Leaders

·       Wu Ding

Achievements and Events

·       Built palaces and tombs

·       Developed a system of writing

·       Metalworkers crafted artistic containers

·       Developed religious beliefs that were practiced for thousands of years

·       Planted and harvested grain

·       Learned to produce silk

·       Developed an accurate calendar

·       Developed a number system

Zhou 1027 BC-256 BC

Achievements and Events

·       Used iron to make weapons and tools

·       Grew new crops such as soy beans

·       Used money to make trade easier

·       Made roads and canals

·       Made first books

·       Organized large-scale irrigation works

Qin 256 BC-210 BC

          Leaders

·       Shi Huangdi

          Achievements and Events

·       Those who opposed Shi Huangdi’s rule were jailed, tortured and hung

·       Books were burned if not about medicine or agriculture

·       Great wall was built

·       Improved transportation system

·       Standard weight and size for coins

Han 206 BC- 220 AD

Leaders

·       Gao Zu

·       Wudi

Achievements and Events

·       imperial university was set up

·       granaries set up

·       government monopoly on iron and salt

·       fought battles to expand China’s borders

·       opened up a trade route called Silk Road

·       made Confucianism the official belief system of the state

·       government officials won positions by merit not by family background

Tang 618 AD- 907 AD

Leaders

·       Li Yuan

·       Tang Taizong

·       Wu Zhao

Achievements and Events

·       Conquered territories in Central Asia

·       Set up schools for male students

·       Rebuilt the bureaucracy

·       Enlarged the civil service system

·       Internal trade and transportation

Song 960 AD-1279 AD

          Achievements and Events

·       Center of farming shifted from wheat fields to rice paddies

·       Foreign trade flourished

·       Used paper money

·       Made porcelain

·       Wrote poetry, short stories, and songs

Yuang 1279 AD-1368 AD

          Leaders

·       Genghiz Khan

·       Kublai Khan

Achievements and Events

·       Made Gunpowder

·       Rebuilt and extended the Grand Canal

·       Developed efficient mail system

·       Highest government jobs reserved for Mongols

·       Turned Cambulac into a Chinese walled city

Ming 1368 AD-1644 AD

          Leaders

·       Zhu Yuanzhang

Achievements and Events

·       Restored civil service system

·       Better methods of printing led to production more books

·       Revival of arts and literature

·       The Voyages of Zheng He 

·       Better fertilizing improved farming

By Mr Ghaz, August 13, 2011

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The Story of Genghis Khan: One of the Most Mysterious Persons in History

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There have been conquerors galore, throughout history, who have sprung from nothing. Napoleon, the moody little Corsican from an undistinguished family, went on to hold half Europe to ransom. Mao Tse-tung, small-time teacher, became ruler of a vast population. Hitler had his day.

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But one man stands alone.

There has never been another like him. There can never be another, since that first bomb dropped on Hiroshima. If ever half the world is laid waste, it will be done impersonally, almost without human intervention. There will be a barren waste, a desert-with no one left, to loot or rape or plunder.

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But, in the thirteenth century, and within the walls of a single city, Heart, in what is now Afghanistan, the Emperor Genghis Khan supervised the massacre, in one blood-filled week of vengeance, of 1,600,000 people. And before those men, women and children were dead, many had suffered torture and mutilation of a kind which is almost impossible to imagine. Arms, legs, were hacked off, and the bleeding, screaming trunks were flung into the road, to roll helplessly away and die in agony. Children, a dozen or more at a time, were skewered like seekh-kebab on lances, or burnt alive in great wailing heaps, while their mothers, hideously mutilated, were forced to stand by and await their turn.

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A man is product of his time, and the time was cruel. But Genghis Khan-“perfect warrior”, the name meant-was the most bloodthirsty man in history. Under his example and his orders, men performed prodigies of sadism, unrepresentative of any time, even their own.

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This great ruler, as historians usually point out, was born in a tent. But this is the least remarkable fact about him. Everyone, for as far as eye could see or imagination reach, was born in a tent: there was no other form of habitation in that part of Asia. It was near the shores of Lake Baikal, and he was named Temuchin by his father Yesukai, leader of a group of small Mongolian tribes who warred constantly with each other. He had just killed a rival chieftain of that name: on returning to his tent he found the newborn child with its mother, his wife, and prised open the infant’s clenched fist. Inside was a red-brown clot of coagulated blood, like a stone. This, to the superstitious father, represented the body, the fortunes, of the Temuchin he had just slain, and he gave the name to his son.

