China Discovery

<v Host>This is a program about solving mysteries and making discoveries. <v Host>It is about how simple inventions can change our lives forever. <v Host>It is the story of how one culture can have a dramatic effect on another. <v Host>This is a story about China and how her culture and <v Host>ours are surprisingly interwoven. <v Host>Like the intricate threads of silk brocade. <v Host>[music plays] <v Host>This is China, land of mystery. <v Host>A land of strange customs and alien ways. <v Host>A land isolated from the rest of the world by mountain and river

<v Host>and desert. <v Host>For many in the Western world, China remains a mystery. <v Host>Little more is known about China's impact on the world than ?that? <v Host>Marco Polo visited there a few hundred years ago and brought back silk, <v Host>spices, and spaghetti. <v Host>All that is changing now, the China trade is increasing between east and west <v Host>and with the flow of commercial products is a flow of information and <v Host>insight. [train passes by] <v Host>Here in Seattle, at The Pacific Science Center, there is a touring exhibition of some of <v Host>China's early achievements in science and technology. <v Host>Through ancient artifacts and traditional artisans, there is a glimpse of <v Host>China's past glory.

<v Host>Because at one time, China had the most advanced technology in the world. <v Host>[music plays] <v Host>This exhibition is a way to understand a little of what East and West have shared <v Host>and what we may yet share. <v Host>It is a bridge of communication. <v Host>And for the Chinese, communication is important, especially written <v Host>communication. <v Host>For centuries, the Chinese kept records to guide imperial decisions <v Host>and predict celestial events. <v Host>These are astronomical inscriptions written on bone about 3000 <v Host>years ago. Bone was durable, but not a very practical medium <v Host>for record keeping. <v Host>As writing advanced, records were kept on strips of bamboo tied together in <v Host>scrolls.

<v Host>But still, it was too heavy and cumbersome. <v Host>In fact, one Chinese emperor is said to have read more than 55 <v Host>pounds of bamboo a day. <v Host>The Chinese searched for a better solution. <v Host>By the 2nd century B.C., at the same time the Egyptians were writing <v Host>on matters of papyrus and the people of the European continent were scratching <v Host>letters on the dried skins of animals, the Chinese made a technological <v Host>breakthrough. <v Host>They produced a material very light and portable and easy to write on. <v Host>Paper. [water splashing] <v Host>This 1,900 year old process is essentially the same as that used <v Host>in today's highly advanced paper making industry. <v Host>The Chinese invented paper and gave it to the world.

<v Host>A Buddhist monk carried the gift to Japan. <v Host>Then it traveled west through Baghdad and Damascus and Cairo. <v Host>In the 12th century, the Spanish made paper and then all <v Host>of Europe learned the secret. <v Host>And in 1575, the new world would have its first paper <v Host>mill. [water dripping] [music plays] <v Host>Sheet by sheet, paper changed the course of history. <v Host>It became the medium for scholars and merchants, for emperors <v Host>and artists. <v Host>This is calligraphy, the art of writing.

<v Host>In the Chinese language, each word holds both meaning and beauty. <v Host>It's a language of pictures. <v Host>Tens of thousands of them, each one a complex and unique design. <v Host>This is a symbol for happiness. <v Host>The Chinese character for dragon. <v Host>The language is beautiful, but its complex nature presented real problems <v Host>for the scholar and merchant and government official who needed to transmit <v Host>a lot of information as the Chinese empire grew and flourished. <v Host>Writing by hand was just too slow. <v Host>The Chinese found a solution in a block of stone. <v Host>For centuries, signature seals had been used to indicate ownership.

