Chinese Technology

Now we come to the part that everyone knows about Kublai Khan even if they don't know anything about Kublai Khan. Kublai was emperor of China when Marco Polo visited the place, traveling with his merchant uncles.

Marco wrote about the wonders that he had seen in China, and those wonders were thanks to Kublai's conquest of the southern Song Dynasty. Let's take a look at s0me of the technological advancements on the Song that were notable to anyone visiting Kublai's empire.

They had printing presses with movable type long before Gutenberg. Gutenberg's innovation was making type out of metal, while the Chinese use porcelain.

The Song had an astronomical clock tower that was powered hydraulically. The illustration above is from the original 11th-century book describing it, showing the mechanics that run the armillary sphere on top.

Air power was also known to them, since they introduced windmills to China. Water was another place where they innovated, especially in ship-building. The Song had paddle-wheel ships.

Prior to the Song defeat under Kublai, that had successfully defended themselves with weapons powered by gunpowder. They also had flame-throwers, a pumping machine that would spread combustible oil that could not be doused by water. Thy used land mines against the Mongols, as well as rockets.

Money printed on paper was another marvel noted by Marco Polo, and helped boost the economy. The printing involved employed thousands in mints all over the vast country. The use of paper extended to envelopes, paper bags for tea leaves (for storage, not for steeping), and even toilet paper.

These are some of the sights that were strange to travelers from Western Europe. Let's talk tomorrow about Marco and Kublai, their meeting and their relationship.