Name five achievements of one of these early civilizations: Egypt, India, Mesopotamia, or China.

China has a long cultural history of innovation, and we can still experience many Chinese inventions today.

Legend has it that in 2737 BCE, a Chinese emperor was sitting under a tree when some leaves fell into his cup of water. He enjoyed the flavor these leaves gave his drink, and encouraged an herbalist to study the tree and the infusion of leaves in water. From then on, tea has  been cultivated for drinking purposes. It has long been a part of Chinese herbal medicine and is believed to have many health benefits. Tea leaves became one of China's major exports, and some historians might argue that the production and trade of tea has helped to shape our highly connected world.

Around the same time the benefits of tea were discovered, the Chinese began cultivating silk worms. For thousands of years, only the Chinese knew the mysterious means of cultivating silkworms and spinning their cocoons into thread. The production of silk was vital to international trade, and the luxurious textile was a favorite of European royalty. Silk was so important to trade that we call the trade network dating to at least 130 BCE the "Silk Road."

The Chinese were also the first people to begin working with iron. During the Shang Dynasty (1600-1100 BCE) the Chinese discovered a means of melting down iron and pouring it into molds to create "cast iron." Iron weapons and vessels became preferred over bronze because it was stronger and more durable. 

Construction on the Great Wall of China began around 220 BCE and continued for nearly 2,000 years. It became the world's largest military fortification, and if you ever visit China, you may have the opportunity to walk along parts of it! Much of the wall still stands, a true testament to Chinese architectural expertise.

Finally, the Chinese invented movable-type printing in the 11th century CE. Prior to this, books were printed by carving words and images onto blocks of wood, which were used like a stamp. One of the drawbacks to this was that a single block of would could only be used to make (many copies of) one page. It was also a great investment of time to carve one perfect block for printing-- no mistakes allowed! Movable-type printing involves using individual blocks (or stamps) for different characters and images. They can be rearranged to create a nearly endless combination of words, phrases, and ideas. This was a much better return on the investment of an artisan's time, and far more versatile in the printing industry. This process was vital to the spread of literacy, especially when it reached Europe during the 15th century.

These are just a few innovations we can thank the Ancient Chinese for.