The compass, gunpowder, papermaking and printing, the four great inventions by the laboring people of ancient China, are significant contributions of the Chinese nation to world civilization.

The compass is an instrument showing the direction. The earliest south-pointing instrument looked like a spoon. The round compass came into being after constant improvements. Later it was used extensively in navigation and military operations. In the northern Song Dynasty it was introduced to the Arab world and Europe.

In their practice of alchemy, some ancient Chinese necromancers discovered that an explosion could be induced if certain kinds of ore and fuel were mixed together in the right proportion and heated, leading thus to the invention of gunpowder. The method of powder-making was introduced into the Arab world in the 12th century, and then into Europe in the 14th century.

Papermaking stemmed from the necessity of cultural development and exchange. Inspired by the process of silk reeling, people succeeded in first making a kind of paper, which they called "bo" (silk), and then cellulose paper out of hemp. In the early days of the second century, Cai Lun produced a kind of paper from bark, rags, wheat stalks and other raw materials that was Cheap, light, thin and durable. At the beginning of the third century, the paper-making process first spread to Korea and then to Japan. it reached the Arab world in the Tang Dynasty, and then to Europe in the twelfth century.

The art of printing is the technology of producing printed images according to the original script or picture. In the Song Dynasty, Bi Sheng first invented the movable type. He carved individual by a slow baking process, resulting in pieces of movable type. From then on, book printing was made much easier and both the speed and the quality were greatly improved. This technology soon made itself known in Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Europe. The printing technology today using movable type made of metal is based on Bi Sheng's type.

The four great inventions were extraordinary contributions to human cultural development and exchange.