Unit 20 New Frontiers

Culture Corner
Ancient Chinese Inventions

Paper making
The ancient Chinese invented and were using paper about 2000 years ago. Early paper in China was made from bamboo fiber. The plant was soaked in water and then beaten to a pulp. This pulp or paste was then dried into fine sheets. Because of the invention of paper, the Chinese were one of the first nations to start producing historical records, maps, and literature.

Printing
A Chinese craftsman called Bi Sheng invented the printing press in 1045 AD.Early printing presses were made by engraving wooden blocks with characters.The blocks were the arranged to form the words on a page.This invention made it much quicker and easier to reproduce written work and lead to the first ever mass-production of books and literature.Because books became more widely available to the public, general literacy in China was considerably better than anywhere else in the world.