelmaking|Steel made from cast iron through oxygenation]]''': The Chinese, who had been producing [[cast iron]] from the late [[Spring and Autumn Period]] (722&ndash;481 BC), produced [[steel]] by the 2nd century BC through a process of [[decarburization]], i.e. using [[bellows]] to pump [[Oxygenation|large amounts of oxygen]] on to molten cast iron.<ref>Temple (1986), 49&ndash;50.</ref> This was first described in the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) book ''[[Huainanzi]]'', compiled by scholars under Prince [[Liu An]] (179&ndash;122 BC).<ref name="temple 1986 50">Temple (1986), 50.</ref> The Chinese called this technique "the hundred refinings method," since the process was repeated over and over to incrementally strengthen the steel.<ref name="temple 1986 50"/> The back of [[Chinese swords|swords]] were often made of more elastic [[wrought iron]] while the cutting edge of the blade itself was made of strong steel.<ref name="temple 1986 50"/> For steel, they used both [[quench]]ing (i.e. rapid cooling) and [[tempering]] (i.e. slow cooling) methods of [[heat treatment]].<ref name="temple 1986 50"/> Much later, the [[United States of America|American]] inventor [[William Kelly (inventor)|William Kelly]] (1811&ndash;1888) brought four Chinese metallurgists to [[Eddyville, Kentucky]] in 1845, whose expertise in steelmaking influenced his ideas about air injection to reduce carbon content of iron; his invention anticipated the [[Bessemer process]] of [[Henry Bessemer]] (1813&ndash;1898).<ref name="temple 1986 49">Temple (1986), 49.</ref>

* '''[[Stirrup]]''': There are authors who point out that it is unclear whether the stirrup was invented by northern nomads or the sedentary Chinese.<ref>[http://www.silk-road.com/artl/stirrup.shtml Dien] (1986), 33&ndash;56.</ref> Liu Han (1961) credited the invention of the stirrup to nomadic invaders of northern China.<ref>Dien (1981), 5&ndash;66.</ref> Archaeologial evidence shows that horse riders in [[India]] had a small loop for a single toe to be inserted by roughly the 1st century AD.<ref name="addington 45">Addington (1990), 45.</ref> However, the first true depiction of the stirrup is featured on a [[Jin Dynasty (265-420)|Jin Dynasty]] (265&ndash;420) Chinese tomb figurine dated 302 AD, yet this was a single stirrup and was perhaps used only for initially mounting the horse.<ref name="graff 2002 42">Graff (2002), 42.</ref> It should be noted that the latter was found in [[Changsha]], [[Hunan]], far from the northern border.<ref>Temple (1986), 89.</ref> The first validated depiction of a rider with a pair of saddle stirrups for both feet comes from a Jin Chinese tomb figurine dated 322.<ref name="graff 2002 42"/> The first actual specimens of stirrups comes from a Chinese tomb in southern Manchuria that is dated 415.<ref name="graff 2002 42"/> The stirrup was not widely used by Chinese cavalry until the 5th century.<ref name="addington 45"/><ref>Hobson (2004), 103.</ref> By the 6th century, the use of the stirrup had spread as far west as the [[Byzantine Empire]], where both the stirrup and [[Celts|Celtic]] [[horseshoe]] were adopted.<ref name="addington 45"/>

* '''[[Suspension bridge|Suspension bridge using iron chains]]''': Although there is evidence that many early cultures employed the use of suspension bridges with cabled ropes, the first written evidence of iron chain suspension bridges comes from a local history and topography of [[Yunnan]] written in the 15th century, which describes the repair of an iron chain bridge during the reign of the [[Yongle Emperor]] (r. 1402&ndash;1424); although it is questionable if [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644) Chinese claims that iron chain suspension bridges existed since the Han Dynasty, their existence in the 15th century predates that of anywhere else.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 3, 196&ndash;197.</ref> K.S. Tom mentions this same repaired Ming suspension bridge described by Needham, but adds that recent research has revealed a document which lists the names of those who allegedly built an iron chain suspension bridge in Yunnan around the year 600 AD.<ref>Tom (1989), 105&ndash;106.</ref>

