The ancient Chinese invented many, many things - things we still use today. Their inventions include paper, silk, matches, gunpowder, porcelain, laquer ware, fireworks, medicines, kites, tea, the umbrella, jump ropes, tangrams, dominoes, musical instruments, ink, the crossbow, decimals, the compass, tangrams, folding screens, and my personal favorite - ice cream!
What the ancient Chinese did not do was make many advances in labor saving devices. There were so many people in ancient China that they had no need of labor saving devices. They had lots of labor. So, there was no need for the development of factories. Instead, the ancient Chinese people concentrated on making handmade individual items.
