The Four Great Inventions of ancient China are,according to Chinese tradition and the British scholar and biochemist Joseph Needham:
The Compass
Gunpowder
Papermaking
Printing
These inventions are celebrated in Chinese culture for their historical significance and as signs of ancient China's advanced science and technology.These four discoveries had an enormous impact on the development of Chinese civilization and a far-ranging global impact.
Although he may have been unaware of the origin of these inventions,in 1620 the English philosopher Francis Bacon noted their importance by writing:
Printing,gunpowder and the compass:These three have changed the whole face and state of things throughout the world; the first in literature,the second in warfare,the third in navigation; whence have followed innumerable changes,in so much that no empire,no sect,no star seems to have exerted greater power and influence in human affairs than these.