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Temuchin found himself on the throne at thirteen, when his father died: almost immediately a number of the small tribes which comprised the kingdom began to secede. Temuchin had no experience of dealing with such a situation, but his indomitable mother, a Mongolian Boadicea, rallied troops and brought the rebels back into the fold. The leaders were punished with great cruelty, while the young ruler watched.

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Soon he was able to take over the rule of the kingdom from his mother-rule which consisted largely of subduing or trying to subdue every tribe on his borders, then ensuring that it remained well-disciplined. He soon showed qualities of generalship and an aptitude for large-scale treachery which even in those times must have evoked the admiration of his contemporaries. Before long he had made himself emperor of all the Mongol tribes, and in 1206 he summoned the most notable men within this empire and allowed them to name him Genghis (perfect warrior) Khan (king).

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He was now strong enough to indulge in a private dream. He would invade distant China, the fabulous, almost mythical Cathay. There had been many Mongol attempts to penetrate her Great Wall, but all had failed. Now Genghis Khan was able to muster an enormous army of horsemen and by sheer brute numbers to burst through the Chinese defence. Burning, killing, raping, the Mongol hordes penetrated to the sea, destroying much of an ancient civilization, one of the oldest and finest in the world.

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Having reduced Cathay to a smoking, stinking ruin, corpses piled high in every town and village, the Perfect Warrior retired to his capital. One of the reasons for his continued and increasing success may have been an insistence on keeping his capital at desolate Karakoram, that bleak Mongolian city, when he could have had any of the fine cities of China, or later, Persia, for the taking. His vast army was not allowed to get soft from easy living in conquered lands. It remained, between campaigns, camped outside the walls of Karakoram, mile upon mile of felt “yurts”, or tents, full of warriors ready to be formed up, mounted, and sent to any part of the world.

It was not long after the Chinese campaign that Genghis, learning of the riches to be had in the west, decided to across the Hindu Kush, that huge mountain range which had always cut the Mongols and other plains-people off from the civilizations of western Asia.

In 1219 he set out-on one of his few peaceful missions. He had sent messengers to the large Muslim state of Khwarizm, stating that as he now had conquered China his country was “a mine of silver and a magazine of warriors”, and he had little interest in fighting but much in trade. What could he get from Khwarizm in exchange for some of his own riches?

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The Shah, Mohammed, was at first well-disposed to this, but the local Governor, in Otrar, was foolishly rude. Genghis had anticipated a reply by sending a small advance party of traders and these were pointlessly, butchered by the Governor. Genghis, beside himself with rage, demanded the Governor be extradited and sent to him for justice. Mohammed refused.

Thus began a campaign which, in its speed and ruthlessness, eclipsed the one into China. It began with two Mongol armies, under two of Genghis’s sons, Juji and Jagatai, which swept all before them. One army, Juji’s, was resisted at first by Mohammed’s larger one, a force of 400,000 men, but the Mongols went through butter, and within hours 150,000 of the defending army were dead on the field.

Meanwhile the second army, under Jagatai, had penetrated to Otrar, the offending city, and laid siege to it. The siege lasted five months, but at the end it fell and every inhabitant was put to the sword, including the Governor, for whom a particularly public and revolting torture was provided first.

A third army leap-frogged Otrar, and a fourth, commanded by Genghis himself, headed for Bokhara. The cities of Tashkent and Nur surrendered to him as he approached-which helped them not at all, for they were both sacked-and Bokhara put up a short resistance before capitulating. As he entered it, Genghis shouted to his officers, “The hay is cut: give your horses fodder!”

This picturesque invitation to plunder was seized on by the entire army. Everything portable was taken, everything not small enough was smashed to convenient pieces. Every inhabitant was butchered; many after the most appalling tortures and mutilation; almost every building was burnt to the ground.

Within a day, one of the world’s great centres of learning, the “Centre of Science”, was a smoking ruin.

