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China is known for its inventions, a variety of dynasties, and cultural quirks. Here is a list of fun and sometimes horrifying facts from ancient China:
Zhang Heng of the Han Dynasty invented a bronze device (a seismoscope) to detect earthquakes. It used a pendulum and dragon-mouth balls to show the tremors’ directions.
By the 6th century CE, wealthy elites in China used toilet paper to wipe their bums—the poor had to use sticks or leaves.
Liubo, was a mystical strategy game in China. It was played during the Han Dynasty, often accompanied by gambling and drinking.
A 4,000-year-old noodle bowl was found in Lajia, China—made from millet. The oldest noodles ever found.
Qin Shi Huang’s massive underground tomb complex in China, houses a mercury-based defense system. Soil samples have revealed mercury levels 100 times higher than natural occurrence. It has successfully deteriorated grave robbers for thousands of years.
Shang Dynasty (1600–1046 BCE) priests had the habit of writing questions on animal bones, then cracking them with fire to “read” divine answers.
Han-era Chinese tied corpses’ feet during funerals to prevent them from becoming zombies.
In ancient China, “Night soil” (human feces) was collected and sold as fertilizer in markets.
Chinese Han royalty were buried in suits made of thousands of jade pieces sewn with gold thread. They thought it would give them immortality.
Treason in ancient China often resulted in the execution of a criminal’s entire family tree—including distant relatives.
The legalist Qin Dynasty punished minor crimes with mutilation (e.g., nose/feet removal) or death by “Five Pains” (dismemberment + beheading).
Shang rulers in China buried alive hundreds of slaves, soldiers, and concubines so that they could continue to serve them in heaven.
After a rival concubine’s death, Empress Lü of the Han Dynasty had her corpse mutilated and fed to pigs. She forced the concubine’s son to watch the ordeal.
During wartime famines, ancient Chinese populations resorted to eating the dead or selling children as food.
The painful practice of foot-binding originated among Tang Dynasty dancers in 10th century China. They compressed their feet to create the prized “lotus” shape—the custom spread more widely throughout Chinese society where its still practiced in some parts today.
In ancient China, sticking chopsticks upright in rice resembled funeral incense rites. It meant death.
Families in ancient China arranged weddings after a loved one died to ensure unmarried spirits wouldn’t haunt the living.
Gunpowder was first invented as Taoist immortality elixir in China. Military strategists later used it for flamethrowers and “flying fire” arrows in warfare.
Castrated men in ancient China once held a lot of bureaucratic influence, with some (like Ming Dynasty eunuchs) even controlling emperors.
Chinese Emperors ruled by divine right. However, natural disasters or rebellions could “revoke” it, justifying dynastic overthrow.
Qin Shi Huang in China ordered the destruction of historical texts and philosophy. It was done to erase dissent. Only technical manuals survived the censorship.
Thousands of laborers died building the Great Wall of China. Some folks were even buried directly in its structure.
In ancient China, rival warlords Liu Bang and Xiang Yu (206–202 BCE) boiled enemies alive and used severed heads in psychological warfare.
A peasant uprising called the Yellow Turban Rebellion (184 CE)—was led by a cult believing in magical healing and apocalyptic prophecies. It almost toppled the Han Dynasty.
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