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. Referred to as a "South-pointer", the spoon- or ladle- shaped compass is
of magnetic lodestone, and the plate is of Bronze. The circular center
represents Heaven, and the square plate represents Earth. The handle of the
spoon points south. The spoon is a symbolic representation of the Great Bear.
The plate bears Chinese characters which denote the eight main directions of
north, north-east, east, etc. This type of compass has been scientifically
tested and found to work tolerably well.
By the time of
the Tang dynasty (618-907) and the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty
(960-1127), Chinese scholars had devised a way to magnetize iron needles, by
rubbing them with magnetite, and then suspending them in water. They also
observed that needles cooled from red heat and held in the north-south
orientation (the earth's axis) would become magnetic. These more refined needle
compasses could then be floated in water (wet compass), placed upon a pointed
shaft (dry compass) or suspended from a silk thread, etc. Consequently, they
were much more useful for navigation purposes since they were much more
portable.
During the Song
Dynasty (960-1279) many trading ships were then able to sail as far as Saudi
Arabia without getting lost. The compass was introduced to the Arab world and
Europe during the Northern Song Dynasty. The spread of the compass to Europe
opened the oceans of the world to travel and led to the discovery of the New
World.