Reading Notes 18

Exploration and TravelCompass

• Early Chinese compasses were made of a rock called lodestone, which, when floating, points north-south.

• The Chinese eventually replaced lodestone with steel needles.

Compass

• The compass still helps travelers navigate.

Exploration and TravelCanal Lock

• The canal lock allowed boats to pass from one level to another in a canal.

• The canal lock could raise boats 100 feet above sea level.

Canal Lock

• Canal locks are still used on modern canals like the Panama Canal.

IndustryMovable Type

• Movable type uses a separate block for each character.

• Printers made characters out of clay, baked them, and then placed them in an iron frame.

Movable Type

• Until recently, all newspapers, books, and magazines were printed using movable type.

IndustryPorcelain

• Porcelain is a form of pottery of great beauty that some historians think was developed in the first century C.E.

• Porcelain was mass-produced.

Porcelain

• Fine dishes are still called “china” after fine porcelain.

Military TechnologyGunpowder

• The discovery of gunpowder made possible the development of powerful weapons.

• Gunpowder may have been discovered by accident by people looking for a way to extend life.

Gunpowder

• Gunpowder changed the way wars were conducted around the world.

Military TechnologyRockets

• Rockets were first used in fireworks.

• The Chinese made a two-stage rocket, with the first stage carrying the weapon over the enemy and the second stage dropping arrows.

Rockets

• The rockets we use to explore space are based on the same principles as ancient Chinese rockets.

Everyday ObjectsPaper Money

• Paper money replaced coins.

• Paper money was printed with wood blocks using many colors on each bill.

Paper Money

• Paper money is the most common form of currency today.

Everyday ObjectsMechanical Clock

• The mechanical clock had a wheel that made one revolution every 24 hours. Dripping water turned it.

• Every quarter hour drums would beat, and every hour a bell would chime so people knew what time it was.

Mechanical Clock

• Modern mechanical clocks are based on the same principles as early Chinese clocks.

Disease PreventionSmallpox

• The Chinese developed a way to inoculate people against smallpox.

• They made a powder from the scab of an infected person and inserted it into the nose of the person who wanted protection.

Smallpox

• We have vaccines for many diseases.

Additional Chinese Discoveries and Inventions