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Jacob Anderman

Ms. Diane Nicoll

7th Grade History

October 27, 2017

Advancements in China

Describe the agricultural, technological, and commercial advancements during medieval

China.

There were advancements in the agricultural world within China. “Many of the more

valuable crops such as sugar cane, bananas and cotton needed plenty of water or at least a

monsoon season. Thus to cultivate them, a widespread artificial irrigation system would be

needed”(Zohor). This is why they created the irrigation system. This was important because it

allowed them to grow crops any time of year so they have lots of food during winter. The

Chinese also studied botany. This was helpful because it helped them grow crops better and use

the crops in different ways. These complemented each other because studying botany allowed

them to use the irrigation system better which helped them grow more crops to study. There were

also other types of advancements.

There were technological advancements that happened in China that helped in the

survival of the civilization. “Among the earliest inventions were the abacus, the "shadow clock,"

and the first items such as Kongming lanterns.”(History of Science and Technology in China).

They invented the shadow clock. The shadow clock told the Chinese what time it was which

helped them by telling the Chinese what time it was. For example, this would tell the Chineses

when it was time to have meals, or when they are late for school. They made Kongming lanterns
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as well. These helped them by allowing sight in the night. These would light the way so they

could navigate when the sun went down. These also complement each other because the clock

would tell you when to start setting up the lanterns so you are not sitting in the dark. There was

also other types of advancements.

There were commercial advancements that happened in China that helped in the survival

of the civilization. “The four Great Inventions of ancient China: the compass, gunpowder,

papermaking, and printing, were among the most important technological advances, only known

in Europe by the end of the Middle Ages”(Science and Technology in Ancient China). They

invented the compass which helped them by telling them which way to go to get to the city they

were traveling. This also helped with mapping because it told them which way to put the cities.

They invented gunpowder which made guns which helped protect them. They also could trade

gunpowder and guns for other things they might need. These did not complement each other

because you don’t need a compass to shoot a gun. As you can see, there were lots of

advancements in China.

Describe the agricultural, technological, and commercial advancements during medieval

China. The agricultural advancements were very important for China because they allowed for

trade of food and gave them food for themselves. The technological advancements were also

very important because this made their lives easier. The commercial advancements also helped

China because gunpowder helped them defend themselves and the compass helped the know

what direction they were going in. As you can see, these developments were very important for

the advancement of China.

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Works Cited

Idrisi, Zohor. “The Muslim Agricultural Revolution.” The Muslim Agricultural

Revolution, Foundation for Science Technology and Civilization,

www.muslimheritage.com/article/muslim-agricultural-revolution.

“History of Science and Technology in China.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25

Oct. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_science_and_technology_in_China.

“Science and Technology in Ancient China.” Science and Technology in Ancient China -

Crystalinks, Crystalinks, www.crystalinks.com/chinascience.html.