Lecture Notes: Technological Advancements in Song Era China

Overview

• Science and technology developed separately in Song era China.
• Numerous technological innovations with significant economic and historical impact.

Major Technological Innovations

Gunpowder

• Early invention with transformative implications for military applications.

Silk and Sericulture

• Silk production involved harvesting silkworms and unraveling their cocoons.
• Highly labor-intensive process resulting in strong, desirable fabric.
• Central to the Silk Road and global trade.
• Important technologies: spinning wheel and water-powered reeling machine.

Porcelain

• Major innovation with worldwide influence, especially as "china" dishes.
• Created by mixing clay with minerals and firing at high temperatures, making it more refined than pottery.

Other Technologies

• Lacquer for furniture.
• Fishing wheels and suspension bridges (importance debated).

Government Monopolies in Technology

• Highly centralized government controlled vital economic resources such as mining, iron production, salt, silk, ceramics, and paper-making.

Paper Money and Printing

• First paper money created in 1024 through block printing.
• Block printing involved carving negative images into wood blocks, inking them, and pressing onto paper.
• Spread of paper-making to the west via Islamic adoption.
• Ingredients for paper: wood pulp, rags, cloth, cotton, and adhesive.

Printing Technologies

• Block printing: used for religious texts, official decrees, and images until the late 19th century.
• Movable type: Invented around 1048 but not widely used due to inefficiency with thousands of characters.

Iron Production

• By 1078, producing 178,000 tons of iron annually, surpassing England's production during the Industrial Revolution.

Gunpowder Revolution

• Invented in the mid-9th century and adapted for military use by the mid-12th century.
• Applications included rockets, grenades, bombs, mortars, guns, and fireworks.
• Significant influence on military history globally.

Mongol Conquest and Yuan Dynasty

• Song dynasty overthrown by the Mongols led by Genghis Khan and his successors.
• Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty after conquering all of China.
• Collapse of Yuan dynasty in 1368.

Miscellaneous

• References to silk craftsmanship as a UNESCO heritage practice.
• Encouragement to explore hands-on block printing as a hobby.