Top 3 Things China Invented First

1. Toilet Paper

The classic over versus under debate is much older than previously thought. Its first mention is by official Yan Zhitui in 589 BC, again because the Chinese were ahead of the game when it came to paper manufacturing. Their purpose is stated quite clearly by an Arab visitor in 851 AD, who remarks that the Chinese wipe themselves with paper, while the rest of the world was using water, their hands, wood shavings, lace, or the ever popular Roman “sponge on a stick.” The Chinese even one-upped themselves, and proceeded to perfume their poo paper for the royal family in 1393. (Actual ancient toilet paper not represented in art above.)

2. Restaurant Menu

The biggest reason that the Chinese beat other cultures to the finish line here is because they already had a handle on paper by the time the Song Dynasty rolled around. Due to even ancient China’s expansive populated regions that would trade with each other, hungry merchants could find an abundance of food to eat, but were not familiar with a lot of it. Thus, the menu was born to provide a guide for hungry merchants and foreign travelers. Menus popped up where ever food was sold: temples, brothels, theaters, and tea houses as well as typical food stalls and restaurants.

3. Holistic Health

Even more surprising to me than the invention of the fork, was that Chinese medicine was on to some major health points before their time, such as good health through proper diet. In the 4th century, the royal courts had Imperial Dieticians to guide the royal family down the road to healthy eating. In the Han Dynasty, Zhang Zhongjing found out through trial and error that certain foods would address symptoms of poor health. Imperial Dietician Hu Sihui published a similar book in 1330 that put together information on healthy diets dating from the 3rd century.

Not only were they proponents of a variable diet, they were also the first endocrinologists, meaning that they were clued in to and could address hormone imbalances before everyone else. In 1110 BC, they were able to extract sex hormones from urine using gypsum and natural soaps like saponin. They could then use these extracted hormones to treat a wide variety of sex hormone issues, from erectile dysfunction to menstrual cramps (dysmenorrhea).