Paragraph on “Which important discoveries were made in China?” complete paragraph for Class 9, Class 10, Class 11 and Class 12

Which important discoveries were made in China?

The World owes several important discoveries to the people of China. One is so identified with the country that it is known by its name —that is, china or porcelain. The Chinese discovered how to make this very fine form of pottery more than a thousand years ago. People in Europe prized porcelain very highly  but the Chinese refused to tell others how to make it. It was not until the 17oos that Europeans discovered their secret.

Another secret that the Chinese guarded from the West was how to make silk. An old Chinese legend tells of how a princess stood beneath a mulberry tree and a silk cocoon fell into the cup of tea she was carrying. The hot tea softened the cocoon and the princess was able to draw out a thread of silk from it. But whatever its origins, the Chinese discovered how to produce silk as long as 4,000 years ago.

The princess in the legend was drinking tea, another Chinese discovery, although in fact it is thought that tea drinking began there about 1,5oo years ago. Tea drinking in the West is a much more recent custom and only about two centuries old.

Silk was used to make writing materials as well as fine cloths. In AD 105, Tsai Lun —finding silk costly — made the first of several important Chinese discoveries in communications. He invented paper. The Chinese then developed printing, using carved wood blocks, in about AD 770. Soon paper, money, books and fabrics were in use.

One of the most fascinating Chinese discoveries is that of the magnetic compass. It developed from a spoon made of lodestone, which is a magnetic ore. When spun, the spoon tended to come to rest pointing in the same direction. The Chinese also invented gunpowder in about AD Boo, using it at first for fireworks.

Several fruits originated in China and other countries of southern Asia, including lemons, grapes and oranges. The little oranges known as mandarins are named after the colour of the robes of a mandarin, a Chinese official. Irrigation developed in China as early as moo BC and the wheelbarrow came into use in AD 200.