The Four Great Inventions
During the Song period the Chinese people further developed the
making of the compass, paper, gunpowder, and the art of printing.
Together, they are called the four great inventions that China con-
tributed to the world.
As early as the Warring States period the magnetic force of mag-
netite was discovered, and a sort of instrument was made of mag-
netite to show directions. This was certainly the earliest compass in
the world. What it was like is unknown today.
During the Han period, people made a spoon-like compass. A
small spoon, made of magnetite, with a very smooth bottom, was
placed on a square copper plate. The center of the plate was ground
smooth to make it easy for the spoon to move. When the spoon, after
it was turned, came to a stop, its handle would point to the south.
This form of compass was further improved during the Song pe-
riod. People made iron needles and rubbed them on a piece of mag-
netite, so that they would become magnetic. Then one such needle
was hung with a thin thread, or put on something light that floated
on the water in a bowl. The latter was the compass that was first
used in navigation.
China was the first country in the world to use the compass on
sea-going ships. Historical records show that in 1099 - 1102 the
compass was used on ships sailing to or from Guangzhou.
It was generally believed that paper was first made by a man
called Cai Lun in 105 during the Eastern Han dynasty. However, in
recent decades, earlier paper made during the Western Han was un-
earthed in Xinjiang, Shanxi and Gansu. So we have reason to believe
that paper was invented in the Western Han and was improved by Cai
Lun in the Eastern Han. In later periods, different materials were
used for making paper, and its quality became better and better. The
famous Xuan paper, produced in Xuanzhou, Anhui, first appeared in
the Tang dynasty. Its quality was so good that all calligraphers and
painters liked to use it. Even today it is considered the best kind of
paper for calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting.
Druing the Song period, bamboo began to be used for making
paper, and the output of bamboo paper increased rapidly.
In 751, during the reign of Tang Xuanzong, the Chinese tech-
nique of making paper was introduced to the Arab world, and from
there to Europe in 1150. In other words, Europe knew how to make
paper about a thousand years later than China.
The Chinese invented gunpowder about 1,100 years ago. To-
wards the end of. the Tang, gunpowder was first used in war. In
904, during a battle between local forces, a weapon then called "fly-
ing fire" was used. It was a packet of gunpowder tied to the head of
an arrow. After the fuse was lighted, the arrow was shot to the ene-
my side, and the gunpowder would cause damage or kill men.
During the Song period, the making and use of gunpowder
reached a new level. Various kinds of weapons with gunpowder were
invented. The Song, Jin and Yuan armies all used these weapons in
war.
Gunpowder was introduced to the Arab world during the 13th
century. In the next century some European countries began to make
gunpowder weapons with methods they had learned from the Arabs.
Before printing was invented, people had to rely on handwriting
to reproduce a book. It was very slow and errors easily occurred.
Wood-block printing first appeared in the early Tang period. It
was developed from the use of seals and stone engraving. Words en-
graved on stones could last very long, and later, in about the 4th cen-
tury, the method of rubbing a piece of paper on an engraved stone
covered with ink was used to make copies. This gave workers the
idea of engraving words on a wood-block and print them. With the
quick development of the economy and culture in the Tang dynasty,
books and other publications like calendars were needed by the pub-
lic, and this demand promoted wood-block printing. According to
records in certain books, block printing was very common in the late
Tang period.
During the Song dynasty, the technique of block printing was
very advanced. Books were beautifully printed. Even today the books
printed at that time are valuable and treasured by libraries and book
collectors.
Block printing was not very convenient. Every two pages of a
book had to be engraved on a wood block, and a big book would re-
quire many blocks. Besides, there had to be large places for storing
the blocks. To overcome these shortcomings, Bi $heng invented the
movable type during the years between 1041 and 1048. One word
was carved on one piece of clay, which was hardened with fire. Then
clay characters were set on an iron plate according to the text of a
book. Then ink was applied to them and sheets of paper spread over
them, and the printing was done.
Bi Sheng's invention made printing faster and easier than be-
fore. Later, movable type of metal and wood was made and widely
used. One county magistrate of the Yuan period had over 30,000
wood characters carved, with which he printed a book he had writ-
to reproduce a book. It was very slow and errors easily occurred.
Wood-block printing first appeared in the early Tang period. It
was developed from the use of seals and stone engraving. Words en-
graved on stones could last very long, and later, in about the 4th cen-
tury, the method of rubbing a piece of paper on an engraved stone
covered with ink was used to make copies. This gave workers the
idea of engraving words on a wood-block and print them. With the
quick development of the economy and culture in the Tang dynasty,
books and other publications like calendars were needed by the pub-
lic, and this demand promoted wood-block printing. According to
records in certain books, block printing was very common in the late
Tang period.
During the Song dynasty, the technique of block printing was
very advanced. Books were beautifully printed. Even today the books
printed at that time are valuable and treasured by libraries and book
collectors.
Block printing was not very convenient. Every two pages of a
book had to be engraved on a wood block, and a big book would re-
quire many blocks. Besides, there had to be large places for storing
the blocks. To overcome these shortcomings, Bi $heng invented the
movable type during the years between 1041 and 1048. One word
was carved on one piece of clay, which was hardened with fire. Then
clay characters were set on an iron plate according to the text of a
book. Then ink was applied to them and sheets of paper spread over
them, and the printing was done.
Bi Sheng's invention made printing faster and easier than be-
fore. Later, movable type of metal and wood was made and widely
used. One county magistrate of the Yuan period had over 30,000
wood characters carved, with which he printed a book he had writ-
suffered heavy losses. The Great Khan (Genghis Khan's son) who
personally directed the invasion in Sichuan was killed in battle. Un-
fortunately the Song rulers were bent on reaching an agreement with
the enemy and therefore would not give proper support to the front.
In 1276 the Mongols occupied Hangzhou, the capital of the Southern
Song. It came to an end three years later. Eight years before, in
1271, Kublai Khan had founded the Yuan dynasty and made Beijing
its capital.
The political and economic systems of the Yuan were basically
those of the Chinese, but the Chinese, or Han people, were discrimi-
nated against and oppressed. They were excluded from important po-
sitions both in the government and in the army. The civil service ex-
aminations were stopped. Because of this, Han scholars were unable
to become officials.
As the Mongols ruled over the greater part of Asia and part of
Europe, communications between these two continents were made
easier than before. Groups of people from Europe and the Middle
East came to China. Among them was the well-known traveller
Marco Polo ( 1254 - 1324) from the city of Venice in present-day
Italy.