===T===
* '''[[Tea|Tea, as a drink]]''': The tea plant is indigenous to western [[Yunnan]];<ref>Martin (2007), 8.</ref> by the mid [[2nd millennium BC]], tea was being consumed in Yunnan for medicinal purposes.<ref>Heiss (2007), 4&ndash;6.</ref> It was introduced from [[Sichuan]] to the population of northern China and middle and lower [[Yangtze River]] around the [[2nd century BC]]. Tea drinking was already an established custom in the daily life in this area as shown by the ''Contract with a Slave'', written by Wang Bao in 59 BC.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 5, 513.</ref> This written record also reveals that tea, used as a drink instead of a medicinal herb, emerged no later than the 1st century BC.<ref>Wang (2005), 2&ndash;3, 11.</ref> Early [[Chinese tea culture]] began from the time of [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) to the [[Southern and Northern Dynasties]] (420&ndash;589) when tea was widely used by Chinese gentry, but only took its initial shape during the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907).<ref>Wang (2005), 17&ndash;20.</ref> Utensil like handle-less tea bowl which first appeared in the [[Eastern Jin Dynasty]] (317&ndash;420), became popular among the tea drinkers of Tang.<ref>Heiss (2007), 296&ndash;297.</ref> The first book about tea was written by [[Lu Yu]] (733&ndash;804) in his ''[[The Classic of Tea]]''.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 6, Part 5, 506.</ref> 

* '''[[Thyroid|Thyroid hormone, treatment of goiter]]''': In 239 BC, ''[[Lushi Chunqiu|Master Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals]]'' stated that where water is too light, people suffer widespread [[baldness]] and [[goiter]].<ref name="temple 1986 135">Temple (1986), 135.</ref> It was not until the 1860 that [[Gaspard Adolphe Chatin]] (1813&ndash;1901) linked goiter with the lack of [[iodine]] in soil and water; iodine was discovered in the thyroid gland in 1896 by [[Eugen Baumann]], while thyroid extract was used to treat patients in 1890.<ref name="temple 1986 135"/> Long before this the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) physician Zhen Quan (d. 643 AD), in his ''Old and New Tried and Tested Prescriptions'', stated that the thyroid glands taken from [[Gelding|gelded]] [[Domestic sheep|rams]] were used to treat patients with goiter; the thyroid hormones could be swallowed in pill form (the body of the pill made from crushed [[jujube]] pulp) or as a solid thyroid gland with the fat taken off.<ref name="temple 1986 133 134">Temple (1986), 133&ndash;134.</ref> Another prescription by Wang Xi used air-dried glands ground into powder and taken with [[wine]].<ref name="temple 1986 134"/> Zhen's contemporary Cui Zhiti (fl. 650 AD) distinguished in his written work between a [[tumor]], which he described as an incurbale solid neck swelling, and a real goiter, which he described as curable and movable in the neck.<ref name="temple 1986 134">Temple (1986), 134.</ref> The Chinese also used the thyroid glands of [[pig]]s, [[Domestic buffalo|water buffalo]], and [[sika deer]] with success in treating goiter.<ref name="temple 1986 134"/> The ''Pharmacopoeia of the Heavenly Husbandman'' asserted that iodine-rich [[sargassum]] was used to treat goiter by the 1st century BC ([[Ge Hong]], 284&ndash;364, also suggested using a [[tincture]] derived from sargassum seaweed in about 340 AD),<ref name="medvei 1993 48">Medvei (1993), 48.</ref> a treatment unknown [[Western world|in the West]] until Roger of [[Palermo]] wrote his ''Practica Chirurgiae'' in 1180 AD.<ref name="temple 1986 134 135">Temple (1986), 134&ndash;135</ref>

