It might be difficult for westerners to perceive that Chinese inventions have been responsible for some of the most important innovations to come about, but the fact is that this is completely true. The Chinese have suffered under the stereotypical belief by others that they are not technologically accomplished. Just for started however, and these are not all, the Chinese invented spaghetti, the wheelbarrow, the water powered blast furnace, kits, chopstick, paper, gunpowder the seismograph, the crossbow, a plethora of weapons and armaments including tear gas, paper money, chess, the compass..need I go on?

The most important Chinese inventions, the ones that have impacted the rest of the world that is to say, have been gunpowder, just think about war and armaments! Paper, printing (they invented moveable type, not John Gutenberg) and the compass. Although they are also credited with the creation of brandy and whiskey and these are pretty important innovations for some people.

Gunpowder has certainly made one of the biggest impressions on the world, it has been responsible for a hell of a lot more deaths than lives, and is one of the most important warfare discoveries of ancient times. It was invented by and alchemist who was actually trying to invent the elixir of life for a Chinese Emperor in the Tang Dynasty. Elixirs of life have been considered to be vital to the Chinese people for centuries.

The inventor of paper Cai Lun, really did the world a favor, without him we might not have written history. He was a Chinese Eunuch and he made his discovery in 105 AD. Paper making was spread to the rest of the world in 751 AD, over 600 years later, when Arabs captured some Chinese papermakers after the battle of Talas River. To my way of thinking paper was the ultimate Chinese invention.

Originally the compass was invented for religious purposes. When a new house was built the Chinese used a compass to ensure that the house was facing perfectly in harmony with nature. In other words, that it faced true North. The compass started life at a marked wooden circle which balanced a magnetic spoon on the top. We all know what an impact the compass has had on navigation techniques through the centuries.

They used anesthetics as far back as the third century and have been making use of herbal medical remedies since time immemorial. Several skulls dating back to the New Stone Age about 4 000 years ago have been found at sites in Qinghai, Henan and Heilongjiang provinces which indicates that skull operations may have taken place at this time.

The first clocks were invented by the Chinese; they made toys, houses and many other things from bamboo. The Chinese built the first planetarium, made the first kites and learned how to use them even in battle. They invented and experiment for parity which revolutionized the science of particle physics, we cold go on with this subject ad infinitum, but I think you get the picture now.