Science and Technology/Math

The Golden Age of Inventions

By Annie Elledge
magine a world where we didnt know the time, what direction we were travelling or had no way of recording important events. This was how China was before the Golden Age; before inventors created amazing devices and ideas that would forever change the way the human race lived. Ancient China had more than a few tricks up its sleeve when it entered the Golden Age. This Golden Age of China was laced with inventions such as gunpowder, porcelain, mechanical clocks, compasses, paper money and printing presses1AE. Fireworks are the center of many celebrations around the

world and we can thank Taoist alchemists for brightening our night skies with their invention of gunpowder in the 800s.2AE

put into a firework to create certain colors; this is why we have fireworks of all the colors of the rainbow.5AE Porcelain has been famous in China ever since its creation in the late 700s.6AE This form of pottery turns clay and a unique mineral found only in China combines together to make beautiful, hard ceramic.7AE Thanks to the inventors of Ancient China, the question, What time is it? is easily answered with a simple look at a watch or cell phone. The Chinese were the first to create a mechanical clock that ran by water; this invention was later carried by traders to medieval Europe.8AE

Gunpowder was created when the alchemists attempted refining the ingredients of gunpowder: charcoal, sulfur and saltpeter3AE. An explosion occurred and the Taoists discovered that these ingredients combined were extremely flammable; gunpowder was created4AE! As alchemy became more advanced, people began to calculate the amount of certain substances to

and helped China record important information about their empire. Many fans of geometry and algebra will be excited to learn that these forms of math were advanced during the Tang Dynasty.12AE The Chinese excelled at mathematics and taught concepts such as solid geometry, binomial theorems and complex algebraic formulas in their institutions.13AE Wang Xitong, a famous mathematician, wrote a detailed book called Qigu suanjing, where he explained how to solve complex third degree equations.14AE Without the ingenious inventions of the Chinese, our world would be rather confusing, because many people would be late without mechanical clocks, be lost without magnetic compasses, celebrations would lack the colorful excitement in the night sky and our

One of Chinas most important inventions was the magnetic compass. Without this device, which was created in 1100s, used degree measures and Earths magnetic pull to calculate the direction a person was facing while on Earth. China would not have become a marine power and many explorers would have had a much more difficult time finding their destination.9AE During both the Tang and Song dynasties, forms of writing and printing were created.10 Chinese characters were carved onto blocks of wood, oracle bones and tortoise shells to create movable type.11AE This system advanced through both dynasties

mathematics would be lacking in higher level complexity. The Chinese have enabled us to have easier lives, because of their countless inventions and innovations. Abacus
By Luz Zamora Engineers may not know that when they use a calculator, they are reaching back in time to the time of the late Ancient Song Dynasty in China. The abacus, the earliest known calculator that the Chinese called Suanpan may not have been nearly as fancy and shiny as our modern calculators, but they were effective for their time. Before written numbers existed, calculations made by traders and doctors were difficult and almost impossible. This made the abacus a very important tool in these times.

The abacus consists of two wooden frames, separating thirteen vertical wires. The vertical wires on the top frame contains two beads and they are called heaven beads. Each bead has a value of five. Each vertical wire on the lower frame has five stacked beads, referred to as earth beads, each with a value of one. The abacus may not seem like your ideal calculator. Without it, however, the persons who used it would not have been able to work with big numbers in important fields like commerce, engineering, and mathematical research!

Beck, Roger B.. "Empires in East Asia." World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2003. 289. Print. 2 "Gunpowder." ThinkQuest. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2011. <http://library.thin kquest.org/27895/t qgunpowder.html>. 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 "Let the Fireworks Begin." RiverDeep. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. <www.riverdeep.net/current /2002/07/070102_fireworks.j html>
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Beck, Roger B.. "Empires in East Asia." World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2003. 289. Print. 7 Ibid. 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid. 10 Ibid. 11 BC, 1700. "Chinese Inventions." Mrs. Hinkle's 7th Grade Core. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.vhinkle.com/c hina/inventions.html#Gunp owder_> 12 Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty study of math was fairly standard in the great schools.Wang Xiaotong was a great mathematician in the beginning of the Tang, and he wrote a book: Jigu suanjing (Continuation of Ancient Mathematics).. "Chinese Mathematics." Crystalinks Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.crystalinks.co m/chinamath.html> 13 Ibid. 14 Theobald, Ulrich. "Chinese History - Tang Dynasty , Five Dynasties , Ten States science, technology and inventions (www.chinaknowledge.de)." www.chinaknowledge.de. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. <http://www.chinaknowled ge.de/History/Tang/tangtech.html>.
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