* '''[[Tofu]]''': Although according to both popular tradition and [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279 AD) scholars like [[Zhu Xi]] (1130&ndash;1100 AD), the invention of [[tofu]]—along with [[soymilk]]—is credited to the [[Kings of the Han Dynasty|Han Dynasty King]] of [[Huainan]], [[Liu An]] (179&ndash;122 BC).<ref name="shurtleff aoyagi 2001 92">Shurtleff & Aoyagi (2001), 92.</ref><ref name="liu 1999 166">Liu (1999), 166.</ref><ref name="yang 2004 217 218">Yang (2004), 217&ndash;218.</ref> No traces of tofu are found in the extant ''[[Huainanzi]]'' (complied under Liu An) nor the ''[[Qi Min Yao Shu|Essential Skills for the Common People of Northern Qi]]'', written by Jia Sixie (fl. 6t century).<ref name="yang 2004 217 218">Yang (2004), 217.</ref> The earliest account of tofu was recorded by Tao Gu (903&ndash;970 AD) in his ''Records of the Extraordinary'', which reported about the tofu being sold at [[Qingyang County|Qingyang]], [[Anhui]]. While the earliest account on making of tofu are found in the ''[[Bencao Gangmu]]'', written by [[Li Shizhen]] (1518&ndash;1593).<ref name="yang 2004 217 218"/> It is believe that by the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907), tofu was consumed in other Asian countries like [[Japan]], yet it was not introduced [[Western world|to the West]] until modern times.<ref name="liu 1999 166"/> According to Shurtleff and Aoyagi, modern historians speculate that Liu An's tofu was very similar to modern tofu in that it was solidified by either [[seawater]] or [[Magnesium chloride|nigari]], the latter which the Chinese call ''lushui'' (卤水).<ref name="shurtleff aoyagi 2001 92"/> KeShun Liu states that Liu An's process for making tofu was essentially the same as in modern times: "Basically, [[soybean]]s are washed, soaked, and ground with water. The slurry is then filtered to make raw soymilk. The milk is heated before a coagulant is added to form a [[curd]]. The curd is finally pressed to separate [[whey]] from tofu."<ref>Liu (1999), 166&ndash;167.</ref> 

* '''[[Toilet paper]]''': Toilet paper was first mentioned by the official [[Yan Zhitui]] (531&ndash;591) in the year 589 during the [[Sui Dynasty]] (581&ndash;618), with full evidence of continual use in subsequent dynasties.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 123">Needham, Volume 5, Part 1, 123.</ref><ref>Hunter (1978), 207.</ref> In the year 851 during the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907), a [[Muslim]] [[Arab]] traveler from the [[Middle East]] commented that the Chinese used paper [[Anal cleansing|instead of water]] to clean themselves while going to the bathroom.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 123"/> By the mid 14th century during the [[Yuan Dynasty]] (1271&ndash;1368), it was written that ten million packages of 1,000 to 10,000 sheets of toilet paper were manufactured annually in [[Zhejiang]] province alone.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 123"/> It is also written that emperors of the [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368&ndash;1644) used [[perfume]]d toilet paper.<ref name="needham volume 5 part 1 123"/>

* '''[[Chinese pyramids|Tomb, structural design imitating real life residences]]''': The ancient Chinese built imperial tombs which by structural design imitated the actual living spaces and residences of the deceased tomb occupants when they were alive, a representation of their earthly life which would continue to serve them in the afterlife. For example, Fu Xinian writes that the tomb of [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) crown prince [[Li Chongrun]] (682&ndash;701) at the [[Qianling Mausoleum]] had a specific number and layout of "underground chambers, ventilation shafts, compartments, and air wells" which would have corresponded to the exact number and layout of "courtyards, main halls, rooms, and corridors" of his real palatial residence at [[Chang'an]].<ref name="fu 2002 108">Fu (2002), 108.</ref>

