Four Great Inventions of ancient China

Gunpowder
Fireworks were invented in ancient China in the 12th century to scare away evil spirits, as a natural extension of gunpowder of the Four Great Inventions of ancient China.

Papermaking
Papermaking has traditionally been traced to China about AD 105, when Cai Lun, an official attached to the Imperial court during the Han Dynasty (202 BC - AD 220), created a sheet of paper using mulberry and other bast fabrics along with fishnets, old rags, and hemp waste. However a recent archaeological discovery has been reported from near Dunhuang of paper with writing on it dating to 8 BC.

Printing
The Chinese invention of Woodblock Printing, at some point before the first dated book in 868 (the Diamond Sutra), produced the world's first print culture. Western printing presses, although introduced in the 16th century, were not widely used in China until the 19th century. China, along with Korea, was one of the last countries to adopt them.