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Genghis retired to his Court at Karakoram, leaving the “mopping” to others, who successively laid waste to the cities of Ness, Nerv and Nishapur. This last offered a determined resistance, street by street, but was at last overpowered. Apart from some four hundred skilled workers who were sent in chains to Mongolia, every soul was butchered. The city of Heart miraculously spared itself by surrender-unlike those less fortunate ones on the way-and the Mongols put a governor in charge. They continued their pursuit-first, of Mohammed, then, when they learned he had died suddenly of pleurisy, of his son Jelaleddin, whom they pursued deep into India. When he took sanctuary in Delhi, they gave up the chase, but by this time they had ravaged Lahore, Melikpur and Pashawar. Suddenly news reached Genghis that the Governor of Heart, the one he himself had put in charge, had been deposed. He decided instantly send a punitive expedition. When it reached there, the doomed city fought bravely and held out for six months, but at last Herat fell.

It was during the week that followed that 1,600,000 people were massacred.

From this hideous campaign of vengeance Genghis turned to the business of extending his Mongol empire. The most attractive direction now seemed due west, and his armies were ordered through Azerbaijan into Georgia. They took Astrakhan, near the Caspian Sea, pursued its fleeing defenders to the River Don.

The Russians now chose to defy him. Genghis sent them envoys whom they killed. A little later the Russian army had been destroyed and the Mongols, after ravaging Bulgaria, began their long, slow, progress home.

While all this had been going on, Genghis, from a distance, was controlling another campaign in China, and that whole land of Cathay and the regions about it had become a Mongol province. As soon as his western campaign had been cleared up, he made his way to China to take charge.

Like his father, and most Mongols, Genghis Khan was a superstitious man. Late one night during this expedition to China he saw five planets in a certain conjunction, and his courage died within him. This, to a simple man-and Genghis had never learnt to read or write-was the end. He would die, and soon.

He gave up his command of the campaign, headed home for Karakoram, and almost as soon as he began the long journey the “sickness” came over him.

The spirit had fled from the greatest conqueror of all time. He continued the homeward journey, but death grew ever nearer. He made no effort to hold back its approach.

He reached one of his “travel palaces”, large rest-house for own use, on the banks of the River Sales in Mongolia, and there he died.

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He had decreed that his son Ogotai should succeed him, but the death to the world’s greatest ruler, miles from his capital, boded so evil for the empire, held such dire possibilities of treachery and coups d’etat, that as the body was carried northward to its final resting place the guards killed everyone that passed. Only in this way could they maintain secrecy until Ogotai had been proclaimed ruler.

A few generations after Genghis Khan’s death his empire had vanished. Under degenerate successors it had shrunk to nothing, leaving only the memory of a wholesale cruelty which has never been surpassed. To be fair to the man, we can remember him for one or two other things: he was, as well as a general, an imaginative ruler. There was complete religious freedom in his empire, for Genghis allowed all his varied subjects to worship in their own way, and Karakoram was full of different places of worship. He also had one of the world’s best postal services, with a chain or relay stables stretching from China to the Dnieper, to let the great Khan keep in touch with every part of his domain.

In the main, we have much to remember about the great Genghis Khan-but little for which to thank him. 

Ancient Chinese Culture

The earliest civilizations in China grew up along the banks of three major rivers – the Chang Jiang, Xi Jiang and Huang he. Farmers used the river water to irrigate their crops, but also faced the frequent risk of floods that could devastate their harvests. From about 2205bc, Chinawas ruled by a series of dynasties. The first, for which experts have reasonable evidence, is the Shang dynasty, which began in about 1766bc. The Shang ruled China for more than 400 years. At the end of the 11thcentury bc, the Shang were conquered by the Zhou. Their rule lasted until 221bc. During this time many wars were fought between the rival kingdoms that made up the Zhou lands, but it was also a period of economic growth and of trading success, with Chinese silk, precious jade, and fine porcelain being traded abroad. By 221bc, the kingdoms of Chinahad been at war for more than 250 years. Gradually, the Qin, a war like dynasty, from the north-west united the country and established the empire that gives China its name. The first emperor of the united China, Shi Huangdi, reorganized government and standardized money, weights and measures. A road and canal network was also built to link up the various parts of the country and the Great Wall of Chinawas built across the northern border to keep out the hostile huns. Shi Huangdi was a brilliant, but worthless general and politician, burning books and putting scholars to death because their ideas did not match his own. Despite his achievements, the Qin dynasty was overthrown in 206bc four years after Shi Huangdi’s death.

