Chinese

Civilization
Consolidated by:
Mrs. Lorna C. Aban
Center for Natural Sciences
School of Health and Natural Sciences
Chinese Civilization
• Considered to be the oldest
civilization in Asia
• Also known as the middle
kingdom, located on the far east
Asia
• Not a great amount was written
Reference: McNamara, D. J., Valverde, V. M., & Beleno, R.
about the ancient China partly due (2018) Science, Technology, and Society. C & E Publishing, Inc.
Quezon City. All Rights Reserved
to its distance from the other https://www.ancient.eu/image/4980/yuantong-temple/

civilizations
Silk
• It is one of the things that connected Far
East China to the world.
• Although silk is naturally produced by
silkworms, the Chinese were the ones
who developed the technology to harvest
the silk and process it to produce paper
and clothing.
• Silk production resulted in the creation of
a product for trade, making way for McNamara, D. J., Valverde, V. M., & Beleno, R. (2018)
cultural, economic, and scientific Science, Technology, and Society. C & E Publishing, Inc.
Quezon City. All Rights Reserved
exchange. http://www.historyshistories.com/china-silk-road-
activity.html
Tea Production
• Tea is a beverage produced by pouring
hot or boiling water over crushed or
shredded dried tea leaves
• Tea production was developed when an
unknown Chinese inventor created a Shennong (Chinese: 神农), whose
name means the Divine Farmer -- and
machine that was able to shred tea who is considered as the ancient
leaves into strips. Chinese Father of Agriculture, is
honored with the discovery of tea.
• This production may have resulted in McNamara, D. J., Valverde, V. M., & Beleno, R.

making tea as one of the most popular (2018) Science, Technology, and Society. C & E
Publishing, Inc. Quezon City. All Rights Reserved
http://www.china.org.cn/learning_chinese/Chines
beverages in the world today. e_tea/2011-07/15/content_22999489.htm
Great wall of China
• Once considered the only man-made
structure that could be seen from outer
space
• It is said to be the largest and most
extensive infrastructure that the nation
built.
• Constructed to keep out foreign invaders
and control the borders of China.
• Made with stone, brick, wood, earth, and
other materials, it showcased the extent of
Chinese engineering technology at that
time.
originally conceived by Emperor Qin Shi
Huang in the third century B.C.
The best-known and best-preserved section
of the Great Wall was built in the 14th
through 17th centuries A.D., during the
Ming dynasty
McNamara, D. J., Valverde, V. M., & Beleno, R. (2018)
Science, Technology, and Society. C & E Publishing, Inc.
Quezon City. All Rights Reserved
https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-china/great-wall-
of-china
Gunpowder
• Originally, it was developed by Chinese
alchemists who aimed to achieve
immortality.
• They mixed charcoal, sulfur, and
potassium nitrate, but instead of creating
an elixir of life, they accidentally
invented a black powder that could gunpowder is also used in
fireworks during important
actually generate large amounts of heat celebrations in China
and gas in an instant.
• gunpowder is widely used to propel McNamara, D. J., Valverde, V. M., & Beleno,
R. (2018) Science, Technology, and Society. C
bullets from guns and cannons which & E Publishing, Inc. Quezon City. All Rights

cause countless deaths. Reserved

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Great_In
ventions
Bronze Production
• The bronze works of ancient China
produced under the Shang Dynasty
(1766 – 1122 BCE) were technically
perfect and sophisticated beauty
and style, the result of a long story
of experimental progress in
combining varying proportions of
copper, tin, lead and zinc until the Bronze gu from Anyang, Henan province, China, Shang
dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE); and Bronze jia, Shang
ideal mix was attained (Greaves et dynasty (18th–12th century BCE); in the William Rockhill
Nelson Gallery and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts,
al., 1990). Kansas City, Mo.
https://www.britannica.com/art/Chinese-bronzes
Medicine
• Chinese medical practices – particularly, apothecaries and
acupuncture – proven effective cures to most known diseases, have
been handed down almost unchanged to the present (Dauben, 1990).
• Acupuncture was used to treat illnesses or pain by pricking the
patience body with needles at point believed to be connected with the
visceral organs causing the physical pain.

The greatest medical

https://www.britannica.com/science
/traditional-Chinese-medicine contribution of the Han
https://www.healthcmi.com/Acupun
cture-Continuing-Education-
culture was the
News/2009-chinese-herbal- discovery of healing
medicine-for-covid-19-coronavirus-
treatment drugs and herbs
Paper Making
• The invention of paper making in 105 CE
is generally credited to Cai Lun.
• By using vegetable fibers made from
hemp rope ends, cloth rags, and old
fishing nets, Cai Lun created an easy and
affordable way of making paper (Selin,
1993b).
• Evidence point to the fact that in ancient
China, paper was used not only for writing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History
(Selin, 1993b). _of_paper
Paper Making
• Coarser and stronger paper was used for
clothing (it was warm and impenetrable by
cold winds), lacquer-ware, wall decor, and
even military armor.
• The use of toilet paper was also traced in
China back to the 6th century.
• Soon after its invention, paper became a
setting for Chinese artistry: its use led to
the development of calligraphy, watercolor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His
painting, and block printing. tory_of_paper
What are the other S and T influence of the ancient
Chinese Civilization in todays’ time?