Four Great Inventions
Read this article to learn about the origins of China's great inventions, which include the compass, gunpowder, paper, and printing. After reading about China's role in inventing each of these, feel free to search for articles about each specific invention for more history of the use and development of these tools.
Other Important Inventions
Other significant innovations were made, however they are not included among the top four. Silk and porcelain were the most important for world profit and the growth of the various empires' economy.
They were valuable commercial items exchanged along the Silk Road routes, and when the processes for producing them were understood in Europe and the Islamic world, large businesses grew in both.