Time Measuring Devices in Ancient World

People of all the ancient civilizations wondered what time is. Thousands of years ago, many ancient civilizations had special calendars and time measuring devices. As a matter of fact, artifacts from Palaeolithic show that ancient people used the moon to calculate time more than 10.000 years ago. Lunar calendars were among the first ways of measuring time. Lunar calendars were later changed by the solar calendars, which found their way to most of the world back in the first century. Although, calendars were a great instruments to measure long periods of time (months, years, decades etc.) people needed some time measuring devices to measure short periods of time.

People have invented a great variety of time measuring devices. However, most of the ancient devices can be classified to water clocks, sun clocks and sand clocks. For example Egyptians used a T formed sun clock to measure time throughout the day. It was one of the most simple time measuring devices, however, it wasn’t very precise, and also it depended on the sun shine and the time of the day. Another example of a time measuring devices from ancient Egypt was a very precise water clock found in a tomb of pharaoh Amenhotep I (1525–1504 BC).

A water clock:

Image from: http://s3.amazonaws.com/readers/2010/04/18/greekwaterclock_1.jpg

Water clock mechanism:

Image from: http://s3.amazonaws.com/readers/2010/04/18/06waterclock_1.jpg

A simple solar clock:

Image from: http://s3.amazonaws.com/readers/2010/04/18/128951927597bc98cb0m_1.jpg

Clocks in the Middle Ages

Simple and interesting example of time measuring devices in the Middle Ages was the candle clock. These clocks were popular among monks during the Middle Ages. Basically, monks used candles that burn at approximately predictable speeds to measure time.

In the 11th century, Chinese inventors invented the first mechanical clocks. These clocks were more accurate than any other clocks of the time, and the invention spread throughout the world.

It is important to notice, that water clocks were also used during the Middle Ages until about 13th century.

Between 1280 and 1320, there is an increase in the number of references to clocks in church records. It can be seen from the church records that water clocks were adapted to take their power from falling water. Some records even state that these water clocks even had a special alarm system that used a bell.

Spring driven clocks appeared in 1400s. Various problems with the spring clock technology have lead clock makers to many technological innovations.

A candle clock animation:

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An inside of a mechanical clock:

Image from: http://s3.amazonaws.com/readers/2010/04/18/mechanical20clock_1.gif

Pendulum Clock

Pendulum driven clocks, invented in the later centuries, were even more accurate. Such a clock uses pendulum as its time keeping element. From its invention in 1656 by Christian Huygens until the 1930s pendulum clock was one of the most popular time measuring devices. Short after the pendulum clock discovery another interesting innovation was added – minute hands and then second hands were added.

A nice video about a pendulum clock movement:

Video from youtube uploaded by RFCafe

Modern Clocks

A Scottish clockmaker Alexander Bain patented an electronic clock in 1840. The mechanism of the clock was driven by either an electric motor or an electro-magnet.

The development of electronics has increased the popularity of electronic clocks, which have no clockwork parts at all. These clocks measure time by using the vibration of a tuning fork or measuring the behavior of quartz crystals.

A modern electronic clock:

Image from: http://s3.amazonaws.com/readers/2010/04/18/electronicclock_1.jpg

Atomic clocks

Later, in the 1950s atom clock was invented. An atom clock is a type of clock that uses an atomic resonance frequency standard as its timekeeping element. Atomic clocks use the precise microwave signal that electrons in atoms emit when they change energy levels. Currently, the most accurate atomic clocks are based on absorption spectroscopy of cold atoms in atomic fountains. At the time being atom clock is the most precise time measuring device we have. Currently these clocks maintain an accuracy of 0.0000000001 second per day.

A picture of a first atomic clock:

Image from: http://s3.amazonaws.com/readers/2010/04/18/nbshistory476atomicclockphoto1200scale1024×878_1.jpg

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The Huang He River is very important to the people of China.  It is very important because it would over flow and leave behind very rich soil.  Thanks to the river they had a lot of crops which the farmers were very thankful for.  The farmers were highly respected by the people because the farmers were supplying them with food.  The farmers would work hard day after day not just to feed their families but the whole town too.  The only bad thing about the river is that it would flood unpredictably.  Sometimes when it would flood it would drown thousands of people.  That is how the Huang He River got the nick name “China’s Sorrow.”  That is why the Chinese people built a dike.  The dike was a wall built to hold back the flowing water. The Huang He River is the second to largest river in China.  Five thousand four hundred sixty four kilometers is the total length of the Huang He River.  The largest and most important river in the United States is the Mississippi River.  Even though this river might not over flow and leave us with rich soil but it is important to us in many different ways.  The Mississippi River is two thousand five hundred forty miles long.  It flows from Minnesota south to the Gulf of Mexico.  It is a great way to transport goods to other states.

