The first compasses in Han dynasty China were made of lodestone, a naturally magnetized ore of iron. The compass was later used for navigation by the Song Dynasty. Later compasses were made of iron needles, magnetized by striking them with a lodestone. Dry compasses begin appearing around 1300 in Medieval Europe. This was supplanted in the early 20th century by the liquid-filled magnetic compass.A number of ancient cultures used lodestones, suspended so they could turn, as magnetic compasses for navigation. Early mechanical compasses are referenced in written records of the Chinese, who began using it for navigation sometime between the 9th and 11th century, "some time before 1050, possibly as early as 850." A common theory by historians, suggests …show more content…
Evidence of this is found in the Shilinguangji ("Guide Through the Forest of Affairs"), published in 1325 by Chen Yuanjing, although its compilation had taken place between 1100 and 1250. The dry compass in China was a dry suspension compass, a wooden frame crafted in the shape of a turtle hung upside down by a board, with the lodestone sealed in by wax, and if rotated, the needle at the tail would always point in the northern cardinal direction. Although the European compass-card in box frame and dry pivot needle was adopted in China after its use was taken by Japanese pirates in the 16th century (who had in turn learned of it from Europeans), the Chinese design of the suspended dry compass persisted in use well into the 18th century. However, according to Kreutz there is only a single Chinese reference to a dry-mounted needle (built into a pivoted wooden tortoise) which is dated to between 1150 and 1250, and claims that there is no clear indication that Chinese mariners ever used anything but the floating needle in a bowl until the
From 100 CE to 600 CE the Chinese had many cultural and political life changes and continuities. A political change was in the end of the Classical Chinese period when the Han Dynasty fell. A cultural change during 100 CE to 600 CE was the paper invention that led to passing down cultural rituals. Not only were there changes but there was also continuities in the Chinese political and cultural life. An example of a cultural continuity is the increasing power of Buddhism. A political continuity is the ruler of the Chinese wanting the people to be protected with for instance The Great Wall of China.
The Shang Dynasty invented and, over the years, perfected the technique of casting a bronze vessel from a clay mold assembly, which this wine vessel has also been made from using those techniques (Cantor). This mold was formed around a model of the vessel and was then cut into sections that were carved or impressed in the desired design, in this case the braided or grid design, on the inner or outer surfaces. The decorated clay piece-mold was then fired and reassembled around a clay core. Small bronze spacers were used to hold the piece-mold and the clay core apart. Then, molten bronze was poured into the mold. Using this piece-mold casting technique helped the bronze worker to achieve greater sharpness and definition in any intricate design
on this built in compass sense to guide them in the open ocean. Another use for
which was made out of small pieces of wood that had small rope attached to them, and to start
...eir records by building structures that would observe the sun. the Bighorn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming dates to AD 1400 to 1700. Lines drawn between major markings on the wheel point to the location of solstice sunrises and sunsets and also toward the rising point of the three brightest stars that rise before the sun in the summer. About fifty medicine wheels have been discovered, several are thousands of years. Many of them have the same alignment as the Bighorn Medicine Wheel. In Chaco Canyon, New Mexico two spirals carved into the rock by the prehistoric Anasazi can be used as a calendar. A dagger of light penetrates the shadow of adjacent rocks. The dagger moves with the sun to different locations on the spiral.the full pattern also reflects the 18.6 year cycle of the moon as well as the yearly cycle of the sun. The ancient Native Americans were not sophisticated astronomers in the sense of coherent theory behind the movements of heavenly objects, their level of understanding of the time cycles of the sun, moon and planets was great. The methods for recording and keeping track of the seasonal movements was clever and displays a cultural richness that varies from tribe to tribe.
Liu, Jiahe, and Dongfang Shao. “Early Buddhism and Taoism in China (A.D. 65-420).” Buddhist-Christian Studies 12 (1992): 35–41. JSTOR. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.
...the stirrup was also invented by Han people as well as block printing, the compass, seismograph, map making wheelbarrow and advances in medicine, mathematics and astrology.
"Four Inventions of Ancient China: Paper Making, Gunpowder, Printing, Compass." Four Inventions of Ancient China: Paper Making, Gunpowder, Printing, Compass. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
With the creation of gun powder the Chinese were anxious to use this, in order to do that they needed something to be created so they made the fire lance it was a small cannon on a stick several feet long this is the earliest firearm ever discovered it is thought to be from the late 12th century. This was more of an addition to the soldiers spear than a gun it was not until later that the first hand cannon was made unlike the fire lance this was a weapon of its own and could shoot almost anything that the soldier could jam in the barrel that they could find on the battlefield. Both of these were fired...
The first difference in the industrial technology between Ancient Egypt and Ancient China was the money system in both civilizations. One of the greatest technologies that Ancient China made was the paper money also known as ‘flying money’ was made in the ninth century A.D. In Ancient Egypt, the Egyptians did not use paper money but instead people bought goods with food such as wheat, oil, and olive oil. And as they developed, coins also became part of Ancient Egypt’s money system. The second difference in industrial technology between Ancient China and Ancient Egypt was printing. Around 600 A.D., the Chinese invented a fix-type engraved printing also known as ‘block printing’. Although it was hard looking for errors and were not easy to store by using this ‘block printing’, it still helped Ancient Chinese civilization to have a head start in printing.
Daily life was influenced in both Ancient India and China because of religion and philosophies. Their well being, their beliefs, and their caste system were affected by religion and philosophies.
Today we can look around ourselves and see thousands of technical innovations that make life easier; But if we take a step back and ask ourselves “How?” we will soon realize that most often, these technological advancements did not just “poof” into existence, but are usually the outcome of building upon yesterday’s technology. If we follow this cycle back into time, we can attribute almost any modern day invention to an ancient civilization during its golden age. China was no exception. China’s Song and Tang dynasties fostered scientific advances comparable to Rome’s during its Pax Romana. The most significant and impacting of these were the development of primitive gunpowder and porcelain of the Tang and paper money, and the magnetic compass of the Song Dynasties. Although these may seem very far off, if you look hard enough, you can see traces of their impacts in society today because most of the advancements today we owe to them.
Some believe that such compass variation could have been the cause of fatal accidents as ship failed to determine the correct direction. Let the engineers tell it, it was a freak weave, unusual seafloor or supernatural theories. They will never take the blame for human errors. Human mistakes can easily be confirmed. Prime example, there are so many islands that look exactly alike when it comes to playing it by
Another story of magnetism dates back to first century B.C. written by the Greek poet, Lucretius. Many years after its discovery, magnets were thought to posses magical powers; it could cure the sick and ward off evil ghosts. Later, people realized that it attracted iron, and when cut into the shape of a needle or when held by a piece of string, magnets pointed in a north-south direction. It was then called a lodestone, or “leading stone,” because it lead them either north or south. ("Canada Science and Technology Museum.")
The first recorded history of China is from the Shang Dynasty. In the late 1920s and early 1930s a plethora of artifacts itself have been found...