* '''[[Trebuchet|Traction trebuchet catapult]]''': The earliest type of trebuchet catapult was the traction trebuchet, developed first in China by the 5th or 4th century BC, the beginning of the [[Warring States Period]] (403&ndash;221 BC); to operate the trebuchet, a team of men pulled on ropes attached to the butt of the shorter segment of a long wooden beam separated by a rotating axle fixed to a base framework, allowing the longer segment of the beam to lunge forward and use its sling to hurl a missile; by the 9th century a hybrid of the traction and [[Trebuchet#History|counterweight trebuchet]], employing manpower and a pivoting weight, was used in the [[Middle East]], [[Mediterranean Basin]], and [[Northern Europe]]; by the 12th century, the full fledged counterweight trebuchet was developed under the [[Ayyubid dynasty]] of Islamic Syria and Egypt (described by [[Mardi bin Ali al-Tarsusi]]) and used in the [[Third Crusade]]; by the 13th century, the counterweight trebuchet found its way into [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) China via the [[Mongol invasion of China|Mongol invaders]] under [[Kublai Khan]] (r. 1260&ndash;1294) who used it in the [[Battle of Xiangyang|Siege of Xiangyang]] (1267&ndash;1273).<ref>Chevedden (1998), 179&ndash;222.</ref><ref>Turnbull (2001), 9, 45&ndash;46.</ref><ref>Chevedden (1999), 36.</ref>

* '''[[Trip hammer]]''': The ancient Chinese used [[pestle and mortar]] to pound and decorticate grain, which was superseded by the treadle-operated tilt hammer (employing a simple [[lever]] and [[fulcrum]]) perhaps during the [[Zhou Dynasty]] (1122&ndash;256 BC) but first described in a [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) dictionary of 40 BC and soon after by [[Yang Xiong (author)|Yang Xiong]] (53 BC&ndash;18 AD) in his ''[[Fangyan]]'' dictionary written in 15 BC; the next stage in this evolution of grain-pounding devices was to apply [[Hydraulics|hydraulic power]], which the author [[Huan Tan]] (43 BC&ndash;28 AD) mentioned in his ''Xinlun'' of 20 AD, although he also described trip hammers powered by the labor of horses, oxen, donkeys, and mules.<ref>Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 183&ndash;184, 390&ndash;392.</ref> After Huan Tan's book was written, numerous references to trip hammers powered by [[waterwheel]]s were made in subsequent Chinese dynasties and in Medieval Europe by the 12th century.<ref>Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 379, 392&ndash;395.</ref> However, trip hammers were also attested by both literary ([[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], ''[[Natural History]]'' 18.97) and archaeological evidence in fairly widespread use in the [[Roman Empire]] by the 1st century AD.<ref>Wilson (2002), 1&ndash;32.</ref><ref>Burnham (1997) 333&ndash;335.</ref>

* '''[[Bianzhong|Tuned bells]]''': The earliest complete set of tuned bells, sixteen in all, were found in Tomb 8 of [[Jin (state)|Marquis Su of Jin]] at Qucun, southern [[Shanxi]].<ref>Wang (2007), 8 & 26.</ref> A [[Chinese characters|355-character inscription]] on all sixteen bells collectively describes Marquis Su's participation in a military campaign led by the Zhou king.<ref>Xu (1996), 197 fn. 20, 204.</ref><ref>Li (2006), 86.</ref> The tomb has been dated by [[Accelerator mass spectrometry|AMS]] radiocarbon techniques to 815&ndash;786 BC.<ref>Guo et al (1996), 1112&ndash;1114.</ref> Tuned [[Bell (instrument)|bells]] which could produce two precise [[Pitch (music)|musical pitches]] (if struck at the center or struck on one side near the edge) existed in China during the [[Zhou Dynasty]] (c. 1050&ndash;256 BC).<ref name="temple 1986 199 200">Temple (1986), 199&ndash;200.</ref> Of the [[Bianzhong of Marquis Yi of Zeng|sixty-four bronze bells found]] in the [[tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng]] interred by 433 BC, forty-seven of them produce two notes with [[Interval (music)|minor third intervals]] while sixteen produce two notes with [[Interval (music)|major third intervals]].<ref name="temple 1986 199">Temple (1986), 199.</ref> Metal bells in China had their origins in metal grain scoops and measures; after the 6th century BC, the entire ancient Chinese system of measurement in standard length, width, weight, and volume was based on musical pitches of the tuned ''zhong'' vessel weighing 120 [[catty|catties]], as described in the ''Guoyu''.<ref name="temple 1986 199"/> A 2.1 m (7 ft) long stringed tuner known as a ''jun'' was used to gauge the standard measure of length of the metal ''zhong''.<ref name="temple 1986 199"/> Bells in ancient China served essentially as [[tuning forks]] in a standard set of twelve bells ([[Chromatic scale|one for each note]]), which were eventually replaced by twelve [[pitch pipe]]s (easier to manufacture).<ref name="temple 1986 199 200"/> In order to craft properly-tuned bells, a set of conditions had to be met: specific proportions of different metals in the [[alloy]]; elasticity and thickness of material; the [[specific gravity]]; diameters at different points; the contours of the bells' curves; the temperature reached in casting the bell and the cooling rate, etc.<ref name="temple 1986 200 201">Temple (1986), 200&ndash;201.</ref>

