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  • Essay / Advanced Technologies in Ancient China and Egypt

    Egypt is a place where the climate is dry and hot with little precipitation and most parts of Egypt are covered by desert. However, the Nile that flows through Egypt floods every year, allowing Egyptians to expand their crops and build up food surpluses. On the other hand, China contained deserts, forests and mountains and many Chinese adapted to the environment by building irrigation systems, fishing and growing crops. Although ancient Egypt and ancient China were in two different locations, their technology in primarily industrial, agricultural, and military areas had similarities and differences. The industrial technology of ancient Egypt and ancient China shows similarity in paper, but there were a more significant number of differences. , which are the monetary system and the printing press. The greatest similarity in industrial technology between ancient Egypt and ancient China was paper. Although the similarity was that both civilizations were capable of creating paper, the way and manner in which it was made was different. In ancient Egypt, paper, also known as "papyrus", was made from beaten strips of papyrus. In contrast, paper made in ancient China was not made from papyrus or wood pulp. Instead, the Chinese first made paper from hemp and silk fibers, but found the quality to be far from satisfactory, so in 105 AD they made paper with worn fishnet, bark and fabric. These materials were difficult to find and the cost of processing paper from materials was much cheaper than making paper from hemp and silk fibers. The first difference in industrial technology between ancient Egypt and ancient China was the monetary system of the two civilizations. One of the greatest technologies made by ancient China was paper money, also known as "flying money." and olive oil. And as they developed, coins also became an integral part of the ancient Egyptian monetary system. The second difference in industrial technology between ancient China and ancient Egypt was printing. Around 600 AD, the Chinese invented fixed type engraved printing also known as "block printing". Even though it was difficult to find errors and store them using this "block printing", it still helped ancient Chinese civilization get a head start in printing..