History 4 Lesson 35

Small inventions.  Tiny but mighty.  Like the wheelbarrow, stirrup or heavy plough, assisted the Chinese and European cultures in farming and military.

The wheelbarrow was created by Zhuge Liang for military purposes.  As the wheelbarrow spread, the wheel changed its position.  The Chinese wheelbarrow had its wheel in the middle, but the European wheelbarrow had its wheel at the front.

cThe stirrup–historians aren’t sure specifically who made it–but they know it was invented in China.  The stirrup was originally a toehold in India but evolved into the modern day foothold.

Finally, the heavy plough was invented by the Chinese during the Han Dynasty in the 1^st and 2^nd century. Initially, it was made of wood and pulled by humans; then made by metal and pulled by oxen.  The heavy plough was more successful for the heavy soils of northern Europe. It had a mould board and coulter. The coulter cut into the ground, and the mould board pushed the dirt to the side. Thanks to the contributions of the heavy plough, the population in Europe increased because of increased farming yields.

I have only listed three of the small inventions, but as you can see the small inventions are minor but mighty

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10th Grade student in the Ron Paul Curriculum. Full-time teen writer living in Singapore. View all posts by sophiaelahirpc