The Gobi desert also played a huge role in China’s society.  The Gobi desert acted as a natural barrier.  Everyone knew not to go through the Gobi desert because if you went in you would never come back out.  This is a big desert; it is one million two hundred ninety- five thousand square kilometers.  The Chihuahuan is the largest North American Desert; it is four hundred fifty-five thousand square miles squared.  That desert is located in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.  Even though China and The United States are on separate sides on the earth they still have similar natural elements.

China is the home to the Himalaya Mountains.  They also act as a natural barrier, because of this mountain range no one could intrude through the southwest part of China.   The Himalaya Mountain Range is the world’s highest mountain range.  Located in the Himalaya Mountains are the top ten highest peeks in the world.  The highest peek is Mount Everest.  It is eight thousand eight hundred forty-eight miles high.  The highest mountain point in the United States is Cheaha.  It is located in the state on Colorado.  Remember the geography of China is very similar to the United States and China’s unique society was shaped by there geography. China is the country that has the hightest mountain range and it had the longest river!                

Ancient China’s religions of Confucianism and Legalism focused on political structure and inter class relations, but Daoism was mostly kept separate from the government. Confucianism’s approach to inter class relationships was “do unto others as your status and theirs dictate” (Stearns 47). Sort of like Confucianism, Legalism upheld the view of class relationships between the militant and commoner classes. Legalism’s view on relationships between rulers and the ruled was that “the army would control and the people would labor” (Stearns 49).Daoism stayed unrelated to politics until persuaded otherwise during the Han dynasty, though it still clung to “humility and frugal living” as its center, and kept politics as a side note (Stearns 50). These three religions of Ancient China Focused upon relationships instead of trying to explain every day occurrences like other earlier religions.

Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece’s religions were focused on how to explain phenomenon of everyday in an “of-this-world” approach. Greece’s religion was connected to everyday life giving it an applicable quality (Duiker 112). Ancient Rome and Greece worshiped almost the same deities just with different names. Philosophy might be considered a religion because of the huge affect it had on their societies. Plato suggested that through reasoning we may be able to understand the “three perfect forms” of the absolute truth, good, and beautiful, which were to him the basic parts of the universe (Stearns 94). Stoicism, another religion formulated by the Ancient Greeks and Romans, focused on “inner moral independence, to be cultivated by strict discipline of the body and by personal bravery” (Stearns 93).

The ancient religions of Greece, Rome, and China were the base for the new religions to come and each had its effect on the next. An example could be when Roman and Greece’s religion was been likened to Confucianism “although with greater emphasis on skeptical questioning and abstract questioning about the basic nature of humanity and the universe” (Stearns 94). When their religious system in place would not satisfy the people they would simply come up with a new one that better solved their personal problems and their need for something larger in life. Since each religion was a major part of each culture’s life it changed the course of their life dramatically. Since each religion affected life so much it’s no secret that religions changed the course of history. This is why the understanding of the ancient civilizations is important to the understanding of Modern World History.

During the Ancient China period, the Empower would be the leader who would lead his country more as a Despotic Dictator rather than an Enlightened Monarch in the way of life for his people. This becomes evident when one looks at the emperor’s un-surpassing power in both the economic and agricultural management standpoint.

Deposition could have first occurred in the in the Hsia Dynasty (2200-1750 B.C) when Yao the Emperor, needed a successor to control the floods that burdened his people. His successor would soon become Shun. Shun was picked by Yao because of his filial piety to live in harmony. Although Shun can be credited for enlightened leadership qualities in reality he was a very harsh leader to his people. Punishments included using the whip, stick, and fines for punishments instead of have the offenders be dealt with without Corporal Punishment. Alternatives to Corporal Punishment could have included fines, community service work such as community farming or short term jail time

Shum’s leadership was very enlightened, but at the same time he was ultimately the ruler who could put them to death if they disagreed with his leadership. After Shun, his successor was Yu, who founded the Hsia Dynasty, the first Dynasty.

