Talk about the contribution of the four great inventions to historical development respectively.

China used a compass to navigate, which was quickly adopted by Arab ships. This great invention was spread to Europe by Arabs. Engels pointed out in Dialectics of Nature that "the magnetic needle was spread from Arabs to Europeans around 1 180". 1 180 is the seventh year of filial piety in the southern song dynasty. China first applied the compass to navigation, at least 80 years earlier than Europeans.

Shen Kuo, a famous scientist in Northern Song Dynasty (the author of Meng Qian Bi Tan), discovered the existence of magnetic declination in the scientific practice of making and applying compass. He pointed out brilliantly that this is because the magnetic poles on the earth are not completely in the north and south poles. Compass and magnetic declination theory have played a great role in ocean navigation, enabling people to sail around the clock. For the first time, human beings have the freedom to sail in the vast sea. Since then, many new routes have been opened, which shortened the voyage, accelerated the development of shipping and promoted cultural exchanges and trade between people of all countries. The importance of navigation guide cannot be overemphasized. Needham said, "Your ancestors were far more advanced in sailing than our ancestors. Long before Europe, China knew how to sail against the wind with the fore-and-aft sail system. Perhaps this is the reason why China has never used too many paddles in the history of navigation. "

gunpowder

In the 1 1 century, China people already had gunpowder, which was used for military purposes, such as propelling rockets. This kind of gunpowder weapon is more terrible than the commonly used projectile weapon. Although China people also have some experiments on firearms, they don't really understand the potential power of gunpowder in blasting or propelling weapons projection.

In the west, because Europeans discovered the great destructive power of gunpowder, they gradually adopted it. In Europe, artworks depicting gunpowder weapons can be traced back to 1326 at the earliest. Artillery appeared in early works of art, which was equipped with killing objects such as long guns instead of shells. In fact, before 1326, Europeans had already had half a century's experience in using gunpowder. In the literature, the earliest record of gunpowder formula was written by roger bacon, an English monk, in 1260. To 1340, shells made of lead, iron or stone are used. The British used artillery in the Battle of Crixus in 1346, but the literature did not mention how they used artillery in the battle.

Experiments have been carried out for centuries before gunpowder weapons really come in handy. The biggest problem in the development of gunpowder is fast ignition, uniform quality and great power. Besides, it is not easy to design a suitable gun. If it is not designed immediately, it cannot be launched. Due to the early manufacturing technology, the danger faced by gunners is actually similar to that of shelling targets. For example, in 1460, King John II of Scotland died in a gun explosion.

By the middle of15th century, the technology of artillery and gunpowder reached its peak and became important weapons. The most obvious example is 1453, when the walls of Constantinople were destroyed by big stone shells fired by siege guns. Although the fall of Constantinople seems to be caused by the explosion of the small gate, it can actually be attributed to the factors that made the assault possible by shelling.

Medieval artillery was used to shell city walls during siege and fired at a large number of enemy troops on the battlefield. They can accurately destroy the vertical external walls of buildings in castles, so people have developed inclined low external walls instead of towering vertical external walls. During this period, the role of artillery on the battlefield was limited, because the artillery was still very heavy at that time, and it was difficult to move to a new position to fight and fire.

make paper

Papermaking, especially improved by Cai Lun in the Eastern Han Dynasty (also known as "Cai Hou Paper"), is a revolution in writing materials. It is easy to carry and has a wide range of materials, which has promoted the cultural development of China, Arabia, Europe and even the whole world. With words, the most important thing is to have a good carrier. The ancient Egyptians used papyrus of the Nile to describe history; In ancient Europe, people used animal skins, such as sheepskin, to write words for a long time. In China, before the invention of papermaking, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, bamboo slips and silk were used for writing and recording in ancient times. However, Oracle bones and bamboo slips are relatively heavy, and Qin Shihuang has to read a whole car a day; Although silk is light, it is expensive and not suitable for writing. By the Han Dynasty, due to the rapid development of economy and culture in the Western Han Dynasty, Oracle Bone Inscriptions and bamboo slips could no longer meet the needs of development, thus promoting the improvement of writing tools-paper was invented. Papermaking is an important chemical process. The invention of paper is a very valuable contribution made by China to the spread and development of human culture, a great achievement in the history of China and an important influence on the history of China.

pistol

Illustrations of various types of pistols appeared around 1350. The structure of these early pistols was to plug one end of a hollow barrel and then ignite the gunpowder in the tube with a small hole. A slow-burning match rope will be buckled on this small hole to ignite the gunpowder, and the bullets previously loaded in the barrel can be fired. Early pistols were not widely used, and they could only attack intensive enemy forces in volley. It was not until 1450 that pistols were adopted by most advanced European armies, but until16th century, crossbows were still the main projectiles used by infantry because of their low cost and effective attack.

be printed from type

The invention of movable type printing is a great technological revolution in the history of printing.

The method of movable type printing is to make the positive and negative character patterns of single words first, then select the single words according to the original manuscript, arrange them in the font plate, ink them, and then remove the font after printing, so as to use them again in the next typesetting. During the Northern Song Dynasty (104 1- 1048), Bi Sheng in China (? -About 105 1) The invention of clay type for movable type printing marked the birth. He was the first inventor in the world, about 400 years before J. Gutenberg of Germany printed movable type books.

