The Four Great Inventions of ancient China are the compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing. These inventions are celebrated in Chinese culture for their historical significance and as signs of ancient China's advanced science and technology and contribution to the world that had tremendous effects on human civilization and development.
These four discoveries had an enormous impact on the development of Chinese civilization and a far-ranging global impact. English philosopher Francis Bacon once commented “Printing, gunpowder and the compass: These three have changed the whole face and state of things throughout the world; the first in literature, the second in warfare, the third in navigation; whence have followed innumerable changes, in so much that no empire, no sect, no star seems to have exerted greater power and influence in human affairs than these mechanical discoveries.”
