中国古代四大发明英文版
搜集整理人：邓顺雨
The Four Great Inventions are :The Compass, Gun powder, Papermaking, and Printing.
The compass
[pitiful :The western people use the compass to point the direction, while ancient Chinese used it to predict the fates.]
A compass is an instrument containing a freely suspended magnetic element which displays the
The magnetic compass is an made in China during the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.). (a mineral composed of an iron
Eventually someone noticed that the lodestones were better at pointing out real directions, leading to the first compasses. They designed the compass on a square slab which had markings for the cardinal points and the constellations. The pointing needle was a lodestone spoon-shaped device, with a handle that would always point south.
Magnetized Needles
Magnetized needles used as direction pointers instead of the spoon-shaped lodestones appeared in the 8th century AD, again in China, and between 850 and 1050 they seem to have become common as navigational devices on ships.
Compass as a Navigational Aid
The first person recorded to have used the compass as a navigational aid was Zheng He (1371-1435), from the Yunnan province in China, who made seven ocean voyages between 1405 and 1433.
The Gunpowder
[ Pitiful: The western people used the gunpowder to produce the weapons, while ancient Chinese used it to make fireworks.]
Chinese taoist alchemists were the major force behind the early invention of gunpowder. Emperor Wu Di (156-87 B.C.) of the Han dynasty financed research done by the alchemists on the secrets of eternal life. The alchemists experimented with the sulphur and saltpeter heating the substances in order to transform them. The alchemist Wei Boyang wrote the Book of the Kinship of the Three detailing the experiments made by the alchemists. During the 8th century Tang dynasty, sulphur and saltpeter were first combined with charcoal to create an explosive called huoyao or gunpowder. A substance that did not encourage eternal life, however, gunpowder was used to treat skin diseases and as a fumigant to kill insects before its advantage as a weapon was made clear.
The Chinese began experimenting with the gunpowder filled tubes. At some point, they attached bamboo tubes to arrows and launched them with bows. Soon they discovered that these gunpowder tubes could launch themselves just by the power produced from the escaping gas. The true rocket was born.
The papermaking
The word paper is derived from the name of the reedy plant papyrus, which
grows abundantly along the Nile River in Egypt. However, true paper is made of pulped cellulose fibers like wood, cotton or flax.
First There Was Papyrus
Papyrus is made from the sliced sections of the flower stem of the papyrus plant, pressed together and dried, and then used from writing or drawing. Papyrus appeared in Egypt around 2400 B.C.
Then There Was Paper
A courtier named Ts'ai-Lun, from Lei-yang in China, was the first recorded inventor of paper circa 105 A.D. Ts'ai-Lun presented paper and a papermaking process to the Chinese Emperor and that was noted in the imperial court records. There may have been papermaking in China earlier than the above date, but inventor Ts'ai-Lun did much for the spread of papermaking technology in China.
Chinese Papermaking
The ancient Chinese first made paper in the following fashion.
Plant fibers such as hemp were soaked and beaten into a sludge The sludge was strained through a cloth sieve attached to a frame that also served as a drying platform for the resulting paper Newsprint
Charles Fenerty of Halifax made the first paper from wood pulp (newsprint) in 1838. Charles Fenerty was helping a local paper mill maintain an adequate supply of rags to make paper, when he succeeded in making paper from wood pulp. He neglected to patent his invention and others did patent papermaking processes based on wood fiber.
Corrugated Papermaking - Cardboard
In 1856, Englishmen, Healey and Allen, received a patent for the first corrugated or pleated paper. The paper was used to line men's tall hats.
American, Robert Gair promptly invented the corrugated cardboard box in 1870. These were pre-cut flat pieces manufactured in bulk that opened up and folded into boxes.
On December 20, 1871, Albert Jones of New York NY, patented a stronger corrugated paper (cardboard) used as a shipping material for bottles and glass lanterns.
In 1874, G. Smyth built the first single sided corrugated board-making machine. Also in 1874, Oliver Long improved upon the Jones patent and invented a lined corrugated cardboard.
Paper Bags
The first recorded historical reference to grocery paper bags was made in 1630. The use of paper sacks only really started to take off during the Industrial Revolution: between 1700 and 1800.
Margaret Knight (1838-1914) was an employee in a paper bag factory when she invented a new machine part to make square bottoms for paper bags. Paper bags had been more like envelopes before. Knight can be considered the mother of the grocery bag, she founded the Eastern Paper Bag Company in 1870.
On February 20, 1872, Luther Crowell also patented a machine that manufactured paper bags.
Paper Plates
Paper foodservice disposables products were first made at the beginning of the 20th century. The paper plate was the first single-use foodservice product invented in 1904.
Dixie Cups
Hugh Moore was an inventor who owned a paper cup factory, located next door to the Dixie Doll Company. The word Dixie was printed on the doll company's front door. Moore saw the word everyday, which reminded him of "dixies," the ten dollar bank notes from a New Orleans' bank that had the French word "dix' printed on the face of the bill. The bank had a great reputation in the early 1800s. Moore decided that "dixies" was a great name. After getting permission from his neighbor to use the name, he renamed his paper cups "Dixie Cups". It should be mentioned that Moore's paper cups first invented in 1908 were originally called health cups and replaced the single repeat-use metal cup that had been used with water fountains.
The printing
The Chinese invention of Woodblock Printing, at some point before the first dated book in 868(the Diamond Sutra)金刚经, produced the world's first print culture.
However, it is suspected in western world that book printing may have occurred long before this date.