Print in type

Printing was invented by the ancient working people in China through long-term practice and research.

Bi Sheng, a folk inventor in the Northern Song Dynasty, invented movable type printing. Bi Sheng was an ordinary civilian intellectual in the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, and was called Buyi at that time. He summed up the rich practical experience of block printing in past dynasties. After repeated experiments, he made clay movable type in Song Renzong in the Qing Dynasty (A.D. 104 1- 1048) and made typesetting and printing, thus completing a major revolution in the history of printing.

The invention of movable type printing has made great contributions to human culture.

China's four great inventions were introduced to the west before the emergence of modern European civilization, which had a certain impact on the development of western science and technology. The appearance of printing changed the situation that only monks can study and receive higher education, which facilitated the spread of culture. The adoption of gunpowder and firearms destroyed the ideological shackles of Catholicism in medieval Europe. The introduction of compass made it possible for European navigators to discover America and sail around the world, which laid the foundation for the development of world trade and western handicrafts. The four great inventions left a brilliant page in the history of human science and culture. These great inventions have influenced and benefited the whole world and promoted the progress of human history. Firearms, rockets, cannons and other weapons were all invented by China. In the Song Dynasty, due to the low quality of individual combat, military weapons were born in order to balance and influence the world and vigorously develop military science and technology. During the Ming dynasty, many kinds of gunpowder weapons were reformed, so the military science and technology of the Ming dynasty reached the peak of the world. When western countries used the compass to travel around the world and actively explore colonies, China people began to implement the policy of closing the country to the outside world from the Qing Dynasty, and knew nothing about the rise of the western world. China began to lag behind the western countries. As early as the Western Han Dynasty, the working people in our country could already make paper. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Lun improved papermaking on the basis of summarizing predecessors' experience. He made plant fiber paper from bark, hemp head, rags and old fishing nets. Cai Lun was once named "Dragon Pavilion Hou", so people called this piece of paper he created "Cai Hou Paper". Since the 6th century, papermaking has gradually spread to Korea and Japan, and then to Greece and Italy in Europe through Arabia, Egypt and Spain. 1 150, Spain began to make paper and established the first paper mill in Europe. Since then, France (1 189), Italy (1276), Germany (139 1), Britain (1494), and the Netherlands (/kloc-0). In the 6th century, paper became popular in Europe. In medieval Europe, it is said that copying a Bible requires more than 300 sheepskins, and the dissemination of cultural information is extremely narrow due to the limitation of materials. The invention of paper provided extremely favorable conditions for the vigorous development of education, politics and commerce in Europe at that time. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties in China, people combined seal cutting and rubbing to invent block printing. The Diamond Sutra left by the Tang Dynasty is exquisite and clear, and it is the earliest block printing with exact date in the world (868). 165438+In the Song Dynasty in the middle of the 20th century, Bi Sheng invented movable type printing, which made printing widely popular. Woodblock printing in China spread to Arabia in the 8th century, from Arabia to Europe after 1 1 century, and to Egypt around12nd century. With the spread of papermaking, paper has successively replaced Egyptian papyrus, Indian leaves and European sheepskin, which has triggered a great change in the world's writing materials, from 14 to 65438+. The earliest block printing with exact date in Europe is The Portrait of Saint Christopher in Nande (1423), which is about 600 years later than that in China. /kloc-around 0/450, influenced by Chinese movable type printing, Germans created movable type printing with European phonetic symbols to print books, which was 400 years later than Bi Sheng. After printing spread to Europe, it changed the situation that only monks could study and receive higher education, and provided important material conditions for the rapid development of science in Europe after the long night of the Middle Ages and the emergence of the Renaissance Movement. Gunpowder was invented by China in the Tang Dynasty and was first used in military affairs. At the beginning of the 10 century, artillery and rockets appeared, and firearms were widely used in the war of the Song Dynasty. Mongols learned to make gunpowder and firearms from the battle with Song Jin, while Arabs learned to make firearms from the battle with Mongols. /kloc-In the late 3rd century, Europeans learned gunpowder knowledge from Arabic books./kloc-In the early 4th century, they learned how to make gunpowder and use firearms from the wars against Muslim countries. Firearms have played a great role in the struggle of European urban citizens against absolute monarchy. Engels pointed out: "Firearms were the weapons of cities and emerging monarchies relying on cities against feudal nobles from the beginning. The stone walls of aristocratic castles that were impregnable before could not stand the cannon of the citizens; The citizen's gun shot through the knight's armor, and the aristocratic rule and the aristocratic cavalry in armor guaranteed each other. "As early as the Warring States period, China made' SiNa' according to the characteristics of magnets indicating the north and south, which is the earliest guide in the world. During the Northern Song Dynasty, people invented the method of making compass by artificially magnetizing iron needle, and began to apply it to navigation. In the Southern Song Dynasty, compasses were widely used in navigation and spread to Arabian Peninsula. /kloc-At the beginning of the 0/3rd century, the compass was introduced to Europe. The application of compass in navigation led to Columbus's voyage to discover the new continent of America and Magellan's voyage around the world. This has greatly accelerated the process of world economic development.