The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1869-11-20
DAILY JOURNAL
TURDAY.--s-NovEMBER 20. 1858
Early Inventions Ofssthe Ohi1cse.

Chinese In the career of material
improvement, but TO them belongs
the honor Of having led the way 10
many of the most remarkable lnven-
tons, and Of anticipating Us In the
possession Of some Of those arts
which constitute the boast of our
modern civilization. We shall briefly
notice a few Of those discoveries by
which they have established q claim
to our respect and gratitude. Tea
deserves to head the list, as a sub
%stantial contribution to human COM
fort, and the leading staple of an
immense that has resulted
in drawing China out of her ancient
seelusion. Discovered By the Chinese
about A. ID. 315, il was introduced to
to the people OF the West about two
centuries ago as an uncertain venture.
The elegant ware Ia which our tea is
served preserves ia its name the evil
dence of it's Chinese origin. China
ware came originally from China;
and the name Of porcelain, given
to 1t BY the early Portuguese mer-
chants. may be taken IS proof that
nothing Of the kind was sc that time
manufactured In Europe. They called
it p0rcellana, because they supposed
IL TO be a composition of egg-sbells,
fsh-glue and scales. The silks that
glisten in our drawing-rooms and
rustic on our sidewalks, if not i'm
ported directly from China in the
woven fabric or the raw material,
remind us of an obligation of an
older date. 1t was the Chinese who
frst learned 10 rear the insect spinner
and to weave its shining web-an art
which they ascribe to their famous
Empress Yuenfei, B. G. 2637. Gun
powder, which has not only revolu-
tionized the art of war, but proved a
potent auxiliary In the arts OF peace,
literally removing mountains from tho
pathway Of human progress, was dis
covered by the Chinese many centu-
ries before it was known West.
Roger Bacon was acquainted with its
composition in A. ID. 1910; bat he
speaks Of il as already known earlier.
The current opinion refers 1t to the
Arabs. but there is reason to believe
that these were not the authors of the
invention. but merely the channel
through which it was transmitted
ID q word, thatit found its way from
the remotest East along with the
stream of Oriental commerce.
The heaviest item in the bill OF u
indebtedness to the Chinese is for the
discovery of America. On the alieg-
ed voyage of a party OF buddhist
priests to the shores of Mexico we
lay no stress: but it is not difficult to
show that the discovery of the New
World by Christopher Columbus was
directly due to the influence OF China.
China supplied at once the motive
for his voyage and the instrument by
which II was effected. 1t was the
wealth of China which, like a mag
net attracted him to the westward +;
aud il was the magnetic needle, which
originated among tho Chinese, that
directed his adventurous course.
As to that mysterious instrument
which has unlocked to Us the treas
ures Of tho ocean, and proved itself
fha = OF commerce, its origin is
certainly not due to the Neapolitan
FIavio Gioia, who is reputed to have
invented it in A. ID, 1902. The
French. the Swedes and the Syrians
all possessed it before that date; ano
there-is unquestionable evidence that
the Chinese had then been acquaint-
ed with It for more than two thousand
four hundred years. The Chinese
first employed the mariners compass
on land, as we may infer from the
name BY which they describe 1T; and
AZ the present day il is still tbs
euston~fOr a mandarin 10 carry one
In his carriage or sedan-chalr, though
he may not be going beyond the gates
of his native city. 1t Is lnconceiva
ble that the Pol0s aud other medleya
travellers shoulg nave returned from
China. across the deserts q Contra
Asia without providing themselve
with sueL an unGrTing guide.
.EPaner-maSing and printing, tw'
arts more charSstorisfic of our mOderl
civilization than ven steam aud cleo
ltrieity, there are strong reasons TO
ascribing to a Chinese origin. TIL,
former they invented IN the Grst een
tury, and the latter at least eigh
hundred years before the time o
Gutenburg and Faust.
I~noculation, which prior to tn
great discovery OF Jeaner, was re
garded as the best protection agaius
the horrors of the smallpox, wa
~practiced in China at a very carl
period, aud probably found its way {
Europe by the same secret channel
as those other arts whose foOtstep
are so difficult to trace. WeSteT
Europe obtained it from the Turk;
Lady Mary Wortley Montague hay
ing made the first experiment OF Il
efficacy by inoeulating her son Will
residing at CoDstantinople.
Like the modern Greeks, the CHI
nese of the present day, content wit
the legacy OF the past, have ceased I
invent; but without doubt they VII
oGce among the NEST ingenious an
~orieiual Of the inhabitants of til
earth.
The Chinese have not gone bacl
and that is saying a great deal IN the
favor: but 10 respect to material pro
gress, for ages they have made q
advancement. -Four centuries az
they were in advance of European
in everything that contributes to th
comfort or luxury of civilized life
but where are they n0w2 Author
of the compass, they creep from heaC
land to Leadland in eOasting voyage.
never %veRturing to cross the ocean {
trust themselves for many days out
sight of the shore. DISCOVERIES of CUR
powde- they supply the world with fir,
crackers, while their soldiers 6gh
with bows and arrows, wooden spear
and matchlocks. Inventors of prin
ing. they have not yet advanced
the use of metallic type and the poES
press, but continue to engrave eac
page on a block Of wood and to prlI
IL off by the use of q brush. Sut
GENTLY versed Ia astronomy to calcl
late eelipses two thousand yea
before the Christian era, they renal
TO this hour in letters of judicial a
trology; and among the earliest
make advances in chemical discover