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People in early China invented many new types of technologies. Today, the word "technology" often refers to electronic objects such as computers and cell phones. But technology can be any device or object that helps people solve problems or complete tasks more easily.
During the Shang Dynasty's rule, which lasted from around 1600 to 1046 BCE, people developed the technology to make a metal called bronze.People made bronze by combining different metals, such as copper and tin. Bronze was used to make many kinds of tools and objects. The period when people learned to make bronze is called the Bronze Age.
People in early China made bronze in the following steps:
First, miners dug for copper and tin. Usually, these metals were far under the earth, so digging was difficult work!
Second, people transported these pieces of copper and tin to foundries, or factories where metals were melted.
Third, craftspeople melted the metal and poured it into molds made out of clay. These molds shaped the metal into designs or shapes.
Finally, workers removed cooled metal from the mold. The bronze object was finished!
What did people in early China make out of bronze?
People in early China made many types of objects out of bronze, such as weapons and objects used in ceremonies.
In early China, people used bronze to make tools, weapons, and other inventions. One of early China's most well-known bronze inventions was a seismograph (SIZE-muh-graf), a device that could detect earthquakes.
This type of seismograph was invented during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE).
What other bronze inventions did people develop in early China?
Another important bronze invention was the compass, which is a device that shows which direction it is facing. In fact, people in the Han Dynasty invented the world's first compass!
This early compass was made from two parts. The base was a carved bronze plate. The plate's carvings showed the directions. On top of the bronze plate was a spoon-shaped object carved from a magnetic stone. The end of the spoon always pointed north, towards the earth's magnetic north pole.
Another important technology in early China was paper. Paper in China was invented between 300 and 200 BCE.
The earliest Chinese paper was fragile, expensive, and hard to make. So, government officials wrote on wooden tablets or pieces of silk. But around the year 100 CE, a government official named Cai Lun (TSAI loon) invented a new, simpler process to make paper. Instead of bamboo, Cai Lun used a mix of cheaper materials, such as tree bark and cloth.
Cai Lun: inventor or thief?
For hundreds of years, people in China believed that Cai Lun invented paper. But archaeologists have found paper that is hundreds of years older than Cai Lun's. So, scholars know that Cai Lun did not invent paper.
Some scholars think that Cai Lun may have not even invented his own style of paper! Instead, they think that Cai Lun may have stolen his method of making paper from a poorer artisan.
Calendars in early China were lunisolar, meaning they used both the sun and the moon to keep track of time. Lunisolar calendars use the sun to measure years and the moon to measure months. Early Chinese calendars used 28-day months. The image below shows how the moon's phase changed during the 28 days of the lunar month.
Who created calendars in early China?
In early China, astronomers, or people who studied the sky, created calendars. There is evidence of astronomers making calendars as early as the Shang Dynasty (ca. 1600–1046 BCE).
Kings used the first calendars to help predict lucky and unlucky days. Some of these lucky days are carved on bones and turtle shells known as oracle bones. These bones get their name from oracles, or people who were thought to have the power to communicate with spirits.
People in the Han Dynasty developed a type of calendar called a day book. A day book contained information about seasons and weather, and it also claimed that certain days were lucky or unlucky.
What else did day books predict?
Day books predicted information about the weather, but they also claimed to give information about ghosts and spirits! The passage below is an entry about ghosts from a day book:
Summer is the time when ghosts and gods escape. . . . It is unlucky to go on a trip, to start building, to move into a new house, and to get married. You should be careful of spaces being haunted by ghosts and gods, [so be careful] about . . . mining and funerals.
Adapted from T'ung Shu: The Ancient Chinese Almanac
To make accurate calendars, Chinese astronomers carefully studied the sky. As they studied, they came up with theories about how the universe worked. The theory below was written by Zhang Heng (JAHNG hung), a famous astronomer and inventor from the Han Dynasty.
Read Zhang Heng's passage about the universe.
The [universe is] like a hen's egg. . . . The earth is like the yolk of the egg and lies alone in the center. Heaven is large and earth small. Inside the lower part of heaven there is water. Heaven is supported by qi (CHEE), and the earth floats on the waters.
qi:an invisible energy
Source: Zhang Heng, Notes on the Armillary Sphere
How did Zhang Heng observe the sky?
Zhang Heng did not have a telescope. Instead, he carefully watched the night sky. To help him model what he saw in the sky, he developed a tool called an armillary sphere. The armillary sphere allowed Zhang Heng to model the position and movements of planets in the sky.
Astronomers in early China carefully recorded the events they observed. For example, during the Han Dynasty, astronomers recorded appearances of Halley's comet. A comet is a mix of ice, gas, dust, and rock that orbits the sun. Astronomers today still track Halley's comet.
