Papermaking According to archaeological findings, China had paper in about 1 century BC, but at this time, paper was only a by-product of textile bleaching and retting, with low output and poor quality, so it could not be used for writing. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Lun made bold reforms and innovations in papermaking on the basis of summing up the previous experience. In addition to using hemp as raw material, we also use some fiber-containing things such as bark. The production and quality of paper are greatly improved by using the processing technology of lime lye cooking. From then on, paper began to replace bamboo and silk and spread all over the country. After the 6th century, China's papermaking spread abroad. Korea, Japan, Arabia, Europe and other places have learned papermaking. Since then, paper has become an important tool for spreading culture and exchanging ideas.
After China invented papermaking, due to the need of publishing books, printing came into being. At the beginning of the 6th century, during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the earliest block printing appeared. This kind of printing generally takes wood as raw material. Carve the words on the board first, and then print the calligraphy and painting with ink on the paper. Because it saves labor and time. It soon became popular. Block printing reached its peak in the Song Dynasty. In the fourth year of Song Taizu Kaibao (97 1), the Tripitaka was printed in Chengdu, with a print run of 5048 volumes and block printing of130,000 pieces, which took 12 years to complete. Such a large-scale printing is enough to show that block printing has reached a fairly high level. 104 1- 1048, have you finished engraving? Invented movable type printing. That is to say, clay is used to make a blank with the same specification, and reflexive characters are engraved on one end and hardened by fire to become a single clay movable type. Typesetting with these movable types not only saves the cost, but also greatly shortens the time, which is very economical and convenient. The appearance of movable type printing is an important revolution in the history of printing. In Yuan Dynasty, Wang Zhen changed clay type into wood type, and created a wheel typesetting rack. Since then, movable type made of metal materials such as tin, copper and lead has appeared. Movable type printing spread to Korea and Japan after13rd century, and it was not until the middle of15th century that Europe mastered movable type printing. Movable type printing is another great contribution of our people to mankind.
Gunpowder was invented in the process of alchemy. In the 8th and 9th centuries, alchemists knew that when sulfur, saltpeter and charcoal were mixed and burned, a violent reaction would occur. In this way, the Tang Dynasty invented black powder with these three substances as raw materials. By the Song and Yuan Dynasties, various pharmaceutical ingredients had a reasonable quantitative proportion, and were used in the military for the first time, and the earliest gunpowder weapons such as artillery, muskets, rockets, mines and bombs appeared. The bronze fire mirror now in the Museum of Chinese History was made in Shunsanyuan (1332). It is the earliest bronze cannon found in the world at present. Because it relies on gunpowder as power, it is more powerful and is called "General Copper". Gunpowder spread to Arab countries in13rd century, and nitrate used to make gunpowder was called "China Snow" in Arabia and Persia. /KLOC-After the 4th century, China's technology of manufacturing gunpowder weapons spread to Europe through Arabia.
Compass The earliest compass appeared in the Warring States Period. At that time, natural magnets were ground into the shape of spoons and placed on a particularly smooth ground for guidance, called Sina. At the end of the Song Dynasty, it was found that steel would also produce magnetism after grinding on a magnet. So there is a compass based on this. Due to the development of navigation, people began to use floating compasses as raw materials to identify directions in rainy days. By the Yuan Dynasty, navigation had been completely guided by a compass. With the development of foreign trade and maritime traffic, the compass and its application technology first spread to the Arab region and soon spread to Europe.
Paper-making, movable type printing, gunpowder and compass not only had a great influence on China's economy, military and culture, but also on some western countries in the transition from feudal society to capitalist society, which became the necessary prerequisite for the development of European bourgeoisie. As Marx pointed out, "gunpowder, compass and printing" are three great inventions that indicate the arrival of bourgeois society. Gunpowder blew the knight class to pieces, the compass opened the world market and established colonies, while printing became a tool of Protestantism, a means of scientific rejuvenation in general, and the most powerful lever to create the necessary premise of spiritual development. Bacon, the originator of modern experimental scientists, once said in the book "New Tools": "If you want to see the power and function of various inventions, the most obvious examples are the newly invented printing, gunpowder and compass. Because these three things changed the whole face. The first is literature, the second is war, and the third is sailing. Since then, countless changes have taken place, and the changes are so great that no empire, no school, and no famous figure can have greater power and influence than these three inventions in the cause of mankind. " It can be seen that the four great inventions have made great contributions to promoting the process of world history.
China made brilliant achievements in science and technology in ancient times, many of which far surpassed other countries in the world. However, these highly practical technologies all served the feudal ruling class at that time. Therefore, once the new technology invented by working people in production practice is valued by the rulers, it can be valued, improved, perfected and even popularized as soon as possible. On the contrary, technological inventions that have little to do with the interests of the rulers will be stopped and stifled. In this respect, China's ancient technology was in the leading position in the world, while China's modern technology was far behind the world, which was closely related to the interests of feudal rulers.