<v Host>The owner's name was carved into the hard stone. <v Host>The ancient signature seal led to the Chinese invention of block printing <v Host>and the first printed books. [music plays] <v Host>While Europe was in The Dark Ages, China was producing books and <v Host>pamphlets and images by block printing. <v Jack Dull>What paper and printing did uh not only for China, but for the rest of the world as well, <v Jack Dull>uh is a profound historical significance. <v Jack Dull>Uh, the combination of the 2 in China allowed the de-uh the development <v Jack Dull>of a social class, a non aristocratic <v Jack Dull>elite that is able to establish its position in society because <v Jack Dull>of its education, and that education is possible because the printed word is cheap. <v Jack Dull>[music plays]

<v Host>And then in 1045 A.D., this man Bi Sheng <v Host>took printing and step father. <v Host>He made separate ceramic characters and placed them on a tray of hot wax. <v Host>When the wax cooled, he would print. <v Host>Bi Sheng had invented printing with movable type. <v Host>The Gutenberg Bible, marking the first major Western success with movable type <v Host>would not be printed for another 400 years. <v Host>But printing the Chinese language with movable type had its drawbacks. <v Jack Dull>With the low cost of labor, uh that it was relatively inexpensive to <v Jack Dull>produce a woodblock version rather than a typeset version. <v Jack Dull>And particularly in view of the fact that if you're going to produce a typeset version <v Jack Dull>of a sophisticated Confucian text, for example, uh

<v Jack Dull>you're going to have to have hundreds, thousands of characters uh waiting <v Jack Dull>for you in slots and boxes and store rooms and so on. <v Jack Dull>Uh So in many respects, woodblock carving is not a bad way to produce a Chinese book, not <v Jack Dull>at all. Uh, at least unless you have modern technology. <v Host>But even with modern technology and efforts to simplify the language, <v Host>if you want a type of story in Chinese, you'll have to search through thousands of <v Host>characters. [typewriter sounds] <v Host>Printing with movable type. <v Host>A Chinese invention that we use every day. <v Host>Not all the Chinese inventions and discoveries are as familiar to the West.

<v Host>A mystery still surrounds the practice of traditional Chinese medicine and its <v Host>use of herbs. <v Host>For nearly 35 years, Mr. ?Hen San Chen? <v Host>has ministered to the needs of sick people from his herbal medicine shop in Seattle's <v Host>International District. <v Mr. Chen>Like, I still have a cold hanging on, and I feel-. <v Host>Although Mr. Chen is highly trained, he is not licensed to practice medicine <v Host>in the United States. He simply listens, observes, and <v Host>prescribes strong herbal tea. <v Host>The herbs are combined according to a Chinese medical tradition that's 2600 years old. <v Host>Each packet will be boiled down into a bitter drink. <v Host>Is it herbal medicine or primitive superstition?

<v Paul Buell>Chinese medicine is a primitive system um only in the fact <v Paul Buell>that you're still dealing with a natural substance as opposed to the extracts. <v Paul Buell>If you go to the store and you have a sinus ache and they give you a substance called <v Paul Buell>?ephedrine? in a pill, it was first discovered in China called Ma Wang. <v Paul Buell>And the Chinese doctor would just use the natural plan and he's giving you essentially <v Paul Buell>the same substance. One is a refined, sometimes artificially made substance, and the <v Paul Buell>other is not. <v Host>In herbal medicine, each natural ingredient has a unique healing property based <v Host>on centuries of observation. <v Host>But the use of herbs is only one aspect of traditional Chinese medicine in its <v Host>concern for the body as a whole. <v Host>[music plays] <v Host>The body is healthy when it's in balance and how you live determines that <v Host>balance. Daily exercise, good nutrition, <v Host>active prevention are all a part of holistic medicine.

<v Paul Buell>Chinese medicine has an enormous amount of experience and just simply practical knowledge <v Paul Buell>that needs to be understood. And so I think it's important to realize that surgery, <v Paul Buell>uh Western synthetic drugs, you know, the whole technological aspect of medicine may not <v Paul Buell>be the end all and the be all. There may be more to it than that. <v Paul Buell>And we need to study this other these other aspects. <v Host>One of those other aspects in Chinese medicine involves points on the human <v Host>body that can cure disease and reduce pain. <v Male student>Is it hurting at all? <v Female student>Uh no, I wouldn't say that it's hurting. It's just kind of got this distended, maybe <v Female student>a little sore. It feels <v Host>These Western students are studying a Chinese medical tradition that's over 2000 <v Host>years old. Acupuncture. <v Male student>Okay. You're going to feel a little prick. <v K.C. Yee>Quickly, quick. Yeah, okay. This <v K.C. Yee>main point in the ?head?

