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Sinan (lodestone pointing south)

Type Object Region China Time c. 1–500

Ancient Chinese direction-indicating device using natural lodestone, called sinan in texts, shaped like a spoon on a marked plate, an important precu…

Timeline

  1. c. 1–100Northern China · ChinaPre-Qin texts already record natural lodestone (cishi) attracting iron, laying the knowledge foundation for understanding lodestone polarity, though no complete set of direction-indicating devices had yet formed.
  2. c. 100–220Area of the Wang Mang tomb excavation (Nanyang area) · HenanEastern Han texts describe sinan as a magnetic spoon placed on a bronze earth plate marked with the twenty-four mountains or eight directions, the handle pointing south; used mainly for divinatory orientation and ritual layout, not long-distance navigation.
  3. c. 220–500China · ChinaMagnetic-needle pointing combined with fengshui geomancy, and the form of the direction plate gradually evolved; providing accumulated knowledge for later floating-needle and compass navigation techniques after the Southern Dynasties.

Sources