print | close China's Gifts to the West: Inventions and Ideas

This unit explores the many inventions and ideas that China has contributed to our daily existence.  It provides an excellent starting point for discussing both the achievements of Chinese civilization and China's influence on the West.

• Chinese Inventions, Can You Name Them? This first reading is for students and includes discussion questions.
• Timeline of Chinese inventions.
• China's Gifts to the West: This second series of readings was prepared for the Committee on Asiatic Studies in American Education by Derk Bodde. It is intended as background reading for teachers, but it could also be used as readings for students. Topics covered include: silk, tea, porcelain, paper, printing, gunpowder, mariner's compass, plants, medicines, lacquer, and amusement.
• Chinese Ideas in the West: This third series of readings was prepared for the Committee on Asiatic Studies in American Education by Derk Bodde. It is intended as background reading for teachers, but it could also be used as readings for students. Topics covered include: Chinese Cinderella, alchemy, China and the Age of Enlightenment, political and economic theories, civil service, influence on Western literature, and agriculture.