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四大发明 中国四大发明因其历史上的重大意义而在中国文化中备受歌颂，并成为中国古代先进科技的象征。四大发明是指南针、火药、造纸术和印刷术。四大发明对中国文明和世界名具有深远影响。
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. 造纸术 Papermaking
在造纸术发明之前，人们在骨头、龟壳和竹片上面写字。随着中国的文明进步，人们不再满足于这些大而笨重的书写材料。麻纤维和丝绸被用来造纸，但其质量并不尽如人意。到公元105年，东汉的蔡伦，用旧渔网、树皮和布片来造纸。这些广泛而价格低廉的造纸材料，让造纸术广为传播。之后，造纸术被传播到世界其他地区，例如韩国、日本、欧洲。
【翻译】
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. 【维基版】
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.
印刷术 Printing
受到雕刻印章的启示，大概在公元600年，中国人发明了印刷术。在宋仁宗皇帝统治的北宋年间，毕昇在无数次实践后发明了可移动并可重复使用的用胶泥制作而成的活字。每种活字都可以根据所印内容排好顺序做出印版来印刷各种不同的书。
【翻译】
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 【维基版】
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.
指南针 Compass
战国时期，一种叫“司南”的小装置成为了后来指南针的前身。司南是一种把长柄汤勺似的磁铁放在一个光滑的盘子上而形成的小装置，利用磁铁指南的作用，辨别方向。在11世纪，人们能够制作微型磁铁针了。用细小的磁铁针做成的装置指针的一端指向北方，另一端指向南方。此时，真正意义上的罗盘被制造出来了。
【翻译】
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. 【维基版】
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. 火药 Gunpowder 在中国，或火药读作“huoyao”，意思是“燃烧的药品”。与造纸术和印刷术不同，火药的发明是偶然的。炼丹师在尝试炼制长生不老药时，无意间发明了火药。火药是硫磺、硝石和木炭的混合物。在唐朝末期，火药被用于军事战争。宋元时期，连年战乱促进了大炮的发明。12至13世纪，火药被传到阿拉伯国家、希腊以及欧洲其他国家，最后传遍世界。 【翻译】
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. 【维基版】
Gunpowder was discovered in the 9th century by Chinese alchemists searching for an elixir of immortality. By the time the Song Dynasty, Wujing Zongyao (武经总要), 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. | 
