Compass 指南针
by: 凯莉和桃子
When and Who Invented The Ancient Chinese Compass
-The Han Dynasty takes credit for the creation of the compass, "The South-Pointer"
- The compass dates back to the Second Century BCE
- Based on the 28 constellations and the 28 lunar mansions
Why was the Ancient Chinese Compass Invented?
- to determine a burial location
- used for geomancy
- later used for navigation through the sea
- Ancient ALchemists discovered the "South"-pointer was actually pointing north...
How does it work?
The spoon was made out of a mineral magnetite called lodestone. Lodestone is a natural magnet that will align itself with the Earth's magnetic field. The spoon will be placed on a flat plate of bronze. No matter how you moved the bronze plate, the spoon will always point South, which is how it got its name "The South Pointer."
Any further invention got inspired or created by this one and what's the connection?
Portolan or portulan are navigational maps based on the compass directions.
1. Dry Compass
2. Bearing Compass
3. Liquid Compass
4. Sun Compass
Summary Paragraph
1. How might these inventions have gotten to Europe?
a. Alexander Neckam reported the use of a magnetic compass.
2. Why do you think these took centuries to reach Europe?
a. They would always only have rumors that the Han and Song Dynasty have a object that would help them while traveling over seas.
3. Why do people in the west give credit for most of these inventions to Europeans instead of the Chinese who invented these things?
a. People in thes western hemisphere are mostly of European decent. They never saw an ancient chinese compass. People in the western hemisphere saw a European model of the chinese compass.
4. Tell the class what is the most important thing you learned from this lesson.
a. I learned where the idea of a compass was thought of. Instead of having the idea that some pirate in the carribean invented the compass, I now know that the ancient chinese compass was used to find burial locations.