The passage below was written by a Han astronomer who viewed Halley's comet.
In [12 BCE on the eighth day of the seventh month], a comet moved through [several constellations]. It was then behind the sun . . . . Early in the morning, [the comet] appeared in the east. After 13 days the comet became an evening star shining in the west. Then, it . . . moved slowly to Serpens, and reached Ophiuchus. After 56 days it disappeared into the tail stars.
Serpens, Ophiuchus: names of constellations
tail stars: stars that make up the constellation Scorpio
Book of Han
Did people from other parts of the ancient world record comets?
Yes! People in many parts of the world observed comets, including Halley's comet. People in both the ancient Middle East and ancient Greece recorded observations of Halley's comet. When Halley's comet appeared over England in 1066, people believed it was an omen, or a sign predicting a good or bad event.
What does Halley's comet look like?
Halley's comet is bright with a long glowing tail. It is visible from earth about every 75 years. In some of its visits, Halley's comet is easily visible with the naked eye. In other years, such as in 1986 when this photograph was taken, it is difficult to see without a telescope.
Many people in early China believed that events in the sky affected events on earth. They believed that events such as Halley's comet were omens, or signs that predicted good or bad events. People also believed that the planets influenced different regions.
The map below shows which planets were thought to influence the states of the Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BCE).
Digging the earth to learn about the stars
Archaeologists continue to discover new information about how people in early China thought about their relationship to the sky. One important discovery was in the ancient city of Niya. Niya was near the Silk Road, a network of trading routes that crossed Europe and Asia.
At the Niya site, Chinese and Japanese archaeologists discovered an ancient piece of embroidered fabric in almost perfect condition. This phrase is written on the top of the cloth:
"When the five planets appear in the east, it is beneficial for China."
This fabric belonged to a common soldier in early China. So, it can reveal how some average people thought that the movement of the planets and stars influenced their own lives.
In addition to creating technologies to help them solve problems, people in early China also came up with ideas about how the world worked. For example, many people in early China believed that everything in the universe was connected by qi (pronounced CHEE). Qi was an invisible energy that could exist in different forms. Two of these forms were yin and yang (pronounced YAHNG).
According to this belief, things that were dark, cool, and slow had more yin qi.
Things that were bright, warm, and energetic had more yang qi.
The table shows which organs doctors thought were affected in each season, and which treatment was recommended.
During the Han Dynasty, people believed that both yin qi and yang qi existed in the human body and could affect people's health. Han people believed that yin and yang qi levels changed throughout the year. So, they thought that certain organs were more likely to have problems in certain seasons.
How did doctors in early China check for illness?
Doctors in early China often checked people's health in two ways. First, they observed parts of the body, such as a person's eyes, skin, and the color of their tongues. Second, doctors measured a person's pulse, or heartbeat. Doctors in early China believed that they could measure qi by taking a person's pulse.
The passage below, from an early Chinese medical text, describes how a doctor should check a patient's pulse:
Checking pulse should happen in early morning, when the yang energy has not yet [woken up], the yin energy has not yet been dispersed, the person has not yet had food and drink . . . In this situation the pulse can be diagnosed effectively.
dispersed: scattered
diagnosed: identified
Inward Training, Chapter 17
People in early China believed that floods happened when there was too much yin qi and not enough yang qi. In other words, they believed that this change happened when yin qi and yang qi were out of balance.
People in early China also believed that earthquakes happened when yang qi was stuck underground and could not get out. In other words, they believed that this change happened when yin qi and yang qi could not flow, or move.
Science and technology in early China allowed people to predict events, build new tools, and record information. Artifacts, or goods made by people, can help historians draw conclusions about science and technology in early China.
The global influence of Chinese science and technology
Developments in Chinese science and technology have influenced communities across the world.
Paper may have come to the Middle East from China. Armies from the Abbasid Empire and Tang Dynasty fought in the Battle of Talas in 751 CE. During the battle, the Abbasid army may have captured Chinese papermakers. After returning with the army to the Middle East, these papermakers taught local artisans how to make high-quality Chinese paper.
Chinese astronomers recorded the creation of the Crab Nebula. In 1054 CE, Chinese astronomers observed and recorded a supernova, or the explosive death of a star, in the constellation Taurus. In 1731, an English astronomer identified the nebula, or a cloud of dust and gas in space, that was created by the supernova.
People in early China also wrote about mathematics. Some historians think that Chinese mathematics may have influenced European mathematicians in the 17th century. For example, European mathematician Gottfried Leibniz may have learned some techniques to solve multiple equations at one time from an early Chinese book called the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art.
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