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The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (1600–1046 BC), during the king Wu Ding’s reign. Here are 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Ancient China.
10: Women’s Feet Were Broken and Deformed to Attract the Opposite Sax
In ancient China, men were attracted to women with small feet. Some unlucky young girls were forced to tuck their toes underneath their feet, which were held in place with close. This was called foot binding. Over the course of a few years, the foot would have shrunk down to a mere 3 or 4 inches. It was mandatory for wealthy upper-class women to bind their feet. It deformed the feet and even broke their bones. This painful procedure was finally branded illegal at the beginning of the 20th century.
9: Food Range from Spiders to Baked Animal Genitals
Anyone with a weak stomach might want to avoid visiting China. The market stores are filled with some bizarre foods. Not only do they serve sea horses and crabs, as well as deep-fried spiders and scorpions, but you can also dine on sheep genitals on a steak. Chicken testicles come with a dollop of rice and broth, duck beaks and cooked chicks are also available, much like boiled monkey brains and stinky pieces of tofu, perhaps just a bowl of rice will suffice.
8: Kites, Ice Cream and Crossbows Invented in Ancient China
China’s list of inventions is broad and extensive, for example, kites were invented and used for communication, testing the wind and even scaring enemies in battle with this special dragon kites. On top of that, the Chinese invented ice cream, the repeater crossbow, poison gases, gun powder, paper, soccer and much more. Most of these were invented hundreds of years before the west even picked up on them, even toilet paper was created by the Chinese. This was a luxury reserved only for Emperors in the 14th century, so be sure to thank them during your next toilet trip.
7: But They Didn’t Invent Many Things Associated with Them
It goes without saying that the empires of ancient China were all home to some remarkably talented and intelligent figures. As seen by their inventions alone, alas, some of the country’s most prominent creations were actually invented by other countries. Fortune cookies were originally a Japanese invention from the 19th century. The small hand-held fortune cookies were popularized in America during the mid-20th century by the San Francisco based ki Yong noodle factory. Ping pong was not a Chinese invention either, this sport was created by the British under the name table tennis. It was so popular with the Chinese, it ended up being implemented in the Olympics in 1988. Compared to some of the amazing things they did create, these seem trivial in comparison.
6: Paper Was Used as Armor
Not merely contempt with armor made of metal and leather, China was said to have invented paper armor around 600 BC. Resins we used on thick layers of paper to help toughen it up. Believe it or not, paper armor was surprisingly effective and it was just as durable as heavy armor in many ways. It could withstand arrows, sword slashes, bullets from primitive firearms at the time and more. However, it fared poorly against blunt weapons and was far from waterproof.
