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10 Most Famous Chinese Inventors

China is one of the countries in Asia with a high population of 1.402 billion people. It is a developed country that is the center of many production companies and the development of agricultural practices.

China has very many learned and intelligent people who play important roles in shaping the current world order from different fields of expertise. 

Chinese developments and inventions began in the AD years with very many inventors inventing new and different things.

Some of these inventors were mathematicians, Geographers who came up with the idea of the moon reflecting the sun, astronomers who studied the stars, physicists who knew how to use magnets to identify compass directions, chemists who facilitated the development of medicine, not forgetting new technology engineers.

Efficient machines are known to have developed from this country including portable ones that are easy to learn and use. Chinese was one of the developers of clocks that have been evolving time after time.

Those years had very little technology all over the world, unlike the current situation where technology is very much developed and it is been used for production and other purposes.

As per the current statistics conducted to identify the most technological country in the world, China was ranked third. The following are some of the most famous Chinese inventors.

1. Cai Lun

Cai Lun was a Chinese eunuch court official of the eastern Hun dynasty. He was born in 57 AD in Leiyang Hengyang, China.

He joined the service of the imperial palace in 75 AD. In the year 105, he came up with the idea of making a sheet of paper.

History has it that on the 11^th day of March year 105, Cai Lun presented his paper to the emperor of the ruling Han Dynasty, Han Ho Ti. He died in the year 121 Ad

2. Zhang Heng

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Zhang was a polymath scientist, astronomer, inventor, and statesman. He was born in 78 AD in Nanyang, China.

He was the chief astronomer in the Chinese emperor court. He managed to map the stars and planets.

Also, he was the one that discovered that the moon was not a source of light but reflected the sun. He invented Zhang’s Seismoscope. He died in the year 139 AD.

3. Su Song

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Su Song was a polymath scientist who was also conversant in mathematics, geography, astronomy, cartography, horology, mineralogy, among others. He was born in the year 1020.

Astronomical clock tower in medieval,Kaifeng was his development. He used hydro-mechanical engineering knowledge to develop it. This employed the use of an early escarpment mechanism.

He used a chain-drive mechanism added to a water-powered clock. This clock showed the time of the day, day of the month, and phases of the moon. He died in the year 1101 in Kaifeng, China.

4. Ma Jun Deheng

Man Jun was a mechanical engineer, politician, and inventor. He was born in the year 200 AD in Fufeng county Baoji, China.

South-pointing chariot was invented by him and this was used during the war to alert soldiers of incoming enemies. The chariot had an idol man with one of its arms pointing to the south no matter the direction taken by the chariot.

The chariot also had gear-driven wheels, Man Jun also chain pump. He died in the year 265 AD.

5. Shen Kuo

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Shen was a Chinese mathematician, scientist, and statesman. He was born in the year 1031 in Hangzhou, China.

He discovered the True North concept in terms of magnetic declination towards the North Pole. He used suspended magnetic needles and his determined meridian which he improved. He died in the year 1095 in Zhenjiang China.

6. Wan Laiming

Wan Laiming was a cinematographer, author, and producer. His area of expertise was animations. He was born on the 18^th of January, 1900 in Nanjing, China.

Chinese Animation Industry was developed by Wan Laiming together with his twin brother Wan Guchan. 

In 1956, they developed the first colored animation. One of his animations is entitled ‘the monkey finished the moon’. He died on the 7^th of October, 1997 in Shanghai China.

7. Yi Sing

Yi Sing was an astronomer, mathematician, mechanical engineer, philosopher, Buddhist monk. He was born in the year 683 AD.

He developed an astronomical instrument in 725 AD which incidentally worked like a clock. It was, later on, named the Astronomical Clock. He died in the year 727 AD in Zhejiang, China.

8. Tu Youyou

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Tu Youyou was born on the 30^th of December, 1930. She is a pharmaceutical chemist and a Malariologist.

She invented a drug therapy for malaria, Artemisinin. For this invention, she has rewarded awards like the Nobel Prize in Physiology/medicine awarded in 2015. She studied at the Peking University of Beijing.

She works at The China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine from 1965 to date, where she is currently the chief scientist.

9. Yuan Longping

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He was born on the 13^th day of August 1929 in Beijing, China.

Yuan Longping was known for being an agronomist and a member of the Chinese Academy of engineering. He is the man behind the invention of the hybrid rice varieties in the 1970s.

This invention was part of the Green Revolution in Agriculture. This hybrid rice is currently grown in many African, American, and Asian countries. Yuan Longping died on the 22^nd of May, 2021 in Xiangya hospital in Central South University.

10. Sir Charles Kuen Kao

Fiber optics inventor, Sir Kuen Charles Kao was born on the 4^th of November, 1933 in Shanghai, China. He was an electrical engineer and a physicist too.

He was pioneer the development of fiber optics which he did from the physics properties of a glass and later the discovery laid the groundwork for high-speed data. This brought to life his famous invention of fiber optics in telecommunication in the 1960s.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics and the Grand Bauhinia Medal among other awards. He died on the 23^rd of September, 2018 in Shatin, Hongkong.

The little detailed inventors from China have played a great role as far as development I concerned. Under their fields of discovery and innovation more so engineering, we can agree to the fact that they brought about a lot of what is seen today around the world.

Their countless developments range from agriculture (the hybrid rice), medicine (artemisinin), telecommunication engineering, writing paper sheets, geographical development (true North), amongst others.

Their time-sensitivity led to the development of clocks which have been evolving day in day out and being developed further to the best. To date, China still holds top positions in as far as development and product making is concerned.