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Oh yes, the famous Four Great Inventions. Unfortunately those are very shaky claims. Just look at the first one: papyrus was in use for nearly 5000 (five thous

Oh yes, the famous Four Great Inventions. Unfortunately those are very shaky claims. Just look at the first one: papyrus was in use for nearly 5000 (five thousand!) years in Ancient Egypt and all over the Mediterranean before paper was conveniently invented by Cai Lun. The term paper itself is actually derives from "papyrus". It's really not any different with the rest of those claims.

jimclegg 7y ago
Silkworm & tea can be included as major inventions that were stolen as well. I always find it funny/sad that Easterners in addition to suriving the crimes, have the extra task of educating the Western populations of the crimes committed in their names. I expect you've noticed that every single country that is a victim of modern Chinese espionage was directly involved in destroying the chinese economy during the 19th to early 20th century. US, UK, Japan, France, Germany, Russia (a few of the top offenders). These nations can't simply commit a bunch of crimes, get rich, change the rules, then expect to be protected from past actions.
- camelite 7y ago
  > These nations can't simply commit a bunch of crimes, get rich, change the rules, then expect to be protected from past actions. They do it all the time. When will the Chinese Communist Party pay for the famine which killed 2-6% of the population (lower bound is based on official government figures)? Probably never is when.
- yourbandsucks 7y ago
  Most Americans don't even know we helped sack Beijing during the boxer rebellion.
- vixen99 7y ago
  How far back does this analysis have to go before it can be seen as the nonsense it is. If my father/grandfather, etc., was executed as a serial killer, what's on my own charge sheet? Nations don't commit bunches of crimes, people do and eventually they die.
Leary 7y ago
I am not sure what you are claiming. Is it that paper is not an improvement over papyrus? This clearly does not stand. Or that paper was not invented in China but in the classical world? This is contradicted by archaeological evidence. Or that somehow the fact that the word paper is derived from papyrus in English means that it was invented by the west?
- internet_user 7y ago
  Invention that improves a manufacturing process is not the same as inventing the entire product category, which has existed for literally thousands of years. It really amounts to claiming to have invented the entire field of metalworking, when all that's invented is the casting process, whereas everyone was using forging techniques before then. Disingenuous.
  - DiogenesKynikos 7y ago
    Paper is not just another form of papyrus, despite the etymological relation. Paper is vastly superior to papyrus, and it's a hugely important invention in human history. It's very difficult to see what you're actually trying to argue here. Chinese civilization generated a large number of important inventions, including (but obviously not limited to) the stirrup, paper, gunpowder, silk, the compass and paper money. It's about as silly to try to deny this contribution as it would be to deny the contribution of the Greeks to civilization.
deleted 7y ago
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jimclegg 7y ago

Silkworm & tea can be included as major inventions that were stolen as well. I always find it funny/sad that Easterners in addition to suriving the crimes, have the extra task of educating the Western populations of the crimes committed in their names. I expect you've noticed that every single country that is a victim of modern Chinese espionage was directly involved in destroying the chinese economy during the 19th to early 20th century. US, UK, Japan, France, Germany, Russia (a few of the top offenders). These nations can't simply commit a bunch of crimes, get rich, change the rules, then expect to be protected from past actions.

camelite 7y ago
> These nations can't simply commit a bunch of crimes, get rich, change the rules, then expect to be protected from past actions. They do it all the time. When will the Chinese Communist Party pay for the famine which killed 2-6% of the population (lower bound is based on official government figures)? Probably never is when.
yourbandsucks 7y ago
Most Americans don't even know we helped sack Beijing during the boxer rebellion.
vixen99 7y ago
How far back does this analysis have to go before it can be seen as the nonsense it is. If my father/grandfather, etc., was executed as a serial killer, what's on my own charge sheet? Nations don't commit bunches of crimes, people do and eventually they die.

Leary 7y ago

I am not sure what you are claiming. Is it that paper is not an improvement over papyrus? This clearly does not stand. Or that paper was not invented in China but in the classical world? This is contradicted by archaeological evidence. Or that somehow the fact that the word paper is derived from papyrus in English means that it was invented by the west?

internet_user 7y ago
Invention that improves a manufacturing process is not the same as inventing the entire product category, which has existed for literally thousands of years. It really amounts to claiming to have invented the entire field of metalworking, when all that's invented is the casting process, whereas everyone was using forging techniques before then. Disingenuous.
- DiogenesKynikos 7y ago
  Paper is not just another form of papyrus, despite the etymological relation. Paper is vastly superior to papyrus, and it's a hugely important invention in human history. It's very difficult to see what you're actually trying to argue here. Chinese civilization generated a large number of important inventions, including (but obviously not limited to) the stirrup, paper, gunpowder, silk, the compass and paper money. It's about as silly to try to deny this contribution as it would be to deny the contribution of the Greeks to civilization.

deleted 7y ago

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