===U===
* '''[[Umbrella#China|Umbrella, collapsable]]''': The sun-shade parasol existed in ancient [[Babylonia]], [[Ancient Greece|Greece]], and [[Ancient Rome|Rome]], yet the first written evidence of collapsible umbrellas with mechanical sliding levers dates to the short-lived [[Xin Dynasty]] (9&ndash;23 AD), as it was [[Wang Mang]] (r. 9&ndash;23 AD) in 21 who had them installed on a ceremonial four-wheeled carriage.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 70">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 70.</ref> The [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) author Fu Qian commented in the 2nd century AD that collapsible umbrellas had bendable joints which allowed them to be extended or retracted.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 70&ndash;71.</ref> Actual collapsible umbrella stays from Wang Mang's time (or shortly after) have been unearthed at an archaeological excavation of Wang Guang's tomb in what was once the Han colony of [[Lelang Commandery]] (located now in [[North Korea]]).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 71"/> However, there is strong evidence for collapsable umbrellas being as old as the 6th century BC, during the [[Zhou Dynasty]] (1122&ndash;256 BC), as seen in the complex bronze socketed hinges with locking slides and bolts unearthed at [[Luoyang]] dating to that time.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 71">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 71.</ref> During the [[Cao Wei|Wei Dynasty]] (220&ndash;265), the common material used for the umbrella was changed from silk to an oiled heavy paper derived from the bark of the [[Morus (plant)|mulberry tree]], although silk umbrellas could still be found.<ref name="temple 1986 96">Temple (1986), 96.</ref>

* '''[[Marine salvage|Underwater salvage operations]]''': In 333 BC, nine bronze tripods were lost in the Si River; in 219 BC, [[Qin Shihuang]] (r. 221&ndash;210 BC) assembled an expedition to salvage them from the river bed using a system of ropes, but it was unsuccessful (this was even made a subject of art in a [[bas-relief]] of the period).<ref name="temple 1986 73">Temple (1986), 73.</ref> In the 11th century AD, a successful underwater salvage operation in [[Song Dynasty|Song China]] (960&ndash;1279) would employ the use of [[buoyancy]].<ref name="temple 1986 72 73">Temple (1986), 72&ndash;73.</ref> The Chinese understood the concept of buoyancy by at least the 3rd century AD; the short-lived child prodigy [[Cao Chong]] (196&ndash;208) weighed a large [[elephant]] by placing it on a boat in a pond and measuring the rise of the water level, then matching this weight with a boat loaded with numerous heavy objects which could be measured separately.<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 39.</ref> Between 1064 and 1067, the Pujin Bridge near Puzhou, a floating [[pontoon bridge]] built some 350 years earlier across the [[Yellow River]], was destroyed in a flood.<ref name="temple 1986 72"/> This bridge was made of boats secured by iron chains which were attached to eight different [[cast iron]] statues located on each river bank, cast in the shape of recumbent [[ox]]en.<ref name="temple 1986 72"/> The flood pulled the oxen from the sandy banks into the river, where they sunk to the bottom; after this loss, the local officials issued a proclamation for submission of ideas on how to recover the statues.<ref name="temple 1986 72"/> The plan of the Buddhist monk Huaibing was accepted, which Robert Temple describes: "On his instructions, workers filled two large boats with earth, [[Underwater diving|and divers attached cables]] from them to the oxen in the river bed. Then earth was gradually removed from the boats, which caused them to float higher and higher in the water. To everyone's delight, the buoyancy thus created lifted the oxen from the river bed. They were then dragged into shallower water simply by sailing the boats towards the shore."<ref name="temple 1986 72 73"/> This same technique was applied to salvage parts of the modern ocean liner [[SS Andrea Doria]] after it sank in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] in 1956; instead of filling boats with dirt, water was used and progressively leaked out of ore ships which lifted [[Hulk (ship)|the hulk]] from 68.5 m (225 ft) below the surface.<ref name="temple 1986 73"/>