<v K.C. Yee>usually cures the pain in the face. A different kind of pain in the face. <v K.C. Yee>And very usually, very common on this point. <v Female student>Yeah, I feel my nostrils clearing now. <v Host>Current scientific evidence indicates that acupuncture actually stimulates <v Host>the release of endorphins, the brain's natural painkiller. <v Host>It is a modern understanding of a traditional Chinese practice that may <v Host>open new doors to medical treatment in the West. <v Host>[drums play] <v Host>Another door accidentally burst open 12 centuries ago. <v Host>When Chinese alchemists went in search of an elixir of eternal life. <v Host>They combined sulfur for the treatment of the skin. <v Host>And saltpeter to dispel fevers and soothe the stomach.

<v Host>And charcoal. <v Host>All 3 together in a dark blend. <v Host>Then they added fire. [fireworks]. <v Host>It was called Hou yao, fire medicine. <v Host>We know it as gunpowder. <v Jack Dull>Gunpowder is usually cited as one of the contributing factors in the downfall of <v Jack Dull>feudalism. And again, this is a case of one of those major social <v Jack Dull>changes in world history. <v Jack Dull>Uh, but gunpowder didn't undercut any privileged group in Chinese society. <v Jack Dull>It did not lead to any major social change in Chinese society. <v Jack Dull>In part, I think it's because of the nature of the Chinese state. <v Jack Dull>The bureaucratic empire was able to produce long periods of peace, <v Jack Dull>order, stability that makes society able to be exposed to jolts <v Jack Dull>such as gunpowder without really changing.

<v Jack Dull>[fireworks] <v Host>China gave the world gunpowder, flaming rockets, and the first <v Host>bronze cannon. [music plays] <v Host>But China also cast more gentle objects in bronze. <v Host>They cast bells and coins, and vessels, for worship. <v Host>They introduced techniques for mass production

<v Host>and developed a remarkable technology of mining and smelting. <v Host>The Chinese used bronze coins in commerce, but they also used <v Host>them to tell time. <v Host>This is a unique clock. <v Host>A stick of incense rests on the top of the strings, spaced at <v Host>hourly intervals. <v Host>As the incense burns over the strings, [coins drop in pan]. <v Host>But in China, there was more to worry about than the passing of time. <v Host>[music plays] <v Host>This is a vast land shaken by earthquakes and battered by typhoons. <v Host>For 1800 years, the Chinese have recorded the tremors beneath their cities <v Host>and mountains. <v Host>The scientist, Zhang Heng, is credited with the invention of the world's first

<v Host>earthquake detector in 138 A.D.. <v Host>It was a large bronze urn rimmed by 8 dragons, <v Host>each with a bronze ball and its jaws. <v Host>Below, 8 bronze toads wait for a sign of tremor. <v Host>If the urn is disturbed even by a slight quake, a pendulum <v Host>tilts inside and opens the jaw of the dragon facing the direction <v Host>of the quake. <v Host>The Chinese could detect earthquakes, but they couldn't predict or prevent <v Host>them. <v Host>They would have to live with the forces of nature. <v Host>It seems strange then that the Chinese would choose to construct such ornate <v Host>buildings.

<v Host>And it seems stranger yet that, for centuries, these buildings have withstood <v Host>both quake and typhoon. <v Host>Ancient Chinese architecture is anything but simple. <v Host>A system of complex brackets distributes the weight of the massive tile roof. <v Host>Each bracket rests on a support pillar, which would keep the building standing <v Host>even if the walls collapsed. <v Host>And because of its weight, the tile roof could withstand gale force <v Host>winds. <v Host>This complicated system of timber and tile and brackets contain thousands <v Host>of joints in a building. <v Host>Each one was constructed without a single name. <v Host>The Chinese built to withstand the forces of nature, but

<v Host>they also built to withstand other forces. <v Host>300000 laborers worked for 7 years to complete <v Host>a wall 4000 miles long. <v Host>The Great Wall would keep out nomadic raiders from the north, but not the <v Host>flow of early trade between China and the West. <v Host>China was known to Europe as ?Ceres?, The Silk Country, <v Host>for it was this mysterious thread, that first joined together East and West <v Host>in trade. <v Host>From the time of the Roman Empire, fine silk cloth from China has <v Host>been highly prized. <v Host>But the most precious fabric to travel the Silk Road from China to the royal <v Host>courts of Europe, was silk brocade. <v Host>This rich fabric with raised patterns and complex designs <v Host>was called ?inaudible?, gold silk, because of

