Four-Great-Inventions—四大发明.ppt

1、Four Great Inventions,TheFour Great Inventions are inventions fromancient Chinathat are celebrated inChinese culturefor their historical significance and as symbols of ancient Chinas advancedscienceandtechnology.,Four Great Inventions,Gunpowder,Paper making,Printing,Compass,Reference Websites,Four G

2、reat Inventions,Summary,Paper making,Four Great Inventions,Before the invention of paper, characters were written on animal bones, turtle backs or stones. Later, silk and more widely used bamboo slips and wooden tablets were used to record things.,Four Great Inventions,The paper made during the west

3、ern Han Dynasty discovered in a tomb at the Fangmatan site in Tianshui, Gansu Province in 1986 is the earliest paper in the world discovered so far.,Paper making,Cai Lun of the eastern Han Dynasty renovated the previous immature paper making techniques and broadened the choice of raw materials, givi

4、ng a boost to the development of paper making.,Four Great Inventions,Paper making,Four Great Inventions,As the paper making technique was spread to West and East Asia as well as other parts of the world via the Silk Road, the popularization of knowledge among ordinary people was realized and therefo

5、re greatly boosted the development of global technology and economy. The invention and spreading of Chinas paper making and printing also in a way served as a catalyst for the Renaissance and religious reforms in Europe.,Paper making,Four Great Inventions,Hemp wrapping paper, China, circa 100 BC,Pap

6、er making,Four Great Inventions,Printing has a long history and far-reaching impact. With a development process of over 5,000 years, printing is a key component of Chinese civilization.,Printing,Four Great Inventions,Inspired by engraved name seals, Chinese people invented fixed-type engraved printi

7、ng around 600 A.D. The skill played an important role in the Song Dynasty but its shortcomings were apparent. It was time-consuming to engrave a model, not easy to store, and not easy to revise errors.,Printing,Four Great Inventions,During the reign of Emperor Ren Zong of the Northern Song Dynasty,

8、Bi Sheng invented moveable, reusable clay type after numerous tests. Single types were made and picked out for printing certain books.,These types could be used again and again for different books.,Printing,Four Great Inventions,Today, thistypesetting technique is regarded as a revolution in the ind

9、ustry. About 200 years later, this moveable-type technique spread to other countries and advanced the development of world civilization.,Printing,Four Great Inventions,The intricate frontispiece of the Diamond SutrafromTang Dynasty China, AD 868 (British Museum),Printing,Four Great Inventions,Printi

10、ng,Four Great Inventions,Gunpowder was discovered in the 9th century by Chinese alchemists searching for an elixir of immortality. By the time the Song Dynasty treatise, Wujing Zongyao was written by Zeng Gongliang and Yang Weide in AD 1044, the various Chinese formulas for gunpowder held levels of

11、nitrate in the range of 27% to 50%.,Gunpowder,Four Great Inventions,By the end of the 12th century, Chinese formulas of gunpowder had a level of nitrate capable of bursting through cast iron metal containers, in the form of the earliest hollow, gunpowder-filled,grenade bombs.,Gunpowder,Four Great In

12、ventions,In AD 1280, the bomb store of the large gunpowder arsenal at Weiyang accidentally caught fire.,Gunpowder,Four Great Inventions,Handgun from the Yuan dynasty, circa 1300s.,Early Chinese rocket,Gunpowder,Four Great Inventions,Chinese Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) matchlock firearms,Gunpowder,Four

13、Great Inventions,For most of Chinese history, the compass that remained in use was in the form of a magnetic needle floating in a bowl of water. The compass was widely used in Ancient China for navigational purposes.,Diagram of a Ming Dynasty mariners compass,Compass,Four Great Inventions,The Chines

14、e found out that natural magnets are abundant, and that by making magnets, they were able to align the pieces in a North/South position.,The magnets were then placed in a bowl of water with directional bearings.,Compass,Four Great Inventions,Model of a Han Dynasty (206 BC220 AD) south-indicating lad

15、le or sinan. It is theorized that the south-pointing spoons of the Han dynasty were magnetized lodestones,Compass,Four Great Inventions,The compass in real sense was created by a Chinese geomantic omen master in late Tang Dynasty, who originally used it for divination. The major material of the comp

16、ass is magnetized steel needle, making up for the flaw that magnetism is easily lost in lodestones, of which Sinan was made.,Compass,Four Great Inventions,Compass,Four Great Inventions,The compass body was first made simple, then complicated and finally simple enough for application in navigation. W

17、ith the help of it, human beings finally made their first stride in conquering the sea, while the compass itself was brought to all over the world along with the sea waves, significantly driving the development of navigation in both China and the world.,Compass,Four Great Inventions,Summary,Four Great Inventions,Summary,Four Great Inventions,The Four Great Inventions of ancient China are very important for both China and the world, for they are the signs of ancient Chinas a