===V===

===W===
[[Image:Qingming Festival Detail 7.jpg|thumb|One-wheeled Chinese wheelbarrow, from [[Zhang Zeduan]]'s (1085&ndash;1145) painting ''[[Along the River During Qingming Festival]]'', [[Song Dynasty]]]]
[[Image:Winnowing machine.jpg|thumb|right|Chinese rotary fan winnowing machine, from an encyclopedia published in 1637 by [[Song Yingxing]]]]
[[Image:Siangci.jpg|thumb|[[Xiangqi]] board game]]
[[Image:Zoetrope.jpg|thumb|right|A modern replica of a Victorian [[zoetrope]]]]

* '''[[Wheelbarrow]]''': There is scanty linguistic evidence that wheelbarrows (i.e. the ''hyperteria monokyklou'', or 'one-wheeler') might have existed in [[ancient Greece]] by the late 5th century BC,<ref>Lewis (1994), 470&ndash;427.</ref> but it has been commonly accepted that the wheelbarrow did not exist in Europe until the 13th century AD,<ref name="lewis 1944 453">Lewis (1994), 453.</ref> while their use in [[Han Dynasty|Western Han]] (202 BC &ndash; 9 AD) China by the 1st century BC is attested to by written evidence; illustrations of their use were depicted on tomb murals in China by the 2nd century AD, during the [[Han Dynasty|Eastern Han]] (25&ndash;220 AD).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 263&ndash;267.</ref><ref>Greenberger (2006), 13.</ref>

* '''[[Tang Dynasty#Innovations|Wine server, artificial mountain with a puppet]]''': In the early 8th century, a [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) engineer created an elaborate artificial mountain carved out of iron that was 0.9 m (3 ft) tall, sitting atop a [[lacquer]]ed-wooden frame shaped as a tortoise.<ref name="benn 144">Benn (2002), 144.</ref> From the mountain, wine flowed down onto cups that tilted by force of [[gravity]] and spilled the liquid into an artificial lake of wine; a hydraulic pump siphoned the wine back into a hidden reservoir of the mountain that could store 15 liters (16 quarts) of wine.<ref name="benn 144"/> The same pump was used to siphon wine through dragon-headed faucets which had a mouth with movable parts that could open when the wine was poured.<ref name="benn 144"/> The wine from the faucet poured into a cup which could be left on a large iron platform shaped as a lotus leaf.<ref name="benn 144"/> If the drinker was too slow in consuming the wine and placing the cup back in time, the door of a tiny pavilion on the top of the mountain opened automatically while a small puppet sprang forth holding a menacing bat to taunt the slow drinker.<ref name="benn 144"/> Once the cup was placed back on the lotus leaf, the puppet with the bat returned inside the pavilion while the miniature doors closed behind him.<ref name="benn 144"/>

