6. Mechanical Clock 725 A.D.
The world’s first mechanical clock -Water-driven Spherical Birds
– was invented by Yi Xing, a Buddhist monk in 725 A.D.. It was
operated by dripping water which powered a wheel that made one
revolution in 24 hours. Hundreds of years later, the inventor Su
Song developed a more sophisticated clock called the Cosmic
Empire in 1092, 200 years earlier before the mechanical clock was
created in Europe.
For more information:
http://ji.skoolbo.net/blog/2015/11/18/spotlight-yi-xing-the-
grandfather-of-time/
7. Tea Production 2,737 BC
According to old Chinese legend, tea was first
discovered by Shennong, Chinese Father of
Agriculture, around 2,737 BC. In the Tang
Dynasty (618-907) tea became a popular drink
enjoyed by all social classes. Cha Jing (or The
Book of Tea), written by Lu Yu in the Tang
Dynasty, explicated ways to cultivate tea, tea
drinking and different classifications of tea in
details. The book is considered as the world’s first
monograph about tea. And the world’s oldest and
largest living tea tree can be found in Lin Cang,
China, about 3,200 years old.
For more information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tea (see section on China).
8. Silk 6,000 years ago
Silk, one of the oldest fibers, originated in China as early
as 6,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of silk was
discovered at Yangshao culture site in Xiaxian County,
Shanxi Province, China where a silk cocoon was found
cut in half, dating back to between 4000 and 3000
BC. Chinese people mastered sophisticated silk weaving
tech and closely guarded secret, and the West had to pay
gold of the same weight for the silks. In ancient times the
silk was a very important item made in China and for
many centuries businessmen transported this precious
item from China to the West, forming the famous Silk
Road.
For more information: http://www.silk-road.com/artl/silkhistory.shtml