Ancient Chinese Inventions

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Ancient Chinese Inventions

• By Tate Coleman

The ancient Chinese were one of the most active
countries making inventions. They invented
matches, the umbrella, the kite, lacquer,
porcelain, the toothbrush, the fishing reel, and
a lot more.
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Porcelain
In ancient china, pottery was very common. More
common than it is today, in fact. A rare and
valuable kind is porcelain, made from white clay
called kaolin, and powdered china stone. It is
a rock, and it contains the mineral feldspar.
When this clay is fired at very high
temperatures, it is now porcelain. Porcelain is
translucent, and it is harder and stronger than
other clay. Early porcelain was made around
618-907 CE. The method for making porcelain was
kept a secret because objects made of porcelain
were very valuable.
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Silk
Silk was very valuable in ancient China. They
traded precious metals and other valuables for
silk. They even named a series of roads The Silk
Road. The value of silk back then was
approximately a couple hundred dollars an ounce.
The Silk Road was a trading route for merchants.
They mostly trade silk, but they do trade other
valuables.
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Fire Sticks
The Chinese invented the first matches, made of
thin sticks of pine. There was sulfur on the
tips, and it ignited quickly when touched to a
flame. The ancient Chinese called them fire
sticks. They were useful for transferring a
flame from one place to another.
 
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Umbrellas

• Umbrellas were very different in ancient China
  than they are now. The tops were made of thick,
  oiled paper, which kept water out. But unlike
  today, the earlier versions of the umbrella
  didnt close easily.
•  

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Chew Sticks
The ancient Chinese cleaned their teeth with a
chew stick. A chew stick is a thin twig with
some hairs from a hogs neck. Eew, right? They
didnt even have toothpaste! The first toothbrush
that had real bristles was invented in the 15th
century. They had handles with either bone or
bamboo in ancient China. They arent anything
like a toothbrush today, were they?