Ancient Chinese Contributions - Essay Example

Ancient Chinese Contributions It is necessary to stress that a lot of things people use in everyday life take their roots from ancient China. They are the following ones: abacus, kite, paper, silk, compass, printing, gunpowder, fireworks, umbrella, porcelain and rudder. All of them are rather important and it is practically impossible to imagine human life without them. Not by chance Chinese culture and history attracts so much attention. China is the motherhood of various objects that have become an integral part of every house and office. The inventions suggested by ancient China concern every sphere of human life. They are created to make human life more interesting and convenient. Each of the above-mentioned inventions is very significant and useful for the whole world. Moreover, each of them has an interesting and unique history that is worth paying attention to. Every person saw or played with a kite at least once in his/her life. The first kites were applied by Chinese people. It happened approximately two thousand and eight hundred years ago. It is known that this object was created by Chinese philosophers – Mozi and Lu Ban (Backus 2002). It happened in the fifth century BC. However, the usage of kites was not the same as today. They were applied as a message for a rescue mission. Sometimes kites were used by Chinese people for various purposes – measuring distances, signalling, military communication, testing the wind and lifting people. Today people resort to the use of compass in order not to be lost at the forest or in any other unknown place. It is a good device to use in order to find out the right direction. However, today a few people know about the initial role of compass. It was created by Chinese people in order to fulfil various religious purposes. Moreover, this device helped to find out the best way to place a building. For instance, Chinese scientists believed that the inhabitants would live in connection with nature if their house faces north. An ancient compass looked like a wooden circle. It had a lot of marks and a magnetic spoon. One of the most interesting inventions is abacus. In fact, it is the father of modern calculators. Before the invention of abacus people had to use fingers and hands. It was not very convenient. So, China gave the world a better way to count various things. This invention appeared about 3000 B.C. (Challen 2005). This device consisted of beads and wood. It was not very difficult to carry or hold abacus. It is applied even today, when there are computers and calculators at all offices. However, it is still rather convenient to use abacus, because it helps to keep track of numbers. From my perspective, there are four major inventions suggested by ancient China. They are: umbrella, paper, printing, silk. They are applied by all people in the world. Although umbrellas were applied in Assyria, Greece and Egypt, China was the first country who applied it in order to be protected from rain. Chinese people were the first who waterproofed umbrellas. It is known that the major function of umbrella was to protect people from sun. Firstly this device was applied in the eleventh century B.C. (Deng 2011). It is necessary to stress that everyone likes silk. It looks noble and beautiful. China became the first country that introduced silk to the world. Not by chance the first silk was called Chinese silk. This country taught others how to get silk from silk warms. This invention became the starting point for creating numerous techniques for making clothes, kites and a lot of other important things. Nowadays silk is worn by millions of people all over the world. It can be of various colours. It should be noted that ancient China invented a lot of things that help to save much time today. They also make human life more pleasant. For instance, people do not have to stay at home because of rain. It is enough to take umbrella and continue a traditional working day without any delays. When I studied the inventions suggested by Chinese people, I understood that there is one I cannot live without. It is paper and printing. I am sure that there would no use of computers and a lot of other things if people had no paper to use. Moreover, it would be very difficult to teach children. They need to write somewhere new material. However, it would be impossible to do that. People use paper and printing every day. Moreover, it is done for various purposes. Men of letters cannot live a day without printing something because this is their job. Children use paper to play and make origami. Adults write in order to plan tomorrow’s day and prepare the list for shopping. Artists earn the living with the help of paper as it is the major device of their work. As for me, I apply paper and printing every day. Moreover, I cannot imagine my life without these things, because I use them for both studies and entertainment. I imagine how much time would it take me to remember something without paper. It is more convenient to print something than write it yourself. That is why I am very grateful to Chinese people. They simplified my life and the lives of many other people. I frequently entertain with the help of drawing. It gives me an opportunity to relax and forget about my problems. I cannot imagine this activity without a white sheet of paper. It seems to be the best thing presented by ancient China. References Backus, Maria. (2002). Ancient China. New York: Milliken Publishing Company. Challen, Paul. (2005). Life in ancient China. New York: Crabtee Publishing Company. Deng, Yinke. (2011). Ancient Chinese inventions. New York: Cambridge University Press. Read More