The History of Science and

Technology in China
BANGUILAN, Maricar
BARSANA, Alvin Chuck
BAUTISTA, Hannah Kloie
CANO, Jhoanalei
JACOB, Jomarie
MARFIL, John Gabriel
MENDOZA, Honeylou
SALUDO, Rizza Mae
SUNGA, Ken Irish
Foreword

 The history of science and technology in China is both long and rich with
many contributions to science and technology.

 In antiquity, independently of Greek philosophers and other civilizations,

ancient Chinese philosophers made significant advances in science,
technology, mathematics, and astronomy.

 The first recorded observations of comets, solar eclipses, and supernovae

were made in China. Traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture and
herbal medicine were also practiced.
 Early scientific and
technological achievements
Medicine

 One of the oldest longstanding contributions of the ancient Chinese are in

Traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture and herbal medicine,
derived from Daoist philosophy.

 The first writings on medicine appeared between the eleventh and the
third centuries B.C.E., like the Wu Shi Er Bing Fang, Prescriptions for Fifty-Two
Diseases found in a tomb excavated in 1973 near Mawangdui.

 The practice of acupuncture can be traced as far back as the first

millennium B.C.E. and some scientists believe that there is evidence that
practices similar to acupuncture were used in Eurasia during the early
Bronze Age.
Fig 1.1 Old Chinese medical chart of Fig 1.2 The Recipes for Fifty-two Diseases
acupuncture meridians. (Wu Shi Er Bing Fang)
Technology

 The mechanical engineer Ma Jun (c. 200-265 C.E.) was another impressive
figure from ancient China. Ma Jun improved the design of the silk loom,
and designed a mechanical chain pump to irrigate palatial gardens.

 Ma Jun's most impressive invention was the South Pointing Chariot, a

complex mechanical device that acted as a mechanical compass
vehicle. It incorporated the use of a differential gear in order to apply
equal amount of torque to wheels rotating at different speeds, a device
that is found in all modern automobiles.
Fig 1.3 Chain pump Fig 1.4 South Pointing Chariot
Time-keeping, Counting, Arms and
Astronomy
 The ancient Chinese also invented counting and time-keeping devices,
which facilitated mathematical and astronomical observations. Shadow
clocks, the forerunners of the sundial, first appeared in China about 4,000
years ago, while the Abacus was invented in China sometime between
1000 B.C.E. and 500 B.C.E., it is an invention that helps an individual to
count and perform simple arithmetic problems.

 The crossbow was developed under the Warring States period. The
followers of the philosopher Mozi (544-496) mentioned it in the fourth-third
centuries B.C.E. It is also described by Sunzi in his Art of War. Several remains
were found among the soldiers of the Terracotta in the tomb of emperor
Shu Juangdi who unified China in 221 B.C.E
(Con’t)

 The Eastern Han Dynasty scholar and astronomer Zhang Heng (78-139 C.E.)
invented the first water-powered rotating armillary sphere (the first armillary
sphere however was invented by the Greek Eratosthenes), and catalogued
2500 stars and over 100 constellations.

 In 132, he invented the first seismological detector, called the "Houfeng

Didong Yi" ("Instrument for inquiring into the wind and the shaking of the
earth").
Fig 1.5 Ming “Shadow Clock” Fig 1.6 Early Chinese Abacus
Fig 1.7 Chinese crossbow, Fig 1.8 Replica of Zhang Heng's Fig 1.9 The original diagram of Su
second century B.C.E. seismometer Houfeng Didong Yi Song's (1020–1101) clock tower,
featuring an armillary sphere
powered by a waterwheel,
escapement mechanism, and
chain drive
The Four Great Inventions of
Ancient China

(四大發明)
Foreword

 The Four Great are inventions from ancient China that are celebrated in Chinese
culture for their historical significance and as symbols of ancient China's advanced
science and technology.

 The Four Great Inventions are:

1. Compass
2. Gunpowder
3. Papermaking
4. Printing

 These four discoveries had a profound impact on the development of civilization

throughout the world. However, some modern Chinese scholars have opined that
other Chinese inventions were perhaps more sophisticated and had a greater
impact on Chinese civilization – the Four Great Inventions serve merely to highlight
the technological interaction between East and West.
Compass

 A lodestone compass was used in China during the Han Dynasty between
the 2nd century BCE and 1st century CE, where it was called the “South-
Governor“. It was not used for navigation, but rather for geomancy and
fortune-telling.

