This information has been compiled by the work of Joseph Needham and his colleagues in a study of ancient Chinese ... and informative book by Robert Temple (The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science ...

In fact, in his book, Ge Hong in the third century ... and thence to Europe. China's four great ancient inventions made tremendous contributions to the world's economy and the culture of mankind.

The term "four new inventions" harks back to the "four great inventions" of ancient China - papermaking, gunpowder, printing and the compass. China has been putting strong emphasis on ...