Being a part of ancient Chinese civilization , ancient Chinese science and technology had their own characteristics distinctive from other ancient civilizations . The Chinese have been very pragmatically . The ancient Chinese science was marked by pragmatism . First , in the respect of astronomy . A

Another characteristic of the development of ancient science and technology was the preponderance of empiricism . The ancient Chinese had many experiences from their work , and made inventions on the basis of the experiences . But they stopped at direct empirical inspirations and direct knowledge of

Robert Temple , a British scholar , stated in his work “China—A Nation of Discoveries and Inventions” : Probably over half of the inventions the modern world bases on have originated from China . Beside the four Great Chinese Inventions of compass , gunpowder , printing and paper making , many d

1,500 years ago the first distance recording-chariot , the Odometer Drum Chariot , was made in China . Its mechanical principle is the same as the later odometers .

To meet the practical needs , the ancient Chinese displayed a high intelligence in conscientious observation and scientific abstraction . First , they invented the weighing apparatuses .

The armillary sphere was the most important astronomical observation apparatus in ancient China . In the shape of a celestial globe seen by the man , it consisted of multi-layer concentric rings . On the outer layer were two rings of a similar size , fixed together and mutually perpendicular . One r

In the history of science , abacus was first made around 190 A .D. at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty . In the “Supplementary Records of Arithmetic” written by Xu Yue at the time , it was stated , “Calculation by abacus is applied in all times and in all respects .”

The earliest Chinese aviation exploration dates back to the Warring States Period . As recorded in “Master Mo : Lu Queries” : 　　“Master Gongshu sharpened bamboo and wood and made a wood magpie, which flew up and stayed in the sky three days without falling down . Master Gongshu deemed it a mo

The ancient Chinese got fire in several stages : preservation of natural fire , getting fire by friction , gathering fire by drilling wood , and getting fire by a solar flint . The stage of getting fire by a solar flint began in the Bronze Age . There were two methods : One method was to use a metal

Astronomy truly is an ancient science in China. In fact, mankind's first record of an eclipse of the Sun was made in China in 2136 BC.