<v Host>its great value. <v Host>The brocade was produced on a Chinese drawloom. <v Host>It was a high tech machine for the second century A.D. <v Host>The technological breakthrough was the addition of the draw boy <v Host>who manipulates 9000 cords to create the pattern. <v Host>For 1500 years, Chinese drawlooms produced elaborate <v Host>brocade far faster and better than anything the West <v Host>could develop. <v Host>Not until the 18th century would the skill of the draw boy <v Host>be replaced by a chain of punchcards in looms of the Industrial Revolution. <v Host>Silk brocade was not the only product of Chinese technology to be in great demand

<v Host>by the royal ports of Europe. <v Host>Over 2000 years ago, ordinary clay was first transformed <v Host>into porcelain. <v Host>So well-known was the work of Chinese ceramic makers that the porcelain became known <v Host>worldwide simply as china. <v Host>The Chinese developed kilns and invented the potter's wheel and used <v Host>a special white clay to produce finely shaped pottery with strong thin <v Host>walls. <v Host>But the development of the beautiful glazes transforms simple shapes

<v Host>into works of art. [music plays] <v Host>Chinese technological discoveries in ceramic making set a high standard <v Host>for the West. [music plays] <v Host>In the history of science and technology, this simple spoon is one of China's <v Host>greatest achievements. <v Host>It was made of lodestone, a natural magnet and balanced on a round <v Host>bronze plate representing the heavens. <v Host>1900 years ago, this was the first compass. <v Host>When knowledge of the compass finally reached the West, a thousand years later, <v Host>it launched the Age of Exploration. <v Host>The oceans became routes of discovery and then highways

<v Host>for trade and commerce. <v Host>China's early technological achievements had made a lasting impact on the world. <v Host>But as history progressed, it was the West that carried on the dramatic development of <v Host>modern science and technology. <v Host>China gave the world paper and printing, gunpowder, and the compass. <v Host>But was slow to enter the modern technological age. <v Host>And the reasons remain unclear. <v Host>Perhaps China's geography kept her isolated from Western achievements. <v Host>Perhaps her population was so great that there was no compelling need to develop new <v Host>technology for labor saving machines. <v Host>Some say the Confucian philosophy emphasized social interaction and <v Host>devalued scientific inquiry. <v Host>Some believe that China's imperial bureaucracy provided stability for

<v Host>thousands of years, but stifled technological change. <v Host>The scholarly conjecture is endless. <v Host>But the fact is that China is reentering the world community in science <v Host>and technology. <v Robert Kapp>China has engaged with the world's scientific community and the world commercial <v Robert Kapp>community community with a vengeance. The major purpose of this government in China now <v Robert Kapp>is to enrich the people and foreign trade is regarded as an instrument with <v Robert Kapp>which to achieve that end. A second end which uh foreign trade is regarded as necessary <v Robert Kapp>is the end of national uh defensive strength. <v Host>China is modernizing to increase the standard of living and ensure <v Host>national security. <v Host>Trade delegations are investigating the achievements of Western technology, <v Host>but the Chinese may be importing more than just scientific Know-How and high tech <v Host>products. <v Robert Kapp>As a country becomes more and more, quote, modern unquote,

<v Robert Kapp>as scientific inventions, scientific devices, and above all, scientific <v Robert Kapp>approaches to to knowledge permeate deeper and deeper into the society <v Robert Kapp>as a whole. Uh, what kinds of transformations of the culture itself <v Robert Kapp>will take place? This is one of the large questions of 20th century Chinese history. <v Host>Will the impact of Western technology on the Chinese people be as <v Host>great as China's discoveries have been on the West? <v Host>Only time will tell. <v Host>Together, East and West, we have shared much in our history. <v Host>And for the future of the world, we have much more to learn from each other. <v Host>It is a great mystery. <v Host>With many discoveries yet to be made.