Ancient Chinese Contributions
Globally, ancient Chinese are recognized for their creativity that has enabled them to invent several things that are used by the contemporary society. These inventions led to the realization of the ability of enhancing human activities. Great inventions in ancient china includes gunpowder, papermaking, porcelain, the compass, iron ploughs, toilet paper, seed drill, row planting and printing-movable type. There are the ten inventions that ancient Chinese created. On the basis of the culture and history of the Chinese, different people across the world have used these inventions in performing different economic activities (Krebs, 2004).
Four out of these ten inventions are very innovative. These are the toilet paper, deep drilling, row planting and compass. On the bass of the human life’s nature, these are the most useful inventions of ancient Chinese. This is because it is impossible for people to live without them. First, compass development in ancient China enhanced creativity among the Chinese towards the end of the 4th century. Initially, compasses pointed towards the south. People used them in determining land use together with direction finders and divination tools (Chan, & Adler, 2013). This indicated the people’s ability to create tools for guiding them when it came to proper lands’ usage. The compass had a design that employed thermo-remanence technology. This technology was recorded towards the end of 1119. The most important thing is that this technology is being used even in the contemporary world. Compass development was among the ancient Chinese creative innovations and it was used in guiding individuals in making vital land use decisions as well as finding directions (Deng, 2011). Today, travelers use compass in ships and pilots use them in determining winds directions and movement.
Additionally, row planting as an invention offered a crops’ planting technique. This method’s usage made crops grow faster. Row planting began towards the end of the 6th century. This planting method has enabled farmers all over the globe to plant, water, weed as well as harvest crops with ease. Even people in the current world rely on agriculture for food (Eberhand, 2013). As such, row planting innovation aimed at introducing a new farming approach for minimizing damages while ensuring that crops were grown continuously. Row planting was generally innovative and useful in enhancing crops’ growth which improved food security.
Deep drilling invention represents a technological innovation of ancient Chinese. It demonstrates an approach for getting underground water. This is a similar innovation to the contemporary engineering works. Derricks would be set up by the Chinese that rose above the borehole up to 180 feet. Ropes and rocks were used during the process. There is evidence that shows that this invention was among the first inventions that the Europeans used (Landes, Mokyr, & Baumol, 2012). As such, it proves that it was among the first industrial developments of ancient Chinese. Deep drilling in the contemporary world is employed in underground exploration and oil exploration which are important for human existence.
Toilet paper was invented by ancient Chinese and this indicated hygienic paper use during the late Chinese Dynasties. The paper was used in 1851 by the Chinese in cleansing themselves and putting water. This indicated that the Chinese could pay attention to their health. About 500,000 sheets were used every year since the end of the 1300’s (Matthews, & Pelt, 2009). Later, the introduction of toilet paper on commercial basis was done in 1857 when the toilet paper was officially invented by the Chinese. On the basis of reliable research, toilet paper’s invention was among the most ethical and creative innovations (Chang, 2011). This is because its target was hygiene and good health of the society.
These were the top inventions of ancient Chinese. It is impossible for me to live without toilet paper. This innovation though simple is among the most useful and creative innovations. Almost all households use toilet papers for different purposes including cleaning tables and using them in toilets. These papers are also used for general cleaning. Toilet paper is less costly and environmental friendly. It is designed to ensure a clean and healthy environment for humans. Small toilet paper pieces are used in the composite pile and these form manure (Xuetong, & Yan, 2010). As such, it is impossible for me to imagine a life without toilet paper because it helps in keeping bodies clean and healthy and the paper is environmental friendly.
In a nutshell, people recognize ancient Chinese for being imaginative and creative as seen in different inventions. These inventions are still dominating the contemporary society because they are economically viable and useful. They include gunpowder, papermaking, porcelain, iron ploughs, compass, deep drilling, printing-movable, toilet paper, and row planting. People in different places across the globe use and apply these inventions. Nevertheless, four out of these are highly innovative and these are toilet paper, row planting, deep drilling and the compass. The hygienic focus of toilet paper makes it impossible for me to live without it. Different reliable researches have shown that the inventions of ancient Chinese are the most ethical and creative innovations.
References
Chan, W. T., & Adler, J. (2013). Sources of Chinese Tradition: Volume 2: From 1600 through the Twentieth Century (Vol. 2). New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
Chang, C. Y. (2011). Creativity and Taoism: A study of Chinese philosophy, art and poetry. New Delhi: Singing Dragon.
Deng, Y. (2011). Ancient Chinese inventions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Eberhard, W. (2013). A history of China. London: Routledge.
Krebs, E. R. (2004). Groundbreaking scientific experiments, inventions, and discoveries of the middle ages and the renaissance. Greenwood Publishing Group
Landes, D. S., Mokyr, J., & Baumol, W. J. (Eds.). (2012). The invention of enterprise: Entrepreneurship from ancient Mesopotamia to modern times. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Matthews, R., & Pelt, V. T. (2009). Ancient Chinese civilization. The Rosen Publishing Group
Xuetong, Y., & Yan, X. (2011). Ancient Chinese Thought, Modern Chinese Power. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.