Ancient Chinese Technology Persuasive Essay (Printing)

Brigid GibbonsPersuasive EssayMs. HampeJanuary 19, 2018
Ancient Chinese Technology Persuasive Essay (Printing)
The world today credits early China not only for its natural endowments but also for its mind-bonging inventions that been instrumental in shaping today’s world. Arguably, the Chinese culture created a leeway for the civilization by fostering discoveries like mathematics, solar wind, natural disease diagnosis, seismography, just to mention a few. The most exquisite of them all, however, was gunpowder, developed ‘In the T’ang dynasty accidentally in an attempt to make the elixir of life, to make the emperor immortal’ (crystal links 1). The Alchemist drew ideas from the ignition process that used Sulphur and Nitrite. The Scientists experimented with saltpeter, a potassium nitrate oxidant, but were unaware of its explosion level. When they decided to mix this exploding chemical with charcoal, and sulfur, a highly explosive, smoky product, busted out and turned into flames burning their faces and the entire house. By the time of signing the Wujing Zongyao treatise, their experimental compounds composed of nitrate levels ranging from 30 to 50 percent, rendering the canons highly explosive. People cast them through hollow cast iron containers for fireworks not knowing that it would be the most robust warfare medium.

Figure SEQ Figure * ARABIC 1: An ancient Chinese gunpowder Cannon ready to fire
It is considered instrumental because it led to the use of portable handguns barrel in the 15th century.

By now, these powerful guns were already attracting the art of weaponry into the modern army and the battlefield thus advancing warfare. Gunpowder became the catalyst that detonated bombs, fired bullets, and exploded mines. It soon became an international asset for protecting waters and lands via naval bases thus transforming the sector a great deal. For global merchants to control ships, seas, and other lucrative international trading routes, they invested in superior cannon ability. By the end of the 13th century, most Arab and European countries had absorbed this military power rendering cold weapons outdated (NOVA 1).
However, regardless of the military power and the sanity that guns restored to the world through the conquest of enemies, I still believe that it poses the greatest danger. Today, the US’s grant enemies like the al-Shabab, the Isis, and other extreme terror groups continue to amass power owing to these weapons. This powder has simplified the creation of weapons of mass destruction as with a pinch of nitrate chemicals, ordinary people with selfish interests have been able to create fire arrows, fuses, hand grenades, bombs, and mortar shells, all who pose a significant danger to national securities. However, the compass invention was equally essential because it was all-inclusive. Without a perfect comprehension of the direction, how people or even the soldiers of war would navigate the world, one would ask. The first compass was made of lodestone that naturally aligned to the south. This stone had the shape of a spoon and was placed on a bronze plate. It aligned with the magnetic field of the earth. It was used for fortune- telling and navigation and worked even during fogs. This invention was far more beneficial because sophisticated navigator like pilots, sailors, and even soldiers relied on the compass for directions. Further, a more advanced direction monitor is incorporated in the GPS (Global Positioning System) to guide motion thus ascertaining that all sectors of infrastructure rely on the compass system (Adhikari 1).
Conclusion
The study concludes that the Chinese inventions were the most noteworthy pillars of today’s civilization. Gunpowder, being the greatest of them all, utterly revolutionized the military front by instilling the explosive substances in fire driven objects. These cannons were crucial to the ancient groups as they helped in conquests. By the 15th century, this technology was applicable to advanced military weapons in the Middle East, Europe, as well as Greece. It gave the militia the prowess it needed to win in military and naval wars. However, it gave birth to a breed of criminals with the prowess and the brilliance of staging earth-shattering attacks like the September 11th. On the other side, the compass is indispensable in today’s world because it serves all sectors. Nevertheless, the gunpowder discovery is the merely fascinating invention that turned out to be the backbone of a wide range of multinational securities thus is indispensable.
Works Cited
Adhikari, Saugat. Top 18 Antient Chinese Inventions. 5 5 2017. 19 1 2018 www.ancienthistorylists.com/china-history/top-18-ancient-chinese-inventions/#Gunpowder
BIBLIOGRAPHY Crystallinks. Science and Technology in Ancient China, crystanlinks.com,. 2018. 19 1 201 8 <www.crystalinks.com/chinascience.html.>.
NOVA. “Secrets of Lost Empires.” PBS WETA, Website WGBH Educational Foundation, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/song-dynasty.html.
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