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四大發(fā)明

中國四大發(fā)明因其歷史上的重大意義而在中國文化中備受歌頌，并成為中國古代先進科技的象征。四大發(fā)明是指南針、火藥、造紙術和印刷術。四大發(fā)明對中國文明和世界名具有深遠影響。
The Four Great Inventions of ancient China are celebrated in Chinese culture for their historical significance and serve as symbols of Chinese advanced science and technology. The Four Inventions are: the compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing. These four inventions had an enormous impact on the development of Chinese civilization and a far-reaching global impact.

造紙術 Papermaking


在造紙術發(fā)明之前，人們在骨頭、龜殼和竹片上面寫字。隨著中國的文明進步，人們不再滿足于這些大而笨重的書寫材料。麻纖維和絲綢被用來造紙，但其質量并不盡如人意。到公元105年，東漢的蔡倫，用舊漁網、樹皮和布片來造紙。這些廣泛而價格低廉的造紙材料，讓造紙術廣為傳播。之后，造紙術被傳播到世界其他地區(qū)，例如韓國、日本、歐洲。

【翻譯】
Before the invention of paper, bones, tortoise shells and bamboo slips were used as writing surfaces, but as Chinese civilization developed they proved unsuitable because of their bulk and weight. Hemp fiber and silk were used to make paper but the quality was far from satisfactory. In 105 A.D. Cai Lun, an eunuch during the Eastern Han Dynasty, invented paper from worn fishnet, bark and cloth. These raw materials could be easily found at much lower cost so large quantities of paper could be produced. Later, the technique of papermaking was introduced to other parts of the world, such as Korea, Japan and Europe.

【維基版】
Papermaking has traditionally been traced to China about AD 105, when Cai Lun, an official attached to the Imperial court during the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220), created a sheet of paper using mulberry and other bast fibres along with fishnets, old rags, and hemp waste. However, a recent archaeological discovery has been reported from Gansu of paper with Chinese characters on it dating to 8 BC.


印刷術 Printing


受到雕刻印章的啟示，大概在公元600年，中國人發(fā)明了印刷術。在宋仁宗皇帝統(tǒng)治的北宋年間，畢昇在無數次實踐后發(fā)明了可移動并可重復使用的用膠泥制作而成的活字。每種活字都可以根據所印內容排好順序做出印版來印刷各種不同的書。

【翻譯】
Inspired by engraved name seals, Chinese people invented fixed-type engraved printing around 600 A.D. During the reign of Emperor Ren Zong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Bi Sheng invented moveable reusable clay types after numerous tests. Single types were made and picked out for printing certain books. These types could be used again and again for different books.

type: a small block with a raised letter on it that is used to print with, or a set of these〔印刷用的〕活字

【維基版】
The Chinese invention of woodblock printing, at some point before the first dated book in 868 (the Diamond Sutra), produced the world's first print culture. According to A. Hyatt Mayor, curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "it was the Chinese who really discovered the means of communication that was to dominate until our age."[30] Woodblock printing was better suited to Chinese characters than movable type, which the Chinese also invented, but which did not replace woodblock printing. Western printing presses, although introduced in the 16th century, were not widely used in China until the 19th century. China, along with Korea, was one of the last countries to adopt them.


指南針 Compass


戰(zhàn)國時期，一種叫“司南”的小裝置成為了后來指南針的前身。司南是一種把長柄湯勺似的磁鐵放在一個光滑的盤子上而形成的小裝置，利用磁鐵指南的作用，辨別方向。在11世紀，人們能夠制作微型磁鐵針了。用細小的磁鐵針做成的裝置指針的一端指向北方，另一端指向南方。此時，真正意義上的羅盤被制造出來了。

【翻譯】
During the Warring States period, a device called Si Nan became the forerunner of the compass. Si Nan was a ladle-like magnet on a plate with the handle of the ladle pointing south. In the 11th century, timy needles made of magnetized steel were invented. One end of the needle points north while the other points south. The compass was created.

【維基版】
A lodestone compass was used in China during the Han Dynasty between the 2nd century BCE and 1st century CE, where it was called the "south-governor" (sīnán 司南). It was not used for navigation, but rather for geomancy and fortune-telling. The earliest reference to a magnetic device used for navigation is in a Song Dynasty book dated to 1040-1044, where there is a description of an iron "south-pointing fish" floating in a bowl of water, aligning itself to the south. The device is recommended as a means of orientation "in the obscurity of the night." The first suspended magnetic needle compass was written of by Shen Kuo in his book of 1088.

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火藥 Gunpowder

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在中國，或火藥讀作“huoyao”，意思是“燃燒的藥品”。與造紙術和印刷術不同，火藥的發(fā)明是偶然的。煉丹師在嘗試煉制長生不老藥時，無意間發(fā)明了火藥。火藥是硫磺、硝石和木炭的混合物。在唐朝末期，火藥被用于軍事戰(zhàn)爭。宋元時期，連年戰(zhàn)亂促進了大炮的發(fā)明。12至13世紀，火藥被傳到阿拉伯國家、希臘以及歐洲其他國家，最后傳遍世界。

【翻譯】
In Chinese, gunpowder is called "huoyao", meaning "flaming medicine". Unlike paper and printing, the birth of gunpower was quite accidental. It was first invented inadvertently by alchemists while attempting to make an elixir of immorality. It was a mixture of sulphur, saltpeter and charcoal. At the end of the Tang and Yuan Dynasties, frequent wars spurred the development of cannons. In the 12th and 13th centuries, gunpower was spread to Arab countries, then Greece, other European countries, and finally all over the world.

【維基版】
Gunpowder was discovered in the 9th century by Chinese alchemists searching for an elixir of immortality. By the time the Song Dynasty, Wujing Zongyao (武經總要), was written by Zeng Gongliang and Yang Weide in 1044, the various Chinese formulas for gunpowder held levels of nitrate in the range of 27% to 50%. By the end of the 12th century, Chinese formulas of gunpowder had a level of nitrate capable of bursting through cast iron metal containers, in the form of the earliest hollow, gunpowder-filled grenade bombs.