A common stereotype is that the Chinese have traditionally lacked scientific and technological ability, despite the four great revolutionary inventions of paper making, printing, gunpowder, and compass that have essentially changed the world. However, Chinese people have made a lot of other significant mechanical inventions besides the famous four, providing the source of many of the prerequisite technologies of modernity. From the 6th to the 15th century, China was the world's most technologically advanced society.

Here are some of the most celebrated mechanical inventions from China that have exerted profound influences towards the development of other societies, especially when they were passed to the West. 

  Cast iron
  The double-acting piston bellows
  The crank handle (used for starting an engine)
  The gimbals (as in the ancient Chinese Incense Burner)
  Manufacture of steel from cast iron
  The belt drive (or driving-belt)
  Water power
  The chain pump
  Essentials of the steam engine
  The chain drive (in which an endless wheel transmits power from an engine)
  The wheelbarrow
  Sliding calipers (a kind of compass used for measuring diameters)
  The fishing reel
  The umbrella
  The mechanical clock
  "Permanent" lamps
  The spinning wheel
  Rudder

Author: Jeff

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