What other inventions were made in ancient China?

Kongming lantern, keel waterwheel, seismograph, paper, iron plow, etc.

1, Kongming Lantern

Kongming lanterns are also called sky lanterns, commonly known as wishing lanterns and blessing sky lanterns. It is an ancient handicraft in China, which was used for military purposes in ancient times. Modern people put lanterns on Kongming lanterns as a blessing. The wishes of men, women and children to write blessings by hand symbolize the bumper harvest and happiness every year. Generally, it is released on major festivals such as Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival.

According to legend, in the Five Dynasties (907-960 AD), there was a woman named Xin Abandoned Mother. When she was fighting with her husband in Fujian, she made a box with bamboo sticks, pasted paper on it and made a headlight. Burning turpentine was placed on the chassis, and the lamp was blown into the sky by hot air as a military contact signal.

This kind of resin lamp is called Kongming Lantern in Sichuan. According to legend, this kind of lantern looks like a hat worn by Zhuge Liang, hence the name Kongming Lantern.

Another saying is said to have been invented by Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period. At that time, Zhuge Liang was besieged in Pingyang and could not send troops out of the city for help. Kong Ming calculated the wind direction, made a floating paper lantern, tied with the message for help, and then escaped as expected, so later generations called this lantern Kong Ming Lantern.

2, keel waterwheel

The keel waterwheel is also called "rollover", "treadmill" and "waterwheel", and it is called "keel" in the province. Irrigation tools in the history of Han nationality are very popular in most areas of China. This kind of water lifting facility has a long history. Because it is shaped like a keel, it is named "keel waterwheel".

Its structure is that the wooden board is used as the groove, the tail is immersed in the water flow, and there is a small shaft 1. At the other end, there is a small shaft, which is fixed on the wooden frame of the embankment. When in use, step on the turnstile to make the big wheel shaft rotate, and drive the blades in the groove to wipe water upwards and pour it into the higher ground.

Later, there was a water-to-dragon-bone cart powered by running water, and the ox cart pulled the ox wheel and turned over. And a car turned over by the wind. In Guangdong and other places, it is called "hand shaking" when it is lightly applied to the ditch between fields.

3. Seismograph

Seismograph is a masterpiece created by Zhang Heng, a scientist in the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the Eastern Han Dynasty when Zhang Heng lived, earthquakes were frequent. Zhang Heng has a lot of personal experience about earthquakes. In order to master the national earthquake dynamics, after years of research, he finally invented the Hou Feng seismograph in the first year of Yangjia (AD 132), which was also the first seismograph in the world.

The seismograph has eight directions. There is a dragon ball in the mouth of each direction, and there is a toad under each faucet. If there is an earthquake on both sides, the dragon ball in the longkou in that direction will fall into the toad's mouth, so that the direction of the earthquake can be measured.

In November of the third year of Yang Jia, Emperor Shundi of Han Dynasty (AD 134 13 February), a dragon machine of the seismograph suddenly started, spitting out a copper ball and falling into toad's mouth.

At that time, people in the capital (Luoyang) did not feel any signs of the earthquake, so some people began to talk about it, blaming the seismograph for its ineffectiveness.

A few days later, someone in Longxi (now Tianshui, Gansu) reported that an earthquake did happen there a few days ago, so people began to believe in Zhang Heng's superb technology. Longxi is more than 1000 miles away from Luoyang, and the seismograph marks correctly, which shows that its seismic sensitivity is relatively high.

However, due to the long history, Zhang Heng's seismograph has been lost, leaving only a written record of more than 100 words.

4. paper

Paper, made of plant fibers, can be folded and written at will. Paper is the carrier of writing and printing, and can also be used for packaging, sanitation and other purposes, such as printing paper, carbon paper, toilet paper, facial paper and so on. Paper with randomly crossed fibers was invented in China.

The earliest paper existed 2200 years ago in the early Western Han Dynasty, but it was still rough and not widely used. 105, Cai Lun was considered as the originator of modern papermaking after improvement.

Chinese characters were invented in the Shang Dynasty, and Oracle Bone Inscriptions was used as writing material. During the Spring and Autumn Period, bamboo chips, wood chips and silk were discovered and used as writing materials. But because silk is too expensive and bamboo chips are too heavy, paper is produced.

As one of four great inventions of ancient china, papermaking, together with compass, gunpowder and printing, provided material and technical basis for the prosperity of ancient culture in China. The invention of paper ended the complicated history of ancient bamboo slips and greatly promoted the spread and development of culture.

The map paper unearthed in Fangmatan, Tianshui, Gansu Province is the earliest pulp paper found in the world.

5. Iron plough

The iron plow first appeared in China during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Iron plows from the Warring States Period were unearthed at Yanxiadu Site in Yixian County, Hebei Province and Huixian County, Henan Province. The invention of the iron plough share is a remarkable achievement, which marks a new period of human social development and a new stage of human struggle to transform nature.

The iron plow, a farm tool in the Han Dynasty, has a plow wall and can turn over and break the soil. /kloc-the iron plow was introduced into Holland in the 0/7th century, which triggered the agricultural revolution in Europe.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Kongming Lantern

Baidu encyclopedia-keel waterwheel

Baidu Encyclopedia-Papers

Baidu Encyclopedia-Tieli

Baidu encyclopedia-seismograph