China's inventions for our daily lives

China’s inventions for our daily lives

When we talk about China’s inventions, we usually talk about compass, paper, explosive and silk. However there are also inventions that affects our daily lives and we are not aware of it.

Below are some of the inventions mentioned above:

1. Ice cream : It was first made by the Chinese and then spread to Europe.
2. Zoo : In ancient China, the royal family usually kept some exotic animals in cages in a garden for pleasure viewing. The animals included lion, tiger, zebra, giraffe etc presented by envoys from faraway countries. That is why there are no lion in China but the lion dance exists. Stone lions also decorate the entrances of palaces, temples and other buildings. Anyway the zoos in ancient China were only for the enjoyment of the royal family and high ranked officials. Ordinary citizenry had no chance to view the exotic animals. This is different from the present day zoo which is for everybody.
3. Greeting cards: In ancient China the Chinese usually brought greeting cards to their friends or relatives who are celebrating birthdays or important festivals like Chinese New Year. They never sent by post which did not exist yet but brought the greeting cards by hand. In fact, my mother once told me that when she was a damsel, she often presented greeting cards by hand to her friends every year during Chinese New Year. She never sent the cards by post.
4. Noodle: Noodle was invented by the Chinese. When Marco Polo visited China he found the Chinese noodle could be made into different dishes and he brought some noodle back to Italy. Gradually the Italian had their own way of making noodle dishes like spaghetti. In China, they call noodle as “mian”, In Malaysia everybody know what is "mee".