This year's San Francisco Chronicle Chinese New Year parade will feature 80 different units. The parade's theme, "3,000 Years of Science, Discovery and Invention." has inspired many float sponsors to honor Chinese contributions to the modern world.

In his book, The Genius of China, author Robert Temple asserts, "Possibly more than half of the basic inventions and discoveries upon which the 'modern world' rests come from China." Some of the mentioned inventions and discoveries include paper, firecrackers, engineering.

The Origin of Paper

The Chinese first invented paper in the second century B.C. Although the dictionary will tell you that the word "paper" comes from the root, "papyrus," actual paper made by the Chinese has little in common with the inner bark of the papyrus plant used originally in Egypt.

Instead, the Chinese soaked hemp, linen and other plant fibers in vats and let the disintegrated sediment form on a screen, which was then lifted from the water and dried, until it could be peeled off in sheets. The first piece of paper was thick, strong, and useful for anything but writing!

The Origin of Firecrackers

The ancient Chinese believed in a densely-populated world of spirits, specters and demons who plagued mankind with everything from bothersome tricks to deadly afflictions.

It became an established practice to drive off demons and welcome benevolent spirits at events like New Year's celebrations, weddings, victory processions and festivals.

When certain long-streamer fireworks were exploded, the falling red paper resembled the dripping of blood, symbolizing a sacrifice in which everything is cleansed but no human or animal has to be killed.

Engineering

It is common knowledge that the Chinese first cultivated silk (by the 14th century B.C.), but in order to deal with the enormously long silk fibers, they invented a silk-winder, which then gave rise to the spinning wheel.

The chain-drive was first employed by the inventor Su Sung in an astronomical clock in 1090 A.D., 800 years before it appeared in European silk reeling mills. In 1869, a fellow named J.F. Tretz used the chain-drive to make bicycles, the most popular form of transportation in China today.