Four Great Inventions

The four great inventions of China (Chinese四大 发明) are the paper, the printing press, gunpowder and the compass.

• The paper ( zhi纸) was presented to the Chinese emperor of the Han Dynasty by Cai Lun.
• At the beginning of the art of printing was a woodcut method with whole disks, which was developed during the Tang Dynasty. Printing with movable type ( Huozi yinshua活字印刷) was invented by Bi Sheng Printing Workers in the Song Dynasty. He used characters from clay, which were later replaced by wood and tin. The European art of printing with movable type developed independently by the Chinese and was invented in the 15th century by Johannes Gutenberg.
• The powder (Chinese: huoyao火药= fire medicine) used the Chinese also for fireworks by packing bamboo tubes with powder. The fireworks should drive away evil spirits or was just so fired at parties for fun.
• The magnetic compass (Chinese: zhinanzhen指南针= To the south pointing needle ) is attested in China for the first time in the 4th century BC. Europe took the compass around 1190 by the Chinese.