Foreword:Hotbed of Invention 1
The Four Major Inventions 11
Are the Four Major Inventions the Most Important? 13
Compass 15
Gunpowder 18
Paper 20
Printing 23
Other Major Inventions(Ⅰ) 27
Iron and Steel Smelting and Ironware 29
Copper Smelting and Bronze Ware 33
Extraction and Application of Petroleum 40
Discovery and Mining of Coal 42
Pottery and Porcelain 44
Wine and Liquor 51
Sericulture 55
Tea and Tea Culture 58
Other Major Inventions(Ⅱ) 63
Star Catalogue and Star Atlas 64
Observation of Solar and Lunar Eclipses 69
Surveying of the Meridian 71
Zhang Heng and His Seismograph 74
Guo Shoujing and His Shoushi Calendar 78
The Decimal and Binary Systems 82
Zu Chongzhi and Pi 86
Equal Temperament 89
Other Major Inventions(Ⅲ) 93
Traditional Chinese Medicine 95
Acupuncture 100
Anesthetic 105
Variolation 108
The Great Wall 110
Grand Canal of China 114
Dujiangyan Irrigation System 117
Miscellaneous Smart Inventions 121
Kite 122
Abacus 126
Weiqi(Go) 128
Hot-Air Balloon 130
Parachute 132
Archery 134
Match 135
Chinese KungFu 136
Football 139
Golf 141
Classical Works of Science 143
Appendix:Chronological Table of the Chinese Dynasties 156