“If my body dies, let my body die, but do not let my country die.” -Genghis Khan

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Inventions




            Only a few new technologies were invented in the Yuan dynasty because  so much  of the time was spent conquering and stamping out rebellion. The Emperor was not interested in learning or inventing new things.  However,there were a few inventions created in that time. They were all war related since the Yuan dynasty is best known for conquering lands and expanding the empire.  But even though the Yuan dynasty isn’t recognized by the inventions  it created there are still some innovations that changed history even though they are not famously known for being this.
One of them was the invention of the flamethrower. The flamethrower was thought up in approximately 919 AD. It was made from a double pistol pump and was called a “ Pen Hou Qi.” Lin Yu first documented it in 917 AD. It was widely used against the Mongols during the Song rebellion and was modernized and redone by Richard Fielder and served as a huge weapon in both WWl and WWll.
            Another one of the few but important inventions that was made in the Yuan dynasty is the advance of the use of gunpowder during the Song rebellion and the Yuan dynasty.  They developed a gun barrel with a huge head so that a bigger ball could be put in it and if properly shot, it crashed against the enemy while releasing deadly shards and causing more casualties. This was a huge factor in the Song rebellion because now the Song had newer technologies that widened their chances of the outcome of the war. This also helped the evolution of guns and the use of gunpowder, which is  important because if not for all the inventions, the Chinese would have fallen behind in the world and this could lead to many problems.  Thanks to all the inventions we are where we are now. 

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