- Type: Lesson Plan, Special Exhibition
- Collection: East Asian Art
- Culture/Region: China
- Subject Area: History and Social Science, Science, Visual Arts
- Grade Level: 2-3
“Since directions had such important symbolic meanings in ancient China, it makes perfect sense that the ancient Chinese would be fascinated by lodestones, which are naturally occurring magnets. At first, lodestones were used for divination (foretelling the future), but later the Chinese found ways to use them in navigation and direction finding.
No one knows exactly when compasses first appeared in China, but it was many centuries before they were used in Europe. In a fourth-century BCE text called The Book of the Devil Valley Master, there is a reference to a “south-pointer,” which—in addition to its usual purpose—was used by jade hunters to keep them from getting lost. (The usual purpose seems to have been to help them achieve order and harmony through divination.).”
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