Early in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), while mining ores and melting copper and iron, Chinese people chanced upon a natural magnetite that attracted iron and pointed fixedly north. In the Warring States Period (206BC-23AD), after constant improvement the round compass came into being.

Zheng He (1371-1433), the Chinese Muslim Admiral Through his seven voyages of discovery to the West, Zheng He helped transform China into the superpower of his time. Little did the famous Muslim geographer, Ibn Battuta know, that about 22 years after his historic visit to China, the Mongol Dynasty (called the Yuan Dynasty in China) would be overthrown.

Magnetic Compass A compass is an instrument containing a freely suspended magnetic element which displays the direction of the horizontal component of the Earth's magnetic field at the point of observation. The magnetic compass is an old Chinese invention, probaly first made in China during the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.).

It has very good information on the Magnetic Compass.

When people think of instruments that help with direction finding, the first one that springs to mind is probably the magnetic compass. It is the oldest instrument for navigation and has been a vital tool for navigators at sea for centuries. The compass allows ships to steer a selected course.

Qin or Ch'in dynasty(approx. 221-207 B. C.) Legalism Standardized writing and language Standardized money Standardized system of measurement Irrigation projects Building of the Great Wall Terra cotta army Expanded Network of Roads and Canals Multiplication Table Tang Dynasty (approx. 618-907 A. D.)