China and India

China and India both contributed much to the Western World. The people of these

two early civilizations invented technology, ideas and systems that are still in use today.

Silk

• The Chinese invented the method to make silk by 2700 BCE. The legend is that the wife of the Yellow Emperor, Lei Zu, watched silkworms and learned the process

• China kept the method of silk-making a secret for centuries.

• China made a lot of money trading silk with Europe.

Paper and Block Printing

• It is commonly accepted that Cai Lun showed the Chinese emperor the invention of paper in 105 CE.

• The Chinese made paper from bamboo• The Chinese made playing cards and paper

money from the paper that they invented.• Block printing was developed in the 700s and

Chinese characters were carved into wooden blocks. Then ink was pressed into the blocks.

Gunpowder

• In The Tang Dynasty, the Chinese developed gunpowder. Gunpowder was also used in firework displays.

• Tea was first consumed around 2700 BCE. Tea drinking was very common and it still remains the most widely drunk beverage in the world.

Crops and Arabic Numbers

• The people of the Indus River Valley farmed and grew what, barley, melons, dates and cotton.

• These farmers were the first to grow cotton and weave the fiber into cloth.

• The mathematicians of the Gupta dynasty created the concept of zero and the numeral system we use today. They called them Arabic numerals…we use the Arabic system even though the Indians developed it.

The Origins of Chess

• There is a controversy about whether chess was developed in India. Many words for chess in different languages come from the Sanskrit word for chess.

• Sanskrit is an ancient language of India• The Indian version of chess contains the horse,

camel, and elephant.

Questions

1. What is one reason that supports the idea that Chess came from India?

2. Natural resources in China are…3. All of the following were invented in China except

(paper, gunpowder, cotton cloth, silk)

Answers

• The word for Chess in other languages comes from the Sanskrit word for this game.

• Natural resources in China helped the Chinese to develop inventions.

• Cotton…this was in the Indus River Valley.