中国古代四大发明英文版
搜集整理人：邓顺雨
The Four Great Inventions are :The Compass, Gun powder, Papermaking, and Printing.
The compass
[pitiful :The western people use the compass to point the direction, while ancient Chinese used it to predict the fates.]
A compass is an instrument containing a freely suspended magnetic element which displays the
The magnetic compass is an made in China during the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.). (a mineral composed of an iron
Eventually someone noticed that the lodestones were better at pointing out real directions, leading to the first compasses. They designed the compass on a square slab which had markings for the cardinal points and the constellations. The pointing needle was a lodestone spoon-shaped device, with a handle that would always point south.
Magnetized Needles
Magnetized needles used as direction pointers instead of the spoon-shaped lodestones appeared in the 8th century AD, again in China, and between 850 and 1050 they seem to have become common as navigational devices on ships.
Compass as a Navigational Aid
The first person recorded to have used the compass as a navigational aid was Zheng He (1371-1435), from the Yunnan province in China, who made seven ocean voyages between 1405 and 1433.
The Gunpowder
[ Pitiful: The western people used the gunpowder to produce the weapons, while ancient Chinese used it to make fireworks.]
Chinese taoist alchemists were the major force behind the early invention of gunpowder. Emperor Wu Di (156-87 B.C.) of the Han dynasty financed research done by the alchemists on the secrets of eternal life. The alchemists experimented with the sulphur and saltpeter heating the substances in order to transform them. The alchemist Wei Boyang wrote the Book of the Kinship of the Three detailing the experiments made by the alchemists. During the 8th century Tang dynasty, sulphur and saltpeter were first combined with charcoal to create an explosive called huoyao or gunpowder. A substance that did not encourage eternal life, however, gunpowder was used to treat skin diseases and as a fumigant to kill insects before its advantage as a weapon was made clear.
The Chinese began experimenting with the gunpowder filled tubes. At some point, they attached bamboo tubes to arrows and launched them with bows. Soon they discovered that these gunpowder tubes could launch themselves just by the power produced from the escaping gas. The true rocket was born.
The papermaking
The word paper is derived from the name of the reedy plant papyrus, which
grows abundantly along the Nile River in Egypt. However, true paper is made of pulped cellulose fibers like wood, cotton or flax.
First There Was Papyrus
Papyrus is made from the sliced sections of the flower stem of the papyrus plant, pressed together and dried, and then used from writing or drawing. Papyrus appeared in Egypt around 2400 B.C.
Then There Was Paper
A courtier named Ts'ai-Lun, from Lei-yang in China, was the first recorded inventor of paper circa 105 A.D. Ts'ai-Lun presented paper and a papermaking process to the Chinese Emperor and that was noted in the imperial court records. There may have been papermaking in China earlier than the above date, but inventor Ts'ai-Lun did much for the spread of papermaking technology in China.
Chinese Papermaking
The ancient Chinese first made paper in the following fashion.
Plant fibers such as hemp were soaked and beaten into a sludge The sludge was strained through a cloth sieve attached to a frame that also served as a drying platform for the resulting paper Newsprint
Charles Fenerty of Halifax made the first paper from wood pulp (newsprint) in 1838. Charles Fenerty was helping a local paper mill maintain an adequate supply of rags to make paper, when he succeeded in making paper from wood pulp. He neglected to patent his invention and others did patent papermaking processes based on wood fiber.
Corrugated Papermaking - Cardboard
In 1856, Englishmen, Healey and Allen, received a patent for the first corrugated or pleated paper. The paper was used to line men's tall hats.
American, Robert Gair promptly invented the corrugated cardboard box in 1870. These were pre-cut flat pieces manufactured in bulk that opened up and folded into boxes.
On December 20, 1871, Albert Jones of New York NY, patented a stronger corrugated paper (cardboard) used as a shipping material for bottles and glass lanterns.
In 1874, G. Smyth built the first single sided corrugated board-making machine. Also in 1874, Oliver Long improved upon the Jones patent and invented a lined corrugated cardboard.
Paper Bags
The first recorded historical reference to grocery paper bags was made in 1630. The use of paper sacks only really started to take off during the Industrial Revolution: between 1700 and 1800.
Margaret Knight (1838-1914) was an employee in a paper bag factory when she invented a new machine part to make square bottoms for paper bags. Paper bags had been more like envelopes before. Knight can be considered the mother of the grocery bag, she founded the Eastern Paper Bag Company in 1870.
On February 20, 1872, Luther Crowell also patented a machine that manufactured paper bags.
Paper Plates
Paper foodservice disposables products were first made at the beginning of the 20th century. The paper plate was the first single-use foodservice product invented in 1904.
Dixie Cups
Hugh Moore was an inventor who owned a paper cup factory, located next door to the Dixie Doll Company. The word Dixie was printed on the doll company's front door. Moore saw the word everyday, which reminded him of "dixies," the ten dollar bank notes from a New Orleans' bank that had the French word "dix' printed on the face of the bill. The bank had a great reputation in the early 1800s. Moore decided that "dixies" was a great name. After getting permission from his neighbor to use the name, he renamed his paper cups "Dixie Cups". It should be mentioned that Moore's paper cups first invented in 1908 were originally called health cups and replaced the single repeat-use metal cup that had been used with water fountains.
The printing
The Chinese invention of Woodblock Printing, at some point before the first dated book in 868(the Diamond Sutra)金刚经, produced the world's first print culture.
However, it is suspected in western world that book printing may have occurred long before this date.