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Some historians suggest that the Arabs introduced the compass from China to Europe. [27] [28] Some suggested the compass was transmitted from China to Europe and the Islamic world via the Indian Ocean, [29] or was brought by the crusaders to Europe from China. [30] However, some scholars have proposed an independent European invention of the ...
Among the Four Great Inventions, the magnetic compass was first invented as a device for divination as early as the Chinese Han dynasty (since c. 206 BC), [1] [2] and later adopted for navigation by the Song dynasty Chinese during the 11th century.
The compass in the Four Great Inventions was formerly the compass of ancient China. It is a kind of direction-indicating tool, which is widely used in navigation, field exploration and other fields. In ancient times, it had a profound influence on trade, war and cultural exchange.
The Chinese astronomer Geng Shouchang of the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) invented it separately in China in 52 BC, and the Han dynasty polymath Zhang Heng (78–139 AD) was the first to apply motive power using a set of complex gears rotated by a waterwheel which was powered by the constant pressure head of an inflow clepsydra clock, the ...
However, when 2,000 years ago, during the Three Kingdoms period, the Chinese inventor Ma Jun created a chariot with a built-in compass for Emperor Ming-di, it was a real wonder.
In China between 1040 and 1117, the magnetic compass was being developed and applied to navigation. [34] This let masters continue sailing a course when the weather limited visibility of the sky. The true mariner's compass using a pivoting needle in a dry box was invented in Europe no later than 1300. [19] [35]
The first mention of a compass in Europe was in 1190 AD by Alexander Neckam. He described it as a common navigational aid for sailors, so the compass must have been introduced to Europe some time earlier. Whether the knowledge came from China to Europe, or was invented separately, is not clear.
Of those who originated China's Four Great Inventions of the ancient world—the compass, gunpowder, papermaking and printing—only the inventor of papermaking, Cai Lun, is known. [81] Additionally, in comparison to other Chinese inventions such as the writing brush and ink, the development of paper is the best documented in literary sources. [6]