This was the first part of where Oriental Control and Despotism meet. Although water control was limited Yu lead a large expansionism flood control and irrigation by using thousands of Chinese people. During the Hsia Dynasty, Emperors employed mass labor on the people of China. The tasks were broken into four primary groups. These types of work included working for the military, farming, construction workers, and textile labor.

Textile labor included tasks like weaving silk threads by hand to make fine clothes for royalty. Other tasks included public works such as walls, large construction, and enlarging of canals for Agriculture. In this period casualties were very nigh if you were selected to be in the military because it was not uncommon to have mass warfare killing hundreds of thousands of people in one single battle. Common soldiers were simply treated as pawns by military leaders.

The Shan Dynasty occurred during (1750-1040 B.C). Although the Shan Dynasty believed in resonance, he was ruthless when it came to battle. Shan often made a whole family fight in battles because he believed they would fight better with each other. His philosophy also employed through Ying and Yang. Shan believed that women should have a lesser role in society than men. This was evident in all aspects of life. Women were not respected as equals and as such did not have the same opportunities.

After this period was the Chou Dynasty (1040-256 B.C). During this period Chou would try to repair the country from the corrupt Shang Dynasty. Chou would try to employ a feudal system but would eventually lead into the Warring States Period (403-221 B.C). During this period corrupt emperors caused the country fell apart into a chaotic and constant warlike period.

This was followed by the Enlightened Qin Dynasty, who unified the country and built the Great Wall of China. Although this has been called the greatest man made structure this period eventually fell due to exhausted people.

Even though the country of China had enlightened ideas through Confucius and other religious leaders, China was Despotism rather than an Enlightened Monarchy because of how the emperors treated the people and their way of life.

Paper currency was first introduced by the Chinese, and is now used widely in most countries. The earliest documentation of this invention is in the 800 BC.

Row crops:

Crops were first planted in rows around sixth century BC, which allows them to grow faster and larger. In addition, the wind will hit the perfectly straight rows and roll gently through.

Deep drilling for gas:

A technique developed in 100 BC is still used today, known as deep drilling for gas. The devices that were used were remarkably large and well crafted for the time. This technique has given many Americans jobs in the past and present, and is responsible for a considerable amount of America’s income.

Fireworks:

Fireworks were invented by the Chinese as entertainment, but were later used to scare off enemies in times of war. Today, we use fireworks to celebrate our independence. It is cool that this seventeenth century BC technique is still practiced and enjoyed today.

Gun powder:

Gun powder wasn’t designed first for war uses, but as elixir for immortality. Unfortunately for the Chinese, the only thing that gun powder did was explode. The invention of this made wars less gruesome and painful. Instead of dying slowly by a fatal sword wound, a shot takes toll immediately. Imagine, an America where all the soldiers bear swords… Gun powder’s date is unknown, but it is assumed that it was invented around the same time as fireworks.

Flame thrower:

What pyromaniac nut invented this contraption!?! Invented in the tenth century BC, the flame thrower was a great invention that has a variation used widely today. A torch or welder (following the same basic principles of a flame thrower) is used to weld metals together, and is very important in building large sturdy structures.

Parachute:

Nothing like jumping off high objects, huh? I guess even the Chinese had to get their kicks somehow. The invention of the parachute is used widely today, both for recreational, and government uses. When important and sensitive satellites are entering the orbit, they are in a freefall, but once they get to a certain point they deploy a sturdy parachute to allow them to drift to the ground harmlessly. First documentation of the parachute was in 90 BC, but it is assumed to be around in second century BC.

Rudder:

The rudder helps with turning a boat or in recent years, a plane. Before the invention of the rudder, boats had to rely on oars to turn, which required a lot of unnecessary time and energy. Now, planes (which cannot be steered by oar) are possible, and are used widely for both recreational and work. It is unknown when the rudder was invented.

The wheelbarrow:

What would life be without the wheelbarrow? When working, you could carry 200+ of weight in a wheelbarrow, while you could only carry half of that. The Chinese’s building process was dramatically sped up because of this useful invention. The wheelbarrow emerged in first century BC.

Compass:

The compass is one of the most useful inventions by the Chinese, used widely in planes, boats, and in the wilderness to find direction. Many times when you lose your bearings, just consult the compass and you’re on your way. Invention date is unknown.