 The earliest reference to a magnetic device used for navigation is in a

Song Dynasty book dated to 1040-1044, where there is a description of an
iron "south-pointing fish" floating in a bowl of water, aligning itself to the
south. While The first suspended magnetic needle compass was written of
by Shen Kuo in his book of 1088.
Fig 2.0 Early compass from the Han Fig 2.1 Early compass interpretation for
Dynasty, it was used for geomancy the mariners in the Ming Dynasty
and fortune-telling
Gunpowder

 By 300 C.E., Ge Hong, an alchemist of the Jin Dynasty, conclusively

recorded the chemical reactions caused when saltpeter (potassium
nitrate), pine resin and charcoal were heated together. Supposedly, gun
powders were used to create elixirs for immortality but Chinese Alchemists
found its use in combat and was gradually improved from time to time.
Fig 2.2 Mongols using Chinese Fig 2.3 Handheld cannon from the
gunpowder bombs during the Mongol Yuan Dynasty
Invasions of Japan, 1281.
Papermaking

 Papermaking has traditionally been traced to China about AD 105, when Cai
Lun, an official attached to the Imperial court during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-
AD 220), created a sheet of paper using mulberry and other bast fibres along
with fishnets, old rags, and hemp waste. However, a recent archaeological
discovery has been reported from Gansu of paper with Chinese characters on
it dating to 8 BC.

 While paper used for wrapping and padding was used in China since the 2nd
century BC, paper used as a writing medium only became widespread by the
3rd century.

 By the 6th century in China, sheets of paper were beginning to be used for
toilet paper as well. During the Tang Dynasty (618–907) paper was folded and
sewn into square bags to preserve the flavor of tea.[27] The Song Dynasty (960–
1279) that followed was the first government to issue paper currency.
Fig 2.4 The world's earliest paper Fig 2.5 Hemp wrapping paper, China,
money was from the Song Dynasty, circa 100 BC
seeing mass production under Mongol
rule.
Printing

 The Chinese invention of [woodblock printing], at some point before the

first dated book in 868 (the Diamond Sutra), produced the world's first print
culture.

 Woodblock printing was better suited to Chinese characters than movable

type, which the Chinese also invented, but which did not replace
woodblock printing.

 Western printing presses, although introduced in the 16th century, were not
widely used in China until the 19th century. China, along with Korea, was
one of the last countries to adopt them.
Fig 2.6 The Diamond Sutra from the
Tang Dynasty in China, 868
The Middle Ages and the
Jesuit Activity in China
 Among the scientific accomplishments of early China were
matches, dry docks, the double-action piston pump, cast
iron, the iron plough, the horse collar, the multi-tube seed drill,
the wheelbarrow, the suspension bridge, the parachute,
natural gas as fuel, the raised-relief map, the propeller, the
sluice gate, and the pound lock. The Tang Dynasty (618 - 906
C.E.) in particular was a time of great innovation.

 Still, much of the Middle Ages in China focuses on the

improvement of the early technological advancements and
their famed Four great inventions.
(Con’t)

 The Jesuit China missions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

introduced Western science and astronomy, then undergoing its own
revolution, to China.
 The Society of Jesus introduced, according to Thomas Woods, "a
substantial body of scientific knowledge and a vast array of mental tools
for understanding the physical universe, including the Euclidean geometry
that made planetary motion comprehensible.“ Another expert quoted by
Woods said the scientific revolution brought by the Jesuits coincided with a
time when science was at a very low level in China.
Scientific and Technological
Stagnation
 One question that has been the subject of debate among historians has been
why China did not develop a scientific revolution and why Chinese technology
fell behind that of Europe. Many hypotheses have been proposed ranging from
the cultural to the political and economic.

 Most scholars agreed that cultural factors prevented these Chinese

achievements from developing into what could be called "science". It was the
religious and philosophical framework of the Chinese intellectuals which made
them unable to believe in the ideas of laws of nature.

 Similar grounds have been found for questioning much of the philosophy
behind traditional Chinese medicine, which, derived mainly from Daoist
philosophy, reflects the classical Chinese belief that individual human
experiences express causative principles effective in the environment at all
scales.
The Science and technology
in the People's Republic of
China
 Today, Science and technology in the People's Republic of
China is growing rapidly. As the People's Republic of China
has become better connected to the global economy, the
government has placed more emphasis on science and
technology. This has led to increases in funding, improved
scientific structure, and more money for research. These
factors have led to advancements in agriculture, medicine,
genetics, and global change.
References:

 https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/History_of_science_and_te
chnology_in_China

 https://www.crystalinks.com/chinascience.html

 https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/four-great-
invention.htm