Chinese ingenuity

Ancient China advanced humanity with innumerable inventions, from paper making to rockets. Driven by imaginative and original thinking, its innovative problem solving changed the world in many ways. For example:

• China was one of the first builders of ocean-going ships for trade, exploration and military use.
• Kites were invented in China more than 2,000 years ago for use in military applications.
• In their quest for an elixir offering immortality, ninth century Chinese alchemists instead discovered gunpowder.
• The first seismograph for detecting distant earthquakes was created by brilliant polymath Zhang Heng in 132 AD.
• Known as a ‘south-governor’, a precursor of the compass was used by Chinese geomancers some 2,500 years ago.