* '''[[Winnowing|Winnowing fan]]''': Contemporary to the rotary air conditioning fan invented by Ding Huan (fl. 180 AD) is a pottery tomb model of a [[Crank (mechanism)|crank-operated]] rotary winnowing fan from the [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD), used for separating [[chaff]] from the [[grain]].<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 118, 153&ndash;154, PLATE CLVI.</ref><ref>Wang (1982), 57.</ref> The winnowing fan was first described during the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) by [[Yan Shigu]] (581&ndash;645), in his commentary on the ''Jijiupian'' dictionary written earlier in 40 BC by Shi Yu; it was also mentioned in a poem by the [[Song Dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) artist Mei Yaochen in about 1060.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 153 154">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 153&ndash;154.</ref> The earliest known drawn illustration of the winnowing fan comes from the ''Book of Agriculture'' published in 1313 by [[Wang Zhen (official)|Wang Zhen]] (fl. 1290&ndash;1333).<ref>Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 2, 118, 151&ndash;153.</ref>

===X===
* '''[[Xiangqi]]''': The exact origins of the Chinese chess board game known as ''xiangqi'' are ambiguous. Historian [[David H. Li]] asserts that it was first invented by [[Han Xin]] (d. 196 BC), a renowned military general of the early [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD) who fell victim to a purge instigated by [[Empress Lü Zhi]] (d. 180 BC), who accused him of trying to rebel, hence his board game quickly came to be associated with his infamous legacy.<ref>Li (1998), 214.</ref> However, Li states that it was revived under a different, camouflaged name of ''xiangxi'' by [[Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou]] (r. 561&ndash;578), which to this day has made the two terms synonymous and interchangeable for the same game.<ref name="li 1998 215">Li (1998), 215.</ref> Playing of the game was banned during the [[Sui Dynasty]] (581&ndash;618), yet [[Emperor Taizong of Tang|Emperor Taizong]] (r. 626&ndash;649) of the [[Tang Dynasty]] (618&ndash;907) became an enthusiast of the game and poets like [[Bai Juyi]] (772&ndash;846) even dedicated poems to it.<ref>Li (1998), 215&ndash;216.</ref> Variants of the game include ''[[banqi]]'' and ''[[giog]]''.

===Y===
===Z===
* '''[[Zoetrope]]''': There is some evidence that the zoetrope, an primitive ancestor of the [[cinematograph]] which the Chinese called a "magic lantern", existed amongst the items of the treasury of the deceased [[Qin Shi Huang]] (r. 221&ndash;210 BC) of the [[Qin Dynasty]] (221&ndash;206 BC).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 123">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 123.</ref><ref name="temple 1986 87">Temple (1986), 87.</ref> A magician named Shao Ong who staged a [[seance]] for [[Emperor Wu of Han]] (r. 141&ndash;87 BC) may have used a zoetrope in his performance of 121 BC.<ref name="temple 1986 87"/> The first clear evidence of the zoetrope used in China comes from the late [[Han Dynasty]] (202 BC &ndash; 220 AD), when the artisan [[Ding Huan]] (丁緩) made a 'nine-storied hill-censer' around 180 AD.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 123"/><ref name="temple 1986 87"/> This featured figures of birds and other animals who moved when the lamp was lit; the convection of rising hot air currents caused the vanes at the top canopy of the lamp to spin, while the painted figures on paper attached to the side of the cylinder gave the impression that they were in movement.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 123"/> This sort of toy was remade in subsequent dynasties as well.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 1 123 124">Needham (1986), Volume 4, Part 1, 123&ndash;124.</ref><ref>Temple (1986), 87&ndash;88.</ref>

==Lihat pula==
* [[Teknologi Greek purba]]
* [[Sejarah sains pada Zaman Kuno Klasik]]
* [[Sejarah sains dan teknologi di China]]
* [[Sejarah tipografi di Asia Timur]]
* [[Reka cipta di dunia Islam]]
* [[Senarai topik berkaitan China]]
* [[Senarai penemuan China]]
* [[Senarai reka cipta India]]
* [[Teknologi Wangsa Song]]
* [[Teknologi Rom]]
* [[Sains di Zaman Pertengahan Eropah Barat]]

==Nota kaki==
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