The invention of paper, which occurred in ancient China around the 2nd century, made for a more efficient writing medium than clay tablets or papyrus, which were popular then.

A single idea can change everything. Long before modern technology, ancient inventors came up with tools, techniques, and discoveries that still influence how we live. It's no secret that some of ...

By the time of the T'ang dynasty (7-8th century CE) , Chinese scholars had devised a way to magnetize iron needles, by rubbing them with magnetite, and then suspending them in water (early 11th ...

The seismoscope created by Chinese polymath Zhang Heng in 132 AD is one of the most intriguing ancient inventions. This device was capable of detecting earthquakes from hundreds of miles away ...

One such invention was gunpowder, which owes its origins not to destruction but to ancient Chinese desires for the elixir of life. Despite its destructive power, ...

Archeologists in China have found the remains of what may be the world’s oldest known flush toilet. Broken parts of the 2,400-year-old lavatory, as well as a bent flush pipe, were unearthed last ...

Archaeologists at the ruins of an ancient site in Changsha found an abandoned well with hundreds of 1,700-year-old records, photos show. Photo from the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese ...

Each of the 23 wooden slips is about an inch (2.5 centimeters) wide and 4 inches (10 cm) long and displays a Chinese character related to the Tiangan